Formaldehyde |
Last updated: 24/10/2024 |
(Also known as: formalin; methanal; methyl aldehyde; methylene oxide; paraformaldehyde) |
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Used as a disinfectant for soil, equipment, yards etc. Also used as an animal husbandry fungicide. Can also be a pesticide transformation product | |
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Current | |
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1888, introduced | |
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Approval status |
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Chemical structure |
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None | |
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CH₂O | |
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C=O | |
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No data | |
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WSFSSNUMVMOOMR-UHFFFAOYSA-N | |
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InChI=1S/CH2O/c1-2/h1H2 | |
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Yes |
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Common Name | Relationship | Link |
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formaldehyde | - |
General status |
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Soil, Surface water | |
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Inert solvent, Bactericide, Biocide, Disinfectant, Algicide, Slimicide | |
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Unclassified gas | |
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Synthetic | |
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Acts by protein denaturation | |
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50-00-0 | |
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200-001-8 | |
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156 | |
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043001 | |
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712 | |
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605-001-00-5 | |
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- | |
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- | |
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- | |
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30.03 | |
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formaldehyde | |
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formaldehyde | |
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Listed on USA Toxic Release Inventory; Registered as a UK Commodity Substance; Subject to the provisions of the UK Poisons Act 1972; Some applications may be approved under the GB Biocide Products Regulations | |
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UK Environment Agency non-statutory standard for the protection of aquatic life in fresh surface water: 5 µg l⁻¹ as annual average, 50 µg l⁻¹ as max acceptable conc. | |
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Gas |
Can be a metabolite of: |
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trioxymethylene | Acid soil | - | Major fraction | |||||
bronopol | Soil | - | - | |||||
dazomet | Soil | 0.205 | Major fraction |
Formulations |
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550000 | C4 C = AGRITOX dataset. Dataset is no longer available. 4 = Verified data |
High | ||||||||
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Miscible | C4 C = AGRITOX dataset. Dataset is no longer available. Acetone4 = Verified data |
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-92 | B5 B = UK CRD and ACP Evaluation Documents / and other DEFRA (UK) documents; Also Chemicals Regulation Division, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), UK (click here ) 5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
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-19.2 | B5 B = UK CRD and ACP Evaluation Documents / and other DEFRA (UK) documents; Also Chemicals Regulation Division, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), UK (click here ) 5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
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50 | V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source |
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2.24 X 1000 | Calculated | - | |||||||
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0.35 | V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source |
Low | ||||||||
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0.82 | L3 L = Pesticide manuals and hard copy reference books / other sources 3 = Unverified data of known source |
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13.27 | V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source |
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Strong base | |||||||||||
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53300000 | C4 C = AGRITOX dataset. Dataset is no longer available. 4 = Verified data |
Highly volatile. If applied directly to plants or soil, drift is a concern & mitigation is advisable | ||||||||
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3.41 X 10-02 | V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source |
Non-volatile | ||||||||
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Degradation |
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6 | Q2 Q = Miscellaneous data from online sources 2 = Unverified data of unknown source |
Non-persistent | |||||||
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1.9 | A5 A = EU regulatory and evaluation data as published by EC, EFSA (RAR, DAR & Conclusion dossiers), EMA (e.g. EU Annex III PIC DGD) (EU - Pesticides database; EFSA Scientific Publications ) 5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
Non-persistent | ||||||||
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Other sources: DT₅₀ 2-20 days | ||||||||||
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Stable | P2 P = Other non-EU, UK or US Governments and Regulators 2 = Unverified data of unknown source |
Stable | |||||||
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As this parameter is not normally measured directly, a surrogate measure is used: ‘Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀’. Where data is available, this can be found in the Fate Indices section below. | ||||||||||
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Soil adsorption and mobility |
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- | A3 A = EU regulatory and evaluation data as published by EC, EFSA (RAR, DAR & Conclusion dossiers), EMA (e.g. EU Annex III PIC DGD) (EU - Pesticides database; EFSA Scientific Publications ) 3 = Unverified data of known source |
Mobile | |||||||
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37 | ||||||||||
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Other sources: DT₅₀ 2-20 days | ||||||||||
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Fate indices |
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0.68 | Calculated | Low leachability | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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0.2 | Q2 Q = Miscellaneous data from online sources 2 = Unverified data of unknown source |
Low potential | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Not available | - |
Known metabolites |
None
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Terrestrial ecotoxicology |
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> 550 | L3 L = Pesticide manuals and hard copy reference books / other sources Rat3 = Unverified data of known source |
Moderate | ||||||||
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- | Q2 Q = Miscellaneous data from online sources Unknown species2 = Unverified data of unknown source |
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50 | - | |||||||||
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> 5000 | F4 F = U.S. EPA ECOTOX database / U.S. EPA pesticide fate database / Miscellaneous WHO documents / FAO data, IPCS INCHEM data (US EPA Databases Related to Pesticide Risk Assessment ) Anas platyrhynchos4 = Verified data |
Low | ||||||||
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Aquatic ecotoxicology |
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> 1.84 | A5 A = EU regulatory and evaluation data as published by EC, EFSA (RAR, DAR & Conclusion dossiers), EMA (e.g. EU Annex III PIC DGD) (EU - Pesticides database; EFSA Scientific Publications ) Oncorhynchus mykiss5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
Moderate | ||||||||
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41.0 | F3 F = U.S. EPA ECOTOX database / U.S. EPA pesticide fate database / Miscellaneous WHO documents / FAO data, IPCS INCHEM data (US EPA Databases Related to Pesticide Risk Assessment ) Danio rerio3 = Unverified data of known source |
Moderate | ||||||||
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> 0.43 | A5 A = EU regulatory and evaluation data as published by EC, EFSA (RAR, DAR & Conclusion dossiers), EMA (e.g. EU Annex III PIC DGD) (EU - Pesticides database; EFSA Scientific Publications ) Daphnia magna5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
Moderate | ||||||||
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> 11.4 | F4 F = U.S. EPA ECOTOX database / U.S. EPA pesticide fate database / Miscellaneous WHO documents / FAO data, IPCS INCHEM data (US EPA Databases Related to Pesticide Risk Assessment ) Ceriodaphnia dubia4 = Verified data |
Moderate | ||||||||
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> 0.88 | A4 A = EU regulatory and evaluation data as published by EC, EFSA (RAR, DAR & Conclusion dossiers), EMA (e.g. EU Annex III PIC DGD) (EU - Pesticides database; EFSA Scientific Publications ) Unknown species4 = Verified data |
Moderate | ||||||||
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> 0.1 | P4 P = Other non-EU, UK or US Governments and Regulators Phyllospora comosa4 = Verified data |
Moderate | ||||||||
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General |
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Low (class I) | - | - | ||||||||
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> 550 | L3 L = Pesticide manuals and hard copy reference books / other sources Rat3 = Unverified data of known source |
Moderate | ||||||||
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270 | B5 B = UK CRD and ACP Evaluation Documents / and other DEFRA (UK) documents; Also Chemicals Regulation Division, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), UK (click here ) Rabbit5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
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> 0.6 | B5 B = UK CRD and ACP Evaluation Documents / and other DEFRA (UK) documents; Also Chemicals Regulation Division, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), UK (click here ) Rat 4 hr5 = Verified data used for regulatory purposes |
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Most probable exposure route is via inhalation | |||||||||
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Most probable exposure route is via inhalation - PPE/PPC essential | ||||||||||
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Health issues |
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IARC Group 1 carcinogen, UK HSE - carcinogen; CLP data - known human carcinogen; US NTP - known carcinogen; OSHA - known human carcinogen; US EPA - probable human carcinogen Severe obstructive tracheobronchitis may result from inhalation causing throat spasms and a build up of fluid in the lungs, leading to death Suspected of causing genetic defects May cause serious damage of the gastrointestinal tract |
Handling issues |
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Flammable gas Reacts explosively with peroxides and performic acid IMDG Tranport Class 3 |
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Health: H301, H311, H314, H317, H331, H341, H350 | |||
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Not classified: Fumigant (Not classified: Fumigant) | |||
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UN1198 | |||
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Packaging Group III (minor danger) | |||
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formaldehyde | ||
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formaldehyde | ||
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Formaldehyd | ||
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formaldehyd | ||
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formaldeide | ||
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formaldehído | ||
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formaldehyd | ||
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formaldehyde | ||
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Record last updated: | 24/10/2024 |
Contact: | aeru@herts.ac.uk |
Please cite as: | Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D. and Green, A. (2016) An international database for pesticide risk assessments and management. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(4), 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2015.1133242 |