Teratogenicity formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is not considered a teratogen and has not been reported to cause adverse reproductive effects (138,139). vitro mutagenicity assays... 

The other organic liquids in Table 1 are also listed in Table 2, along with concentrated solutions of phenol and formaldehyde. These liquids, as a group, are probably the most hazardous of all the potential teratogens found in the... 

Another common gas that appears on the list of potential teratogens is formaldehyde. Since it is normally used as a 40% aqueous solution ("formalin"), it is listed in Table 2 with the organic liquids. Only four of the twenty lab manuals use formaldehyde one in a clock reaction, two to test for the presence of the aldehyde group, and the other to make a polymer of the phenol-formaldehyde type. In none of these is the use of formaldehyde essential. There are other simple clock reactions, there are other less hazardous aldehydes, and there are other polymerization reactions that would be more suitable for an introductory chemistry course. 

Of the twenty potentially teratogenic chemicals listed in Table 1, the ones that appear to present most risk for the pregnant chemistry student are the organic liquids given in Table 2. Some of these (aniline, butanone, carbon disulfide, formaldehyde, and phenol) could easily be omitted from introductory laboratory courses. Benzene and toluene might be substituted by xylene (or perhaps by other hydrocarbons), and both chloroform and carbon tetrachloride could be replaced by methylene chloride. 

Thrasher, J.D. and Kilburn, K.H., Embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of formaldehyde, Arch. Environ. Health, 56, 300-311, 2001. 

Women of child-bearing age should be careful when handling any substance of unknown properties. Certain substances are highly suspect teratogens and will cause abnormalities in an embryo or fetus. Among these are benzene, toluene, xylene, aniline, nitrobenzene, phenol, formaldehyde, dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), polychlori-... 

The possible teratogenic effects of inhaled formaldehyde were investigated in groups of 25 female rats exposed to airborne formaldehyde at levels of 0, 2, 5, and 10 ppm, 6 hours/day on gestation days 6-15. 

Feinman SE. 1988. Formaldehyde genotoxicity and teratogenicity. In Feinman SE, ed. Formaldehyde sensitivity and toxicity. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 167-178. 

Staples RE. 1983. Teratogenicity of formaldehyde. In Gibson JE, ed. Formaldehyde toxicity. Washington, DC Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, 51-59. 

Formaldehyde can present a moderate to severe health hazard injuring eyes, skin, and respiratory system. It is a mutagen, teratogen, and probably carcinogenic to humans. It is a severe eye irritant. An amount of... 

Teratogenicity An observational study in Russia found a relationship between congenital abnormalities in children and occupational formaldehyde exposure (in combination with methanol exposure) of the parents [10 j. 

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