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Do you know the harm and treatment of formaldehyde?
- 2018-11-12-

Formaldehyde is a highly toxic substance, and formaldehyde ranks second in the priority control list of toxic chemicals in China. So do you know the harm and treatment of formaldehyde ? Formaldehyde has been identified by the World Health Organization as a carcinogenic and teratogenic substance, a recognized source of allergies and one of the potential strong mutagens. Studies have shown that formaldehyde has a strong carcinogenic and cancer-promoting effects. The effects of formaldehyde on human health are mainly manifested in olfactory abnormalities, irritation, allergies, abnormal lung function, abnormal liver function and abnormal immune function. When the concentration reaches 0.06-0.07mg/m3 per cubic meter of air, children will have mild asthma; when the indoor air contains 0.1mg/m3, there will be odor and discomfort; when it reaches 0.5mg/m3 It can irritate the eyes and cause tearing; reaching 0.6mg/m3 can cause discomfort or pain in the throat; when the concentration is higher, it can cause nausea and vomiting, cough and chest tightness, wheezing and even pulmonary edema; when it reaches 30mg/m3, it will immediately cause death. . Through animal experiments, the genotoxicity and carcinogenic effects of the indoor formaldehyde pollution on the human body, neurological and reproductive toxicity, oxidative damage to the cells, irritations of the eyes and airways, and toxicity of the immune system were confirmed from the molecular biology level. .

As a sub-project of the "10th Five-Year" Science and Technology Research Project "Research on the Evaluation Technology of Indoor Air Key Pollutants Health Hazard", Yang Xu and other researchers used simulated poisoning technology, according to the indoor formaldehyde pollution level, respectively 2.24 mg / m3 With 4.81 mg/m3 of gaseous formaldehyde perfused mice, neuronal edema and inflammation were observed in the airways (nasal and bronchial) by molecular biomarkers. When the exposure level of formaldehyde increased, the frequency of blinking of the volunteers increased accordingly, suggesting that the higher the concentration of formaldehyde, the stronger the stimulation of the eye. The mice were exposed to formaldehyde gas at a concentration of 3 mg/m 3 for 7 days, and the researchers found glutathione with antioxidant activity in the brain, heart, liver, lung, kidney, testis and other organs. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase have decreased, indicating that formaldehyde can cause oxidative damage to other organs or systems in addition to respiratory damage. It is a systemic poison.

Experiments have confirmed that the stimulation of gaseous formaldehyde can also cause cell chromosome breakage, resulting in direct oxidative damage of DNA molecules, inhibition of SOD enzyme activity, unfavorable free radical scavenging, indirect oxidative damage of DNA molecules, and potential carcinogenic effects. The decrease in the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the brain tissue leads to a slower rate of free radical scavenging and a large accumulation, resulting in neuronal damage and neurobehavioral changes. In the water maze test of mice, the learning and memory of mice exposed to formaldehyde were significantly lower than those of the control group. In addition, formaldehyde exposure can cause testicular damage in young rats, and also has a destructive effect on germ cells. It can also increase the level of formaldehyde-specific antibodies and reduce immunity, making the exposed subjects become "acquired allergies."