1. Formaldehyde (As an air pollutant)
Bailey Mattingly

2. 3 sources of Formaldehyde:
Paper products such as grocery bags, facial tissue, paper towels and disposable sanitary products.
Pressed-wood products including plywood, particle board, and decorative paneling.
Everyday items like cosmetics, shampoos, deodorants, fabric dyes, and disinfectants.
Formaldehyde is an organic chemical that is very prevalent in our environment. It has colorless gas with a pungent odor from a family of gases called aldehydes.

4. Formaldehyde:
Formaldehyde is an indoor pollutant. The highest levels of Formaldehyde Pollution occur within the home. Formaldehyde is widely used by industry to make home building products. Formaldehyde is also widely used to manufacture building materials and household products.
Formaldehyde is a secondary air pollutant meaning that it is a gaseous product of a reaction involving a primary pollutant. It is produced mainly through the combustion of methane and other carbon compounds & the oxidation of methanol.

5. 2 Human Health Effects From Exposure:
Cancer: formaldehyde is poisonous and carcinogenic .Exposure to formaldehyde has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory test animals. Exposure to relatively high amounts of formaldehyde in medical and occupational settings has been linked to some types of cancer.
Less severe health effects include watery eyes; burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat; coughing; wheezing; nausea; and skin irritation.

6. Environmental Effect from Formaldehyde:
Typical releases of Formaldehyde are unlikely to affect plants and wildlife in the vicinity. It is very quickly removed from the air by reaction with other other species in the atmosphere and is broken down in water and soil within days. As a VOC, Formaldehyde may be involved in the formation of ground level of ozone, which can damage crops and materials. It is not considered likely that Formaldehyde pollution has any effects on the global environment.

7. How to reduce levels of Formaldehyde:
Being in a smoke free area:
Tobacco smoke contains high levels of formaldehyde. More smoke = more formaldehyde.
Opening windows to let fresh air in:
Fresh air replaces air contaminated by formaldehyde.
Keeping temperature and humidity levels at the lowest comfortable setting.

9. Sources: