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Section Menu. What is formaldehyde? What are the health effects of formaldehyde in indoor air? How can you reduce exposure to formaldehyde indoors? There are a few simple ways to protect yourself from formaldehyde indoors.
Chose low-formaldehyde products when building or remodeling. Furniture and pressed-wood board made with laminated surfaces release less formaldehyde and other VOCs. If possible, use non-toxic alternatives to formaldehyde-containing products like glue and adhesives.
Ventilate indoor spaces. Open windows or use exhaust fans to blow indoor air out and bring fresh air in. Make sure any combustion appliance has a separate exhaust to the outdoors. Remember to ventilate indoor spaces when using cleaners, cosmetic products like nail polish remover or most paints.
Like medium-density fiberboard MDF , plywood is engineered wood packed with chemicals. When burned in a fireplace, such chemicals can release fumes that could be harmful to your health. Plywood is an engineered construction material made of wood veneer layers glued on top of each other. But unlike MDF, plywood has its wood grain rotated by about 90 degrees. Still, the likes of redwood, cedar, and pine are the most common in the market. There is also the so-called composite plywood, which has a particle board in the middle.
Particleboards are wood chips, and glue pressed together to create a solid material. Whatever the material is, all plywood materials are treated with a variety of adhesives. One of the widely used plywood adhesives nowadays is phenol-formaldehyde resin, which is characterized by its strong odor. Phenol-formaldehyde resin is a very strong type of adhesive, although the off-gassing is also intense. The phenol-formaldehyde resin has a strong flame retardance.
This is why plywood takes longer to burn than non-treated wood. Aside from the residual formaldehyde it emits, this adhesive will also release toxic gasses when burned. Take note that such toxic gasses are very dangerous when the plywood is burned indoors, say your fireplace. Also, there is a plywood version with a metal, plastic, or fabric layer incorporate into its layers. As mentioned, plywood is a concoction of wood, glue, and other artificial materials.
Burning all of these will cause the production of toxic gasses. Even before burning, residual formaldehyde is already present due to the adhesive used during production. As a volatile organic compound VOC , formaldehyde is classified as a human carcinogen. Aside from that, many U. Each state also has rules about which type of wood you can burn. This is under the Vermont Air Pollution Regulations , which aim to prevent pollution and forest fires.
The likes of Virginia and North Carolina also have similar rules in place. Overall, the authorities are concerned about the low-temperature burning of pressure-treated wood like plywood.
Aside from that, some plywood products are cured with ammonium chloride. This substance helps speeds up the curing of the glue used during production. When burned, ammonium chloride can release dioxin, a highly toxic fume.
While throwing it to a landfill seems to be the most convenient choice, there are alternatives you can explore. Here are some of the options you can consider:. Everyone is exposed to small amounts of formaldehyde in the air that has off-gassed from products, including composite wood products.
Learn how to protect yourself and your family from formaldehyde exposure. Formaldehyde can cause irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. High levels of exposure may cause some types of cancers. Learn more from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry about the health effects of formaldehyde exposure.
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