First, let’s get to know formaldehyde.
◎Properties of formaldehyde: A colorless, easily soluble, irritating gas that can be absorbed through the respiratory tract, and its aqueous solution "formalin" can be absorbed through the digestive tract.
◎Hazards of formaldehyde: Long-term exposure to low-dose formaldehyde can cause chronic respiratory diseases, female menstrual disorders, pregnancy syndrome, reduced physical fitness of newborns, chromosomal abnormalities, and even nasopharyngeal cancer. High concentrations of formaldehyde are toxic to the nervous system, immune system, liver, etc. Formaldehyde also has teratogenic and carcinogenic effects. People who are exposed to formaldehyde for a long time may cause cancer in the nasal cavity, oral cavity, nasopharynx, throat, skin and digestive tract.
12 manifestations of indoor pollution
1. When you get up every morning, you feel depressed, nauseous, or even dizzy;
2. Family members are often susceptible to Colds;
3. Although I don’t smoke and rarely come into contact with smoking environments, I often feel uncomfortable with noise, have a foreign body sensation, and have difficulty breathing;
4. Children at home often Coughing, sneezing, decreased immunity, children are reluctant to go home in newly renovated houses;
5. Family members often suffer from skin allergies and other problems, and they occur in groups;
6 , Family member *** has a disease, and after leaving this environment, the symptoms have changed significantly and improved;
7. Newlyweds have not been pregnant for a long time, and the reason cannot be found;
8. Pregnant women find fetal abnormalities during normal pregnancy;
9. After a new move or decoration, indoor plants are not easy to survive, and the leaves are easy to turn yellow and wither, especially some plants with the strongest vitality. Difficult to grow normally
10. After moving, the domestic pet cat, dog or tropical fish died inexplicably, and the same happened at the neighbor's house;
11. I felt a sore throat when I went to work. Dry respiratory tract, dizziness and fatigue after a long time, no problem after get off work, and other staff in the same building also feel this way;
12. Newly renovated rooms in homes and office buildings or newly purchased rooms Some of the furniture has irritating odors such as eye-catching and pungent smell, and the smell still persists after more than a year.
Specific manifestations and cases of indoor pollution
1. Tachycardia syndrome
Symptoms: After buying new furniture, the smell in the home is unpleasant and unacceptable. , and cause physical illness.
Case: At the end of December 2000, Ms. Li spent 3,300 yuan on a fabric sofa at Fulite Furniture City. On the surface, no quality problems were found on the sofa, but it was found after a short time in the room. There was a bad smell coming from the sofa. Ms. Li, who has retired at home, does not dare to stay at home for a long time. As soon as she enters the room, she feels difficulty breathing, gasps for breath, and even wakes up at night when she sleeps. What made Ms. Li even more distressed was that in the past few days, Ms. Li developed a tachycardia problem, jumping to more than 100 beats a minute. But strangely, when she went to the hospital for a check-up, her heartbeat dropped to 80 beats. The testing center conducted an air quality test on the 18th and found that the amount of benzene volatilized in the adhesive used on the sofa sponge was as high as 20 milligrams per cubic meter, which is 8.3 times higher than the relevant national standards. No wonder Ms. Li couldn't stand it.
Prescription: Treat furniture containing pollutants with formaldehyde and then ventilate it.
2. Smoker-like syndrome
Symptoms: Although I do not smoke and rarely come into contact with smoking environments, I often feel uncomfortable in my throat, have a foreign body sensation, and have difficulty breathing.
Case: In 1998, Mr. Chen Ying asked a decoration company to carry out decoration. After the project was completed and he moved in, Mr. Chen felt that the indoor smell was pungent, causing sore throat and cough, burning eyes and making him unable to live in it. Moreover, Mr. Chen's throat disease worsened as a result. After examination at the hospital, it was found that he had a "laryngeal papilloma" and he underwent surgery at Union Medical College Hospital. He asked the testing unit to test his residence. After the room was closed for 24 hours as required, experts from the testing center conducted an indoor air test with tears (due to harmful gases in the room). The result was that the formaldehyde content in the bedroom was as high as one cubic meter. 1.56 mg, 19.5 times higher than the national standard.
Prescription: Seal harmful interior decoration parts, especially inferior artificial boards, with formaldehyde.
3. Toddler Syndrome
Symptoms: Children at home often cough, sneeze, have reduced immunity, and are unwilling to go home to a newly renovated house.
Case: Ms. Wu, who lives in Liangxiang, Beijing, had a strong smell in the room after the decoration was completed in May 2000. However, because she was about to hand over the old house to someone else, she moved in immediately after the decoration. As a result, starting from September, Ms. Wu's 3-year-old son began to fall ill. He initially suffered from pharyngitis and chronic asthma. Gradually, his immunity declined and his body's resistance weakened. He did not go to kindergarten for a few days in the whole winter.
The child who was originally chubby has shrunk in size over the past six months. He went to the hospital for multiple examinations but could not find out the reason. Recently, Ms. Wu saw reports about injuries to children caused by the indoor environment. She felt that the child's body was related to the indoor environment at home, and hurriedly asked experts for testing.
After on-site sampling and laboratory analysis, it was found that 10 months after Ms. Wu’s room was renovated, the formaldehyde content per cubic meter of indoor air reached 0.36 mg, more than four times the national standard!
Prescription: When decorating children's rooms, pay attention to the use of harmless materials; wait until all decoration odors have been removed before letting children live in them; carry out effective indoor air testing and management.
4. Group dermatosis syndrome
Symptoms: Family members often have skin allergies and other problems, and they occur in groups.
Case: Ms. Chen, who lives in Chengshou Temple, paid great attention to the indoor environment when decorating. There was basically no pollution in the room. Unexpectedly, there was something wrong with the integrated kitchen she ordered for more than 3,000 yuan. The strong irritating smell made the woman The owner didn't dare to cook in the kitchen because if he stayed there for a little longer, his neck and face would have allergic reactions, swelling and itching. The hostess's mother also had the same reaction.
Prescription: Only by removing the source of pollution can the common symptoms of the whole family be cured.
5. Family cluster disease syndrome
Symptoms: A family member has a disease, and after leaving this environment, the symptoms will change and improve significantly.
Case: In 1997, consumer Liu Zhong purchased a 180-square-meter room in Room 702, Tower 1 of Huade Apartments for 1.82 million yuan as a residence. Shortly after moving in, he discovered that the indoor air was seriously polluted. Liu Zhong Mr. Liu's entire family felt unwell. Mr. Liu originally had allergic rhinitis, which worsened after moving in. His son was diagnosed with pharyngitis by the hospital. Later, the testing department was asked to conduct indoor air quality testing. The results showed that ammonia and formaldehyde in the indoor air seriously exceeded the national standards. The highest ammonia gas exceeded the national residential area air standard by 14.2 times, and the average exceeded the national standard by 9.36 times; the highest formaldehyde exceeded the national standard. The standard is 1.5 times, and the average exceeds the standard by 1.05 times.
Prescription: In addition to decoration, part of indoor environmental pollution also comes from building materials. Before buying a house and moving in, it is best to have the air in the house tested or treated before moving in.
6. Infertility syndrome
Symptoms: Newlyweds cannot conceive for a long time, and the reason cannot be found.
Case: On the afternoon of May 10, 2000, a resident who lived on Xueyuan Road smashed his azalea green granite in anger. With the help of radioactive detection experts from the University of Geosciences, the young man finally found the cause of his wife's infertility: the murderer who killed his sperm was actually the granite used to decorate the toilet two years ago. It turned out that the young man's wife had been infertile after getting married. The final hospital examination was his responsibility. They said his sperm survival rate was extremely low. The doctor said it might be due to excessive radioactive radiation exposure. In his one-bedroom and one-living room suite, the living room and toilet are all made of azalea green granite. After on-site testing of the stone, it was found that the azalea green stone far exceeds the national standards for the use of stone in bedrooms and contains radioactive elements. The content is very uneven, and the radioactivity level at individual points is quite high. Some measuring points are Category C, and some measuring points are above Category C. They cannot be used on the exterior walls of buildings. Living in an environment with such high levels of radioactive radiation may, of course, cause harm to the body.
Prescription: Strong radioactivity can not only cause infertility, but also cause signs of cancer. Therefore, when using natural stone and its products in home decoration, you must pay attention to radioactive issues.
7. Fetal malformation syndrome
Symptoms: Pregnant women find fetal malformations under normal pregnancy conditions.
Case: Doctors at Beijing Chaoyang District Maternal and Child Health Hospital induced a baby girl with deformity for Li Rongju, a pregnant woman who came to Beijing to work. The fetus, which was just five months old, had no stomach. What was even more strange was that her mouth pointed out and was higher than her nose, and there was a small hole in her lower jaw. A few days ago, Li Rongju came to the hospital for a B-ultrasound examination. The doctor found that the fetus was malformed and suggested induction of labor. The result proved that the doctor's diagnosis was correct. According to the pregnant woman herself, she had given birth to a child before, and there was no abnormality. Her body was also normal. However, her husband was a painter who worked in interior decoration all year round, and the place where she worked had just been renovated. Therefore, the maternal and child health hospital Doctors speculate that pregnant women may be exposed to toxic and harmful substances during pregnancy, which may lead to fetal malformations.
Prescription: Maternal and child health expert Dr. Zheng Guirong reminds newly married young couples not to come into contact with toxic and harmful objects before and during pregnancy, and to go to the hospital for regular check-ups after pregnancy.
8. Plant Wilting Syndrome
Symptoms: After a new move or decoration, indoor plants are not easy to survive, and the leaves are easy to turn yellow and wither, especially some plants with the strongest vitality. It is also difficult to grow normally.
Case: On a Monday morning in January 2001, employees of a company working in a high-end office building in Xuanwumen excitedly walked into the newly renovated office. However, as soon as they opened the office door , everyone was shocked by the sight in front of them. In the office of more than 300 square meters, the leaves of various flowers and trees that were still flourishing when they got off work on weekends were all withered, even the flower arrangements on the desks of the employees were no exception... In addition, Many employees felt that the indoor smell was abnormal, and some employees even experienced symptoms such as respiratory irritation, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and dizziness. After testing the indoor air in the company's office, 3 of the 5 items of indoor air were found to be abnormal. It complies with the relevant national standards, among which formaldehyde exceeds the national standard 8 times!
Prescription: The abnormal death of plants is also an important signal that indoor air is polluted. If your home also has such a problem, you should look for the cause from decoration pollution.
9. Pet death syndrome
Symptoms: After moving to a new house, pet cats, dogs and even tropical fish die inexplicably, and the same happens at the neighbor's house.
Case: A strange thing happened in a newly built high-rise residential building in a certain place. A few days after the residents moved into their new homes, all the pet kittens and puppies raised by each family died inexplicably. After many searches, the cause could not be found. Later, experts from the testing center were asked to conduct on-site testing. It was found that the indoor radon content was particularly high, mainly coming from slag bricks used in local construction.
After a Beijing resident’s newly renovated room, the smell in the room was pungent. Not only were the flowers and plants that had been raised for many years turned yellow, but even the tropical fish that had been raised at home for many years died one by one. According to the inspection center Experts have detected that harmful gases in indoor air seriously exceed standards.
Prescription: Pets are sometimes more sensitive to indoor air pollution than people. Especially for colorless, odorless, radioactive radon gas. This gas is heavier than air, so it often collects on house floors. Pets are much more susceptible to radon than people and therefore are most susceptible to radon gas.
The above phenomena often appear in newly renovated homes, so they are also called "new home syndrome". People spend more than 80% of their lives indoors, and the quality of indoor air is closely related to our health. If you and your family have these symptoms, please carry out indoor environmental testing and management immediately to eliminate the "ticking time bomb" buried around you as soon as possible.
To check whether you have the above symptoms, you can also put a few pots of flowers and plants in your workplace and raise a few white rats or fish to observe their reactions.
First of all, I am not an expert, but I can assert that it will definitely be harmful to the body. Working there is tantamount to chronic suicide. Even if I was given a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan, I would not go.
< p>Do you smell a strong formaldehyde smell? After working there for several years, I suggest you change your job. Remember! !