Formaldehyde
toxicity.
Studies in Humans
Because a variety of substances and conditions can cause histological changes in the nasal mucosa,
the weight of scientific evidence does not support an association between formaldehyde exposure
alone and histopathological changes in human nasal mucosa. Although several studies have found
changes, these cannot be associated with formaldehyde exposure alone and are confounded by other
air contaminants. Boysenet al.(1990) found no significant histopathology differences in nasal
mucosa of 37 workers and 37 controls exposed to 0.5 ppm to over 2 ppm of formaldehyde.
Mutagenicity
In vitro, formaldehyde is able to induce gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations in mammalian
cells without (and also in presence of) external metabolic activation. DNA-protein crosslinks are a
sensitive measure of DNA interaction by formaldehyde.