ISSN:
1600-0668
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying
,
Medicine
Notes:
According to the Californian Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, Proposition 65 (State of California, 1986) the manufacturers and retailers of products (such as furniture and fittings) which emit formaldehyde are obliged to either mark their products with a warning label or provide evidence that their products do not pose a significant cancer risk to the consumer. The significant risk is defined as 1 case of cancer in a population of 100,000 persons within a period of exposure of 70 years (State of California, 1992).In this study, a large-scale climate chamber test of a full set of furniture and fitments was made. The formaldehyde concentration in a test chamber peaked at about 112 μg/m3 within a day after the furniture had been installed. After 8 weeks the concentration leveled out at about 50 μg/m3.Various models were used to predict occupant exposures in homes containing the same furniture and fitments; multi-compartment models identified a short-term compartment with a half-life of between 5.2 and 6.0 h and a relative source strength of between 75% and 30% of the total source strength; a medium-term compartment with a half-life of between 14 and 81 days; and a long-term compartment for which the best estimate of a half-life was 384 days.The accumulated dose of formaldehyde absorbed by an occupant during 70 years of exposure in the hypothetical home was estimated by extrapolation using the same models. The dose was found to be in the range of 0.13 g to 0.16 g.The concentration in the test chamber showing a maximum value of 112 μg/m3 formaldehyde may cause discomfort among hypersensitive persons during the first couple of days. The risk estimates based on the estimated long-term dose indicate that the cancer risks associated with the exposure caused by furniture are in the range of 6.9 to 8.9 × 10−8, based on monkey data, and 5.8 to 7.4 × 10−7, based on rat data.In conclusion, a successful draft protocol was established for tests in relation to Proposition 65 and, with the limitations of this exploratory study, the actual furniture equipment is considered to cause no significant cancer risk to the consumer according to the Proposition.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.1995.t01-2-00002.x
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