Formaldehyde: Risk assessment, environmental, and health hazard

Formaldehyde is an extremely toxic, flammable, and colorless gas at room temperature and is a little denser than air. Some studies of industrial workers exposed to formaldehyde were found with increased risks of leukemia. It has a very irritating pungent odor that can only be identified in lower concentrations but does not give adequate warning of hazardous concentrations for sensitive individuals. Breathing, skin irritation, or eye irritation can occur mostly on the site exposed to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde enters the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and, to some extent, the human body through the skin. In this chapter, we evaluate the association between formaldehyde environmental divestment, hostile reproduction, physiochemical properties, toxicity, and treatment.