Transcript Formaldehyde Monitoring

Formaldehyde Monitoring
Presented by
Michael D. Shaw
FORMALDEHYDE
HEALTH EFFECTS
CARCINOGENICITY
EPA—“B1”
ACGIH—“A2”
Probable human carcinogen
Suspected human carcinogen
WHO (IARC)—“Group 1”
Carcinogenic to humans
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
1-10 ppm—Eye irritation; lacrimation at 4 ppm
10-20 ppm—Coughing, heart palpitations, tight feeling in chest
50-100 ppm and above—Pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, death
Contact with skin (formalin or HCHO-containing resins)—Dermatitis
Minimum Fatal Dose Level —
Male single oral ingestion 517 mg/kg (DHHS)
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE STANDARDS
ACGIH TLV®
0.3 ppm (Ceiling)
OSHA PEL
0.75 ppm (TWA)
2 ppm (Ceiling)
NIOSH REL
0.016 ppm (TWA)
0.1 ppm (Ceiling)
NIOSH ANALYTICAL METHODS
Method 2016 most sensitive
Silica gel/2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine
Method 2541
Sorbent tube/2-hydroxymethyl piperidine
Method 3500
Impinger/chromotropic acid
(1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid)
INSTRUMENT METHODS—
PRACTICAL AND OTHERWISE
FTIR
Semi-automated wet chemical methods
Electrochemical (converted alcohol detectors)
Interscan purpose-designed HCHO sensor
INTERSCAN FORMALDEHYDE SENSOR
ADVANTAGES
Good sensitivity
0-500 parts-per-billion full scale measuring range available
Excellent specificity
Little effect from alcohols
Full interference info on gasdetection.com website
Quick response time
Rise time to 50%
5-10 seconds
Rise time to 90%
30-45 seconds
APPLICATIONS
HCHO ubiquitous in the workplace, however…
Biggest applications have been in the forest products industry
e.g., monitoring of emissions from manufactured wood products
Interscan’s HCHO sensor is the heart of Georgia Pacific’s
DYNAMIC MICROCHAMBER
Board compliance testing time reduced
from 2 weeks to less than an hour