Meet The Villains: Ferocious Formaldehyde
Off-gassing into our lives, Ferocious Formaldehyde is one guy you definitely don’t want around your home. He uses his well-known super powers to harm our health, mostly as we inhale him. He’s managed to get into many products in our homes thanks to poor defenses in laws that are supposed to protect us from harmful chemicals.
We’re starting a new blog series today called “Meet The Villains”. We’ll be profiling some of the dastardly chemicals that invade our homes on a daily basis. Please add your name to the League of Everyday Superheroes Pledge and help us put these guys away once and for all!
Off-gassing into our lives, Ferocious Formaldehyde is one guy you definitely don’t want around your home. He uses his well-known super powers to harm our health, mostly as we inhale him. He’s managed to get into many products in our homes thanks to weak laws that are supposed to protect us from harmful chemicals.
Ferocious infiltrates our homes via pressed wood furniture, building materials like carpets and plywood, and textiles. He’s also fond of hiding out in many cosmetics and home cleaners. Although he’s a sneaky fellow, he can have a hard time hiding as he gives off a powerful smell wherever he goes.
This stinky bad guy is classified as a known human carcinogen and is associated with leukemia, nose and throat cancer, and asthma. He’s also an eye, nose, and throat irritant.
Long a villain in home building materials, Ferocious was recently unmasked as an ingredient in wrinkle-free clothing, FEMA trailers provided to Hurricane Katrina evacuees, and hair straightening treatments.
Despite recent federal legislation to limit formaldehyde in manufactured wood, there is very little regulation of this guy in the United States. So he’s been able to fly below the radar and go pretty much wherever he wants.
The good news is that, thanks to a small band of Everyday Superheroes, we’re on a path to finding Ferocious’ kryptonite so we can finally put him behind bars.
But we sure could use some more superheroes. Want to enlist? Just take the League of Everyday Superheroes pledge and help us put these guys away once and for all!
Oh, and until Ferocious is safely put away, you can protect yourself and your family from his evil doing by following these tips.
formaldehyde
Some folks may remember the story about China shipping plywood to the US that contained high levels of formaldehyde. People were outraged to learn that the plywood could not be sold in China because the levels were so high. What few articles failed to mention is that it was perfectly legal to sell this wood in America. China's safety laws were more protective than America's.
This isn't an oversight on our government's part. We had a ban in place which was quickly overturned. I recently posted a review of these events on my blog at: http://cagefreezen.wordpress.com/[…]/