Undeclared Formaldehyde Levels in Patient Consumer Products: Formaldehyde Test Kit Utility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ham JE ; Maibach H ; Siegel, Paul D.
• Description:
  Purpose: Formaldehyde allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) may be due to products with free formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing agents; however, assessment of formaldehyde levels in such products is infrequently conducted. The present study quantifies total releasable formaldehyde from "in-use" products associated with formaldehyde ACD and tests the utility of commercially available formaldehyde spot test kits. Materials and Methods: Personal care products from 2 patients with ACD to formaldehyde were initially screened at the clinic for formaldehyde using a formaldehyde spot test kit. Formaldehyde positive products were sent to the laboratory for confirmation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In addition, 4 formaldehyde spot test kits were evaluated for potential utility in a clinical setting. Results: Nine of the 10 formaldehyde spot test kit positive products obtained from formaldehyde allergic patients had formaldehyde with total releasable formaldehyde levels ranging from 5.4 to 269.4 microg/g. Of these, only two shampoos tested listed a formaldehyde-releasing agent in the ingredients or product literature. Subsequently, commercially available formaldehyde spot test kits were evaluated in the laboratory for ability to identify formaldehyde in personal care products. Conclusions: Chemical based formaldehyde spot test were more reliable than the enzymatic based test in identifying product releasable formaldehyde content. It is concluded that product labeled ingredient lists and available information are often inadequate to confirm the potential for formaldehyde exposure and chemical based spot test kits may have utility for identification of potential formaldehyde exposure from personal care products. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cosmetics Formaldehyde Hazardous Substances Hypersensitivity Occupational Health Safety Skin Skin Diseases
• Keywords:
  Allergic Contact Dermatitis Allergic Dermatitis Author Keywords: Formaldehyde Releaser Chemical Agents Chemical Indicators Contact Dermatitis Formaldehyde Spot Test Kit Hair Care Products Hazard Identification Skin Tests
• ISSN:
  1556-9527
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  112-117
• Volume:
  38
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055331
• Citation:
  Cutan Ocul Toxicol 2019 Apr; 38(2):112-117
• Contact Point Address:
  Paul D. Siegel, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, USA
• Email:
  pds3@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:077eaffb325bbdab721655f1988ef21672c55e99dc62bc34a1d71d02b46299cea3b9b1a60116920cb4758ddb9e7a957f8b57353ef062a0cfc022bcfcfb12b5aa
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217663/cdc_217663_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 790.11 KB ]