[Formaldehyde chamber disinfection: not suitable for respirators and anesthesia equipment].

After formaldehyde-chamber-disinfection of respirators considerable quantities of formaldehyde deposit (presumably deep adsorption) within the devices. When the apparatuses are re-employed the respired air contains more than 1,000 (in individual cases more than 4,000) micrograms/m3. Thus all limits are exceeded by far. The liberation of the formaldehyde deposited in considerable amounts comes off according to an exponential equation dependent on the time of employment slowly, that with following chamber disinfections the quantities of formaldehyde in the apparatuses are still increased and still higher loadings of the respired gas occur. Even after employing them for a long time either non-stop or intermittently "saturated" respirators can not be used again. The disinfection according to the principle of the Aseptor-chamber or its imitations has to be refused for respirators and similar medical technical devices, e.g. incubators.