What is formaldehyde ?

Question

is it cause of skin cancer ?
What its tast sources?

Answer 1

The chemical compound formaldehyde (also known as methanal) is a gas with a pungent smell. It is the simplest aldehyde. Its chemical formula is H2CO. Formaldehyde was first synthesized by the Russian chemist Aleksandr Butlerov in 1859 but was conclusively identified by August Wilhelm von Hofmann in 1867.[citation needed]

Formaldehyde readily results from the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials. It may be found in the smoke from forest fires, in automobile exhaust, and in tobacco smoke. In the atmosphere, formaldehyde is produced by the action of sunlight and oxygen on atmospheric methane and other hydrocarbons. Small amounts of formaldehyde are produced as a metabolic byproduct in most organisms, including humans.
click here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde#Properties

Answer 2

Formaldehyde H2CO is a pungent smelling gas. It forms as a result of incomplete combustion of carbon containing materials. It can be found is huge fire and tobacco smoke.

Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Answer 3

I am a mortician, so I have a little knowledge on this. The ingredient you list is not formaldehyde specifically, it is a quateranary ammonium compound, which helps formaldehyde do it's job. It is in no way related to formaldehyde. Quats (as we call them) are cleaning and sanitizing agents and that's probably why they are in shampoos. I have had this stuff spilled on me, inhaled it (on accident of course) etc. and have never had a problem with it. It's no worse for you than rubbing alcohol. Just try not to ingest it.

Answer 4

Formaldehyde readily results from the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials. It may be found in the smoke from forest fires, in automobile exhaust, and in tobacco smoke. In the atmosphere, formaldehyde is produced by the action of sunlight and oxygen on atmospheric methane and other hydrocarbons. Small amounts of formaldehyde are produced as a metabolic byproduct in most organisms, including humans.Because formaldehyde resins are used in many construction materials, including plywood, carpet, and spray-on insulating foams, and because these resins slowly give off formaldehyde over time, formaldehyde is one of the more common indoor air pollutants. At concentrations above 0.1 mg/kg in air, inhaled formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes, headache, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing.

Large formaldehyde exposures, for example from drinking formaldehyde solutions, are potentially lethal. Formaldehyde is converted to formic acid in the body, leading to a rise in blood acidity, rapid, shallow breathing, hypothermia, and coma or death. People who have ingested formaldehyde require immediate medical attention.

In the body, formaldehyde can cause proteins to irreversibly bind to DNA. Laboratory animals exposed to large doses of inhaled formaldehyde over their lifetimes have developed more cancers of the nose and throat than are usual, as have workers in particle-board sawmills. However, some studies suggest that smaller concentrations of formaldehyde like those encountered in most buildings have no carcinogenic effects. Formaldehyde is classifed as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Answer 5

Formaldehyde is classifed as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Please see the webpages for more details on Formaldehyde.

Answer 6

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas and it has irritating odor which considered as carcinogenic.

Answer 7

It is a colorless, toxic, potentially carcinogenic, water-soluble gas, having a suffocating odor, usually derived from methyl alcohol by oxidation. It is used primarily in aqueous solution, as a disinfectant and preservative, and in the manufacture of various resins and plastics.
Now I don't know if it's a cause of skin cancer, but I'd assume so and be very careful with it.

Answer 8

The chemical compound formaldehyde (also known as methanal) is a gas with a pungent smell.

Formaldehyde readily results from the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing materials. It may be found in the smoke from forest fires, in automobile exhaust, and in tobacco smoke. In the atmosphere, formaldehyde is produced by the action of sunlight and oxygen on atmospheric methane and other hydrocarbons. Small amounts of formaldehyde are produced as a metabolic byproduct in most organisms, including humans.

Formaldehyde kills most bacteria, and a solution of formaldehyde in water is commonly used as a disinfectant. It is also used to preserve biological specimens, and as a preservative in vaccinations. In medicine, formaldehyde solutions are applied topically to dry the skin, such as in the treatment of warts. Formaldehyde based solutions are used in embalming to disinfect and temporarily preserve human remains pending final disposition. Formaldehyde preserves or "fixes" tissue or cells by irreversibly connecting a primary amine group in protein with a nearby nitrogen in protein or DNA through a -CH2- linkage called a "Schiffs base". Formaldehyde is also used to make numerous other chemicals, used in personal care products such as toothpaste. Many of these are polyfunctional alcohols such as pentaerythritol, which is used to make paints and explosives. Other formaldehyde derivatives include methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, an important component in polyurethane paints and foams, and hexamine, which is used in phenol-formaldehyde resins and to make the explosive RDX.

No it is not considered a primary cause of skin cancer, that is more commonly attributed to UV radation over-exposure.

as for its sources,

Industrially, formaldehyde is produced by the catalytic oxidation of methanol. The most commonly used catalysts are silver metal or a mixture of an iron oxide with molybdenum and vanadium. In the more commonly used iron oxide system (Formox process), methanol and oxygen react at 250°C to produce formaldehyde according to the chemical equation

2 CH3OH + O2 → 2 H2CO + 2 H2O

The silver-based catalyst is usually operated at a higher temperature, about 650 °C. On it, two chemical reactions simultaneously produce formaldehyde: the one shown above, and the dehydrogenation reaction

CH3OH → H2CO + H2

Further oxidation of the formaldehyde product during its production usually gives formic acid that is found in formaldehyde solution, found in ppm values.

On a smaller scale, formalin can be produced using a whole range of other methods including conversion from ethanol instead of the normally-fed methanol feedstock. Such methods are of less commercial importance.

Answer 9

You have at least two good answers, so mine is: Formalehyde is what Grandma's house smells like. For the younger generation, replace Grandma with Great Grandma.

Answer 10

It is a chemical that is used to embolym people and it can also be used to keep something that is dead preserved if you store it in a clear glass container that is sealed (like animals).