Trace Analysis and Biosensor Research Center, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand.
J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng. 2013;48(3):263-72. doi: 10.1080/10934529.2013.726810.
Formaldehyde was monitored in the workplace environment of an adhesive manufacturer producing formaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde resin using a cost-effective sol-gel-based sensor. The sensor was first evaluated by comparing its performance to the conventional 2,4-dinitrophynylhydrazine-devivatization method (2,4-DNPH) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a UV detector. The formaldehyde concentrations obtained by both techniques were not significantly different. The cost-effective sol-gel-based sensor was then used for monitoring formaldehyde levels in the laboratories, production areas and storage room. Formaldehyde concentrations in this adhesive manufacturer workplace environment were lower than the limit value of, 0.75 ppm for an 8-h time weight average and 2 ppm for a short-term exposure (15 min). However, the cancer risk for employees who worked in the laboratories, (1.7±0.7)×10(-4)-(5±2)×10(-4), were higher than the acceptable cancer risk recommended by the US EPA (10(-6)). Therefore, some precaution should be taken to reduce the risk, such as an increase of ventilation to dilute the levels of formaldehyde and use air cleaners to remove formaldehyde.
采用一种经济有效的基于溶胶-凝胶的传感器，对生产甲醛和脲醛树脂的胶粘剂制造商的工作环境中的甲醛进行了监测。首先，通过将该传感器的性能与传统的 2,4-二硝基苯肼衍生化法（2,4-DNPH）进行比较，对该传感器进行了评估，随后用高效液相色谱法与紫外检测器联用。这两种技术获得的甲醛浓度没有显著差异。然后，使用经济有效的基于溶胶-凝胶的传感器来监测实验室、生产区和储藏室中的甲醛水平。该胶粘剂制造商工作环境中的甲醛浓度低于 0.75 ppm 的 8 小时时间加权平均值限值和 2 ppm 的短期暴露限值（15 分钟）。然而，在实验室工作的员工的癌症风险（1.7±0.7）×10(-4)-(5±2)×10(-4)，高于美国环保署推荐的可接受的癌症风险（10(-6))。因此，应采取一些预防措施来降低风险，例如增加通风以稀释甲醛的浓度，并使用空气净化器去除甲醛。
