Abstract

Approximately 95,000 Quebecers are exposed to formaldehyde in their workplaces. Worker exposure to formaldehyde is normally measured with gaseous formaldehyde. Since several industrial processes give off formaldehyde in a form bound to particles, the IRSST wanted to verify to what extent the inhalation of dusts containing formaldehyde could be a source of exposure to this compound. Inspired by the International Commission on Radiological Protection’s respiratory function model, a team from the Université de Montréal developed a mathematical model for the pulmonary absorption kinetics of formaldehyde. The researchers used the data from the press board (wood and resin mixture) industry. According to their calculations, more than 93% of the formaldehyde absorption by this industry’s workers would be in the gaseous form. Measurement of formaldehyde concentrations in the air would therefore be representative of their total exposure.