formaldehyde-iron


 * Brandon Williams & Marshall Johnston**

__**Background

**__Formaldehyde is used as a preservative and a disinfectant. It is a chemical used in pretty much everybody’s every day life. Hundreds of household products such as carpets clothes, and even tobacco contain it. Its most common use is in our wooden floors and beds. It’s used mostly in hard-pressed wood such as ply boards. Formaldehyde was used as insulation for windows, door cracks, wall cracks etc. back in the 1970’s. Formaldehyde is a flammable gas that has a strong distinctive smell. It’ also known as menthanal, oxide, methylene, oxymethyline, methylaldehide, and oxomethane. There are many positives and negatives for the uses and effects of formaldehyde. Some of the negatives are, it dissolves easily in the air, but is used in cigarettes. Since the world uses so many of those, it puts way too much of it in our air flow. There aren’t any positives for the environmental uses, just neutral. It doesn’t stick to and kill plants or animals, and has many good uses with our every day lives. Without it, foams we use to seal cracks in our houses so the cold won’t get in could not exist. Wood we use would not be anywhere near as durable. Formaldehyde is used by some of the countries in every continent. Although some continents are trying to get national banns on it, it’s still widely accepted within the world.

__**Human Health and Environment**__

Formaldehyde can be an extremely dangerous gas, some of the minor effects of it are burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and finding it difficult to breathe in high exposure. High levels of exposure with this gas are considered over .01 parts per million. Being exposed to a high amount of formaldehyde can trigger attacks on people with asthma. Recent studies have also shown formaldehyde to cause cancer, skin rash, and fatigue. Formaldehyde is classified as a VOC, (volatile organic compound). VOC’s become gasses when they hit room temperature, thus giving off a gas. The gas that is released is what causes an impact on your health. This gas can cause many different types of cancer, although since it’s found in cigarettes people think it’s linked directly with only lung cancer. Cancer is a disease that targets certain cells depending on what type you have. Formaldehyde can target any of your cells and start killing them off. (I.e.) If you’re exposed to too much of it, it has a chance to target your red blood cells, which will make you end up with leukemia.

__**Synthesis/Production and Economic/Political**__

Formaldehyde has been banned throughout the majority of Asia, yet our country still gets it imported from there. A ban on formaldehyde would mean an even larger drop in production for certain every day things we use in our lives. Products such as shampoo’s, cigarettes, and tobacco would all need to find a new product to replace formaldehyde in order to keep the same effects. A large reason why formaldehyde hasn’t been banned in the US yes is because of the question; is it worth risking your health for a more comfortable and easy lifestyle? Apparently since it hasn’t been banned here yet, our nations answer is no (although I believe otherwise). Because what are life’s material things without life itself? The most effective alternative for replacing products containing formaldehyde is a soy based adhesive called PureBond.

__**Abstract**__

Formaldehyde is a chemical found in most Americans every day lives. It’s not really a curtail aspect to having a comfortable life, but it still has many benefits. Most likely it’s used in your houses wood floors or walls, your bookshelf, dresser, desk, or bed. Pretty much anything in your home that is made of wood. It’s also used in items you (hopefully) use every day; things such as shampoo, and soap. The most well marketed product that it’s in is cigarettes, although that’s not the main cause of it getting into our atmosphere. Cigarettes use a very small amount of it. It is used in items like tissue to strengthen resistance against fluids, and is used in wood as insulation. Connections with cancer and formaldehyde have been found in recent studies conducted. Depending on the type of cancer you have, it’s the destruction of cells of a specific body part. Because it’s found in cigarettes, it’s a common misconception that lung cancer is a direct result of formaldehyde, but no studies have been done to prove this assumption. When this chemical gets into our environment, it can also give cancer to mammals. Plants are slightly affected by it, but with everything else in the world that plants are affected more from, it’s not a big concern of many. Most of the world has had formaldehyde banned in their country’s, but the United States is one of few where it is still legal. Although it is banned throughout Europe and Asia, we still get more than half of our annual production of it imported from those two continents. In 2005, there was an estimated 46 billion pounds of it in world production. My position on this chemical is, it should not be banned until we have founds newer, cleaner, and better natural resources to replace it. It isn’t one of the big polluters of our atmosphere, so there is no real reason to replace it until we find something better.

__**Summary**__

The highest cost formaldehyde has ever been was 24 cents per pound. At the time, there were billions of pounds per year going into the industry. Putting the price into the equation has changed my mind a little as to weather or not we should continue to use this. Insulating homes is something that I don’t know a lot about, but if we can find something that is cheap and can do that, then I think we as a country should stop using formaldehyde. We don’t need it to strengthen our paper towels or toilet paper because rather that pay a lot for a small amount to do the job, we can pay a little for a large amount, and just use more. It would be cleaner, though a little less efficient. And for cigarettes, taking formaldehyde out probably could cause many people to stop smoking, therefore putting the tobacco companies out of business which is something that people have been trying to do for a long time (and something that I am against.) So, in conclusion; formaldehyde has a lot of ups and downs, and I am still neutral on banning it.

__**PSSA**__

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4c1e42960f65adff683e