Formaldehyde On Trial

Investigative journalist Lloyd Tataryn demonstrated that formaldehyde--used so widely in consumer products that it was dubbed "the workhorse chemical"--should be considered a harmful chemical. The formaldehyde controversy began with the plight of the 80,000 Canadian families who filled the walls of their homes with urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) in the 1960s and '70s. Many soon regretted taking government grants to install the foam: they suffered a host of health problems: respiratory ailments, headaches, nausea and rashes. And an increasing amount of evidence pointed to a link between formaldehyde exposure and cancer. First published in 1983, Formaldehyde on Trial is a startling study of how our technologically advanced "chemical society" remains backwards when it comes to protecting the public health.

"This publication represents the views and expert opinions of an IARC working group on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, which met in Lyon, 9-16 October 2001."

This book evaluates the risks to human health and the environment of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a colorless, highly reactive gas with a pungent, irritating odor at room temperature. Sensory irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract by formaldehyde has been observed consistently in clinical studies and epidemiological surveys in occupational and residential environments. Formaldehyde is produced commercially and used predominantly in the synthesis of resins, but the largest direct human source of formaldehyde in the environment is the combustion of organic materials. Releases from industrial processes are considerably less.

Formaldehyde is virtually ubiquitous in the modern environment due to its cost-effective nature, its use in resin formation, and its preservative properties. Though formaldehyde is necessary for many products and processes important to the world's economy, this economic dependence on formaldehyde comes at a cost to public health. Growth and consequent industrialization rely heavily on formaldehyde use. New buildings--residences, public places, and offices--are not only built with timber preserved by formaldehyde, but they are also furnished with wood, wool, and textile products that contain formaldehyde. The general population faces environmental exposure from indoor and outdoor air pollution, food, and even medicine. Scientific inquiry into formaldehyde exposure has grown in response. This book consolidates the new and established body of formaldehyde research in the scholarly community, focusing on exposure, genotoxicity, and adverse health outcomes. Through this resource, we hope to increase awareness of the broad range of health effects posed by formaldehyde exposure, and to encourage interdisciplinary interest, as well as research, into this pervasive compound--especially in the United States and China, where formaldehyde production and usage is high. This book will be useful to researchers of environmental and occupational exposure, students, and government regulators and anyone exposed to formaldehyde in the workplace and/or at home.

A New York Times Notable Book The inspiration for PBS's AMERICAN EXPERIENCE film The Poison Squad. From Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times-bestselling author Deborah Blum, the dramatic true story of how food was made safe in the United States and the heroes, led by the inimitable Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, who fought for change By the end of nineteenth century, food was dangerous. Lethal, even. "Milk" might contain formaldehyde, most often used to embalm corpses. Decaying meat was preserved with both salicylic acid, a pharmaceutical chemical, and borax, a compound first identified as a cleaning product. This was not by accident; food manufacturers had rushed to embrace the rise of industrial chemistry, and were knowingly selling harmful products. Unchecked by government regulation, basic safety, or even labelling requirements, they put profit before the health of their customers. By some estimates, in New York City alone, thousands of children were killed by "embalmed milk" every year. Citizens--activists, journalists, scientists, and women's groups--began agitating for change. But even as protective measures were enacted in Europe, American corporations blocked even modest regulations. Then, in 1883, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, a chemistry professor from Purdue University, was named chief chemist of the agriculture department, and the agency began methodically investigating food and drink fraud, even conducting shocking human tests on groups of young men who came to be known as, "The Poison Squad." Over the next thirty years, a titanic struggle took place, with the courageous and fascinating Dr. Wiley campaigning indefatigably for food safety and consumer protection. Together with a gallant cast, including the muckraking reporter Upton Sinclair, whose fiction revealed the horrific truth about the Chicago stockyards; Fannie Farmer, then the most famous cookbook author in the country; and Henry J. Heinz, one of the few food producers who actively advocated for pure food, Dr. Wiley changed history. When the landmark 1906 Food and Drug Act was finally passed, it was known across the land, as "Dr. Wiley's Law." Blum brings to life this timeless and hugely satisfying "David and Goliath" tale with righteous verve and style, driving home the moral imperative of confronting corporate greed and government corruption with a bracing clarity, which speaks resoundingly to the enormous social and political challenges we face today.

This fourth edition of the anthrax guidelines encompasses a systematic review of the extensive new scientific literature and relevant publications up to end 2007 including all the new information that emerged in the 3-4 years after the anthrax letter events. This updated edition provides information on the disease and its importance, its etiology and ecology, and offers guidance on the detection, diagnostic, epidemiology, disinfection and decontamination, treatment and prophylaxis procedures, as well as control and surveillance processes for anthrax in humans and animals. With two rounds of a rigorous peer-review process, it is a relevant source of information for the management of anthrax in humans and animals.