Formaldehyde Awareness

16 Formaldehyde Awareness F. How Do You Know if You’re Being Exposed? Formaldehyde has an odor threshold that ranges from 0.05 ppm to 1.0 ppm. There are common health effects that occur at various formaldehyde concentrations (see section D). The only way of knowing with certainty whether you’re being exposed, however, is by personal air monitoring. EH&S Monitoring Personal air monitoring is required to determine formaldehyde exposure levels. Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) will perform monitoring upon request. Periodically, EH&S updates exposure information through questionnaires and follow-up monitoring, when appropriate. Please note that formaldehyde used solely inside a properly functioning fume hood has, through prior campus monitoring, proven to be of minimal concern. If you work with formaldehyde and have never been monitored or if you would like additional monitoring, call EH&S at (515) 294-5359. Occupational Medicine Program The Iowa State University (ISU) Occupational Medicine Program is designed to minimize personnel health risks from workplace hazards. Hazards may include chemicals such as formaldehyde or benzene; physical hazards such as excessive noise or lasers; human pathogens, tissues and cell lines; animal handling, pathogens, tissues and cell lines; and radioactive materials or devices. The program includes workplace exposure assessments, exposure monitoring and medical surveillance. All ISU personnel, including part-time and student workers, are encouraged to participate in the Occupational Medicine Program, which is provided at no charge. Refer to the Occupational Medicine Guidelines for more information. Workplace Exposure Assessment Participation in the Occupational Medicine Program requires completion of a Hazard Inventory form . The online form must be completed by new employees who are exposed to hazards as part of their assigned job duties and/or current employees who have changes to their hazards or personnel information. EH&S will use this information to determine the need for enrollment in the ISU Occupational Medicine Program. Individuals and supervisors will receive an email after EH&S has completed the evaluation of the hazards, and can login to see the results. If it is determined that the individual’s workplace hazards require medical monitoring or training, the individual will receive a notice from the ISU Occupational Medicine Program with further instructions.

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