15 ms·

Formaldehyde. Nothing on concentrations or anything, which makes it difficult to assess the risk level, compared to e.g. a cheap bed made out of particleboard

Formaldehyde. Nothing on concentrations or anything, which makes it difficult to assess the risk level, compared to e.g. a cheap bed made out of particleboard and foam mattresses. Meh.

CharlesW 3y ago
Not just formaldehyde fumes, BTW: "In announcing a massive recall of ventilators and sleep apnea machines, Philips Respironics acknowledged that an industrial foam placed inside the devices to reduce noise could break apart and send tiny particles and fumes into the noses, mouths and lungs of patients." https://www.propublica.org/article/nine-stories-of-people-impacted-by-philips-breathing-machine-recall https://www.propublica.org/article/nine-stories-of-people-im...
- lrasinen 3y ago
  That was the original polyurethane foam, this article talks about its replacement. Still, sucks for the affected. I just got my CPAP machine and if I had to choose between cancer or constant sleep deprivation, I'm not sure which way I'd go.
  - elric 3y ago
    Easy: get a resmed machine. They're better than the respironics machines in every possible way.
    - lrasinen 3y ago
      Happily mine is a ResMed so I don't need to make that choice.
DannyBee 3y ago
This is not surprising, actually. Plenty of non-PU foams use formaldehyde based resins - melamine-formaldehyde foam is an example.
lrasinen 3y ago
The article states "[WHO threshold proposed by Philips] allows for far higher formaldehyde emissions than benchmarks used by other organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency." The WHO threshold is, based on quick googling, 0.08 ppm which sounds pretty reasonable. I have been unable to find a corresponding EPA value. Anyone got better luck?
- rzzzt 3y ago
  I can't find anything on foam either, just the resin in wood products: - https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/laws-and-regulations-concerning-formaldehyde https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/laws-and-regulations-concer... - https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0461-0001 https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0461-0... ("Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products", linked from the first page, this one has ppmz) - https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/home/update-formaldehyde https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/home/upd... ("An update on formaldehyde", lists some numbers like 0.1 ppm for absolute upper limit without adverse effects for most people, 0.03 ppm in low-emission environments)

Formaldehyde. Nothing on concentrations or anything, which makes it difficult to assess the risk level, compared to e.g. a cheap bed made out of particleboard and foam mattresses. Meh.

CharlesW 3y ago

Not just formaldehyde fumes, BTW: "In announcing a massive recall of ventilators and sleep apnea machines, Philips Respironics acknowledged that an industrial foam placed inside the devices to reduce noise could break apart and send tiny particles and fumes into the noses, mouths and lungs of patients." https://www.propublica.org/article/nine-stories-of-people-impacted-by-philips-breathing-machine-recall https://www.propublica.org/article/nine-stories-of-people-im...

lrasinen 3y ago
That was the original polyurethane foam, this article talks about its replacement. Still, sucks for the affected. I just got my CPAP machine and if I had to choose between cancer or constant sleep deprivation, I'm not sure which way I'd go.
- elric 3y ago
  Easy: get a resmed machine. They're better than the respironics machines in every possible way.
  - lrasinen 3y ago
    Happily mine is a ResMed so I don't need to make that choice.

DannyBee 3y ago

This is not surprising, actually. Plenty of non-PU foams use formaldehyde based resins - melamine-formaldehyde foam is an example.

lrasinen 3y ago

The article states "[WHO threshold proposed by Philips] allows for far higher formaldehyde emissions than benchmarks used by other organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency." The WHO threshold is, based on quick googling, 0.08 ppm which sounds pretty reasonable. I have been unable to find a corresponding EPA value. Anyone got better luck?

rzzzt 3y ago
I can't find anything on foam either, just the resin in wood products: - https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/laws-and-regulations-concerning-formaldehyde https://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde/laws-and-regulations-concer... - https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0461-0001 https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0461-0... ("Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products", linked from the first page, this one has ppmz) - https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/home/update-formaldehyde https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/home/upd... ("An update on formaldehyde", lists some numbers like 0.1 ppm for absolute upper limit without adverse effects for most people, 0.03 ppm in low-emission environments)