Formaldehyde, as a common indoor pollutant, mainly includes furniture, building materials, decorative materials, etc. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of formaldehyde can have serious effects on human health. Therefore, it is important to understand the safety standards of formaldehyde and how to effectively detect and control it to ensure the safety of the indoor environment.
What is Formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde is a colorless and pungent odorous gas, soluble in water at room temperature, and is often used as a component of disinfectants, preservatives and adhesives. Because it is widely used in building materials, furniture, textiles and other products, people are easily exposed to formaldehyde in their daily life, and long-term exposure to formaldehyde may cause harm to human health.
What are the hazards of formaldehyde?
Long-term or high concentration exposure to formaldehyde can cause respiratory diseases, eye irritation, allergies, and even cancer.
The importance of formaldehyde detection
Due to the potential harm of formaldehyde to human health, timely and accurate detection of formaldehyde concentration in the environment has become an important means to ensure the safety of living and working environments.
Formaldehyde safety standards
According to the Indoor Air Quality Standard (GB T 18883-2002), the limit of formaldehyde in indoor air for residential and similar uses is 010 mg m (i.e., 100 g m). For newly renovated or newly purchased furniture living environments, the recommended formaldehyde concentration should be lower than this standard value to ensure the health of residents.
How to test for formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde detection methods mainly include:
Household formaldehyde detector: Portable device for home rapid testing.
Professional testing services: Through the test conducted by a third-party professional organization, the results are more accurate and reliable.
Specific methods for formaldehyde detection
1. Chemical absorption method
Principle: Formaldehyde is absorbed by chemical reagents and formaldehyde concentration is quantified by color change.
Pros:: Simple operation; Low cost.
Cons:: Relatively low accuracy; Susceptible to environmental factors.
2. Spectroscopy
Principle: The absorption characteristics of formaldehyde molecules at specific wavelengths are used to detect them by spectroscopic analysis technology.
Pros:: High sensitivity; High precision; Rapid detection is possible.
Cons:: High cost of equipment; The operation is complex.
3. Chromatography
Principle: Formaldehyde is separated from other components by chromatography for qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Pros:High precision; : High sensitivity; It can detect multiple harmful gases at the same time.
Cons:: The equipment is expensive; The operation is complex. Requires a professional to operate.
4. Sensor detection method
Principle: Using the sensitivity of a specific material to formaldehyde, the formaldehyde concentration is detected by the change of the electrical signal.
Pros:: Easy to operate; Continuous monitoring is possible.
Cons:: Long-term use may result in degraded sensor performance.
Formaldehyde detection standards
Different countries and regions have different testing standards and limits for formaldehyde. Here are some of the main criteria:
China
Indoor air quality standard GB T 18883-2002: Formaldehyde concentration 01mg/m³。
Formaldehyde emission limit of interior decoration materials GB 18580-2017: formaldehyde emission of wood-based panels and their products E1 level 15mg/l。
European Union
EN 717-1 standard: Emission limits of formaldehyde in wood substrate materials.
United States
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a long-term exposure limit of 0 for formaldehyde concentrations in indoor air1ppm。
Formaldehyde treatment methods
Ventilation: It is the simplest and most effective formaldehyde degradation method.
Plant absorptionSome houseplants have a certain formaldehyde absorption capacity, such as spider plants, pothos, etc.
Activated carbon adsorption: It can adsorb harmful gases such as formaldehyde in the room.
Air purifiers: Use an air purifier with formaldehyde removal.
Chemical neutralizers: There are special formaldehyde scavengers on the market to neutralize formaldehyde through chemical reactions.
Ask a professional company to deal with it: For serious pollution, it is recommended to ask a professional environmental protection company to remediate.
Check-in advice:
Before deciding whether you can move in, it is important to conduct a formaldehyde test to ensure that the formaldehyde concentration meets the safety standards, especially for newly renovated or newly purchased living environments with a lot of new furniture.
Even if the test results show that the formaldehyde concentration is lower than the national standard, it is recommended to continue ventilation for a period of time to reduce the formaldehyde concentration as much as possible.
Ensuring the safety of formaldehyde concentration in the indoor environment is an issue that every family should pay attention to. Through effective detection and treatment methods, formaldehyde concentration can be effectively reduced and the health of family members can be protected. After newly renovated or newly purchased furniture, it should be fully ventilated and tested for formaldehyde to ensure safety before moving in.