Have you ever heard of sick house syndrome?
Modern building materials are often formaldehyde-rich and so are the cushions, foam underlay’s etc and that creates health problems for residents.
The wood products that cause problems are medium-density fibreboard, or MDF and most of the glued ans composit boards. How many of us actually have real solid wood in our houses now? How many of our homes and offices are really well ventilated?
The union that represents carpenters launched a campaign last month to crack down on imports of wood products that contain high levels of the chemical. Australian-made products are subject to tight standards but there are no laws governing the formaldehyde levels on imports.
An incident late last year put formaldehyde in the headlines locally. Relief workers taking part in the Northern Territory indigenous intervention reported similar symptoms after sleeping in converted shipping containers contaminated with the substance.
In May 2007 hundreds of imported blankets from China were recalled after a Herald investigation revealed they contained levels of formaldehyde 10 times the international standard.
With so many reported cases of exposure, the obvious question is why are we are still using this carcinogenic substance at all. Formaldehyde is an organic compound that is useful in a huge number of manufacturing processes. A common use is in resin in timber replacement products, such as particle board or MDF, which are used in most homes as skirting boards, furniture and fittings like kitchen cupboards.
It can also be used in cloth manufacturing, because of its anti-creasing and moth-resistant qualities, in chemical products such as cleaners and cosmetics, and for embalming. Its effectiveness lies in its ability to kill infectious agents, like parasites or bacteria, which would otherwise contaminate wood, cosmetics or human remains.
But the product’s safety is a cause for concern. At low levels it irritates the eyes, nose and throat, and can cause eczema. At high levels it can cause cancer of the nasal passages and sinus. In 2004 the World Health Organisation recognised it as a human carcinogen. Apparently the levels of exposure you get from building materials are not sufficient to cause cancer,” says Professor Michael Moore, the director of the National.
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