05/16/2011

Some New (and Not so New) Information on Formaldehyde

By Barb Garrison, M.S., CHMM, President, Safety & Environmental Solutions, LLC

During a recent visit to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) website (www.osha.gov), I found a new hazard alert relating to formaldehyde (http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/formaldehyde/hazard_alert.html) that, while not directly related to the use of formaldehyde in funeral homes, did catch my attention.

According to the alert posted in April, there are some hair smoothing products used in hair salons that contain formaldehyde. But that’s not the surprise: The surprise is that some of the product manufacturers’ appear to have either neglected to mention the presence of formaldehyde in their products on container labels and/or material safety data sheets (MSDSs), or they have used synonyms for formaldehyde while labeling their products “formaldehyde-free.” Apparently, salon owners have been using these products for some time, and have been unknowingly exposing their employees to formaldehyde. In some cases, it appears that employees may have been exposed above permissible exposure levels.

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard requires manufacturers of products that contain or release formaldehyde to include information about formaldehyde and its hazards on product labels and MSDSs. Formaldehyde must be listed if it is in the product at 0.1% or more (as a gas or in solution) or if the product releases formaldehyde above 0.1 parts of formaldehyde per million parts of air.

Normally, employers can rely on information provided on product labels and MSDSs to be accurate in terms of the potential hazards the products pose to employees. However, in the case of the hair salon products in question, at least some of the products are manufactured in other countries where OSHA regulations don’t apply, so products arrived in the U.S. without MSDSs or accurate labels.

Per OSHA regulations, when an importer in the U.S. imports a product from another country (as in the case of the salons that purchased the formaldehyde-containing products), the importer (i.e. the salon owners) are required to determine the hazards of the product and develop labels and MSDSs that communicate the hazards to their employees. Apparently, the salon owners were not aware of this requirement or were mislead by the “formaldehyde-free” labels on some of the products. And who could really blame them? After all, if a product’s label claims that it is “formaldehyde-free,” you’d be inclined to believe it, right? Well, don’t believe everything you read! What the salon owners didn’t realize is that formaldehyde can go by several different names.

Red Flag Synonyms for Formaldehyde

Methylene Glycol

Formalin

Methylene Oxide,

Paraform

Formic Aldehyde

Methanal

Oxomethane

Oxymethylene

CAS Number 50-00-0

If you see any of these ingredients listed on a product’s label, you should assume that it contains formaldehyde.

In addition to being an interesting article, the hazard alert also contains a hyperlink to a “new” factsheet on formaldehyde (http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/formaldehyde-factsheet.pdf). Although there really isn’t any “new” information in it, the factsheet is a good tool for funeral homes to use when providing employees with annual formaldehyde refresher training. It’s concise, easy to understand and communicates essential information about the potential hazards of formaldehyde exposure.

If you have any questions about formaldehyde or any other health, safety or environmental questions, please feel free to contact me at (614) 404-3384 or bgarrison@sandesolutions.net.