Is There Formaldehyde In Your Bedroom?

Posted on | November 18, 2009 | Comments Off on Is There Formaldehyde In Your Bedroom?

Mike Magee

If you talk to most doctors about their medical school training, many will tell you that one of the most impactful experiences was participating in the human anatomy lab. Beyond the humbling nature of learning from a human cadaver, the physical nature of the experience – sights, sounds, and especially smell stay with you forever. The smell which permeated your lab clothes was the result of the preservant, formaldehyde.

As it turns out, medical students aren’t the only ones exposed to formaldehyde. If you open kitchen cabinets or rest your weary head at the end of a long day, you too are most likely experiencing some level of formaldehyde exposure.¹ Formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound which turns into gas at room temperature. The World Health Organization labels it a carcinogen, and it is an integral component of manufactured pressed wood products including particleboard, plywood and fiberboard.(2) (to continue…)