Formaldehyde

Overview

Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas that mixes readily with water. Short-term exposures can irritate the eyes and nose and cause coughing and wheezing. Longer exposures may cause severe allergic reactions of the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. Long-term exposure to low levels of formaldehyde in the air or on the skin can cause asthma-like symptoms and dermatitis. Formaldehyde exposure is also linked to leukemia and lung cancer.

When they are using products that contain formaldehyde, employers must conduct air monitoring to identify employees who may be exposed to at or above certain exposure levels.

Publications

Brochures/Guides
- Occupational safety for the death care industry
  Developed in partnership with the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board to emphasize industry hazards, provide recommendations, and highlight related Oregon OSHA standards.
  English 09/23/2014
Hazard alerts
- Hair smoothing products and formaldehyde
  Hazard alert on hair smoothing products and formaldehyde.
  English 10/28/2010
References
- Rules with requirements
  We get many calls and emails from employers asking the same question. It begins: “Which of your rules have requirements for…” You can finish the sentence with words like “recordkeeping,” “employee training,” and “written documents.” To answer those questions, we’ve organized these rules requirements into a filterable, sortable, searchable table.
  English 05/10/2019
Reports
- Keratin-Based Hair Smoothing Products and the Presence of Formaldehyde
  Oregon OSHA and CROET at Oregon Health & Sciences University's final report.
  English