Formaldehyde

Why in news?

• Damien Hirst, the United Kingdom’s richest living artist, has produced some of the most controversial artworks of recent years, which includes the much-debated series of formaldehyde sculptures with dead animals.

About Formaldehyde:

• Formaldehyde is widely present in the environment as it is produced naturally in various foods/biological systems including living organisms; and, also produced through manmade sources.
• Major manmade sources of formaldehyde include combusting materials (engine exhausts, firewood burning, power plants, incineration of wastes etc.), building materials and wood/tobacco smoke.
• It is colourless liquid. It is an organic chemical which contains hydrogen, oxygen and carbon atoms.
• Globally, formaldehyde is identified as one of the top 25 most widely produced chemical substances because of its high reactivity, colourless nature, purity, and low cost.
• Formaldehyde is a highly flammable, colourless gas with pungent and irritating odour and is normally commercially sold as 30 - 50%  aqueous solutions.

Uses of formaldehyde:

• When formaldehyde gas is dissolved in water, it is called formalin. It is a toxic, colourless solution which is used in:
• Industry:
  • Used in car manufacture, explosives, plastic, resins etc.
  • It is also used in sanitary products like paper towels, napkins and tissues.
  • Formalin is used as a disinfectant in industries.
• Medicine:
  • It kills many bacteria, fungi etc so used as an antiseptic.
  • Some parasites and warts are treated by formaldehyde.
  • It helps to produce some vaccines and also sterilizes them.
  • It can be used in the treatment of infections like urinary tract infection.
• Building and construction:
  • Formaldehyde resins are used to manufacture wooden products used widely in furniture, cabinetry, flooring etc.
• Food processing:
  • It is used as preservative in food.
  • Formalin or formaldehyde is sprayed on the fish or injected into the fish or the fish is dipped into the solution. This helps keep the fish fresh for a longer time.
  • Formaldehyde is not permitted for use in foods as per Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011.
• Other uses:
  • Used as disinfectant in funeral home. It is well known to preserve the human corpse.
  • To improve the yield of fuels it is used in petroleum and natural gas industries.
  • It is also used in the manufacture of ink.

Add ons:

• Presence of formaldehyde in food at higher levels can lead to severe abdominal pain, vomiting, sensory irritation of eye and lungs etc.
• In the long run, continued exposure causes harm to the kidneys, liver and can even cause cancers.
• In 2020, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India set standards for the naturally-occurring formaldehyde in fish.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Formaldehyde’:

1. Formaldehyde exists in many animal and plant species as a product of their normal metabolism.

2. WHO classifies formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither

Answer