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Home Inspectors and Formaldehyde Testing
Formaldehyde testing (sampling) should be conducted by experienced professionals trained in indoor air quality issues.
During 2015 and 2016 we have noticed an increase in "home inspectors" performing various formaldehyde tests for prospective homebuyers in Naples and Fort Myers area. We have yet to see any of them follow accepted industry guidelines when collecting their samples.
The most common scenario is, the inspector buys a "cheap formaldehyde meter" (example: Formaldeter 805) and charges their client for a formaldehyde "test".
The homebuyer may as well flip a coin to determine if home has elevated formaldehyde levels.
The "meter" has no calibration certificate, no way to properly calibrate the equipment and no reliable lab to verify the results.
Real Estate professionals, homebuyers and homeowners should understand a reliable formaldehyde on site meter costs about $1000.00 and the type we see home inspectors using is less than $50.00.
| cheap formaldehyde meter |
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| no certificate of calibration for this meter |
Anyone, homebuyer or homeowner concerned about formaldehyde in a home should read the CPSC booklet Pub:725.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Publication 725 ............ 2013 Revision 012013
CPSC:
- "Be cautious of persons or businesses advertising formaldehyde testing - there may be unqualified or dishonest individuals seeking to take advantage of consumers.
- Has the test been validated by a reputable laboratory?
- Does the test have very specific instructions on where to place the sampler and for how long?"
- Do they have certifications and/or memberships in IAQ- related organizations (see below)
- American Board of Industrial Hygiene Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH)
• Board of Certified Safety Professionals'
Certified Safety Professional (CSP)
• American Indoor Air Quality Council-
1. Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC),
2. Certified Indoor Environmentalist (CIE)
3. Certified Indoor Air Quality Manager (CIAQM)
- American Industrial Hygiene Association member
• Indoor Air Quality Association member
- Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification member
- American Council for Accredited Certification member
Identifying an indoor air exposure limit for formaldehyde considering both irritation and cancer hazards
Crit Rev Toxicol. 2011 Sep; 41(8): 672-721.
Published online 2011 Jun 2. doi: 10.3109/10408444.2011.573467US EPA
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175005/..
"A weight of evidence-based formaldehyde exposure limit of 0.1 ppm (100 ppb) is recommended as an indoor air level for all individuals for odor detection and sensory irritation. It has recently been suggested by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) that formaldehyde is causally associated with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) and leukemia. This has led US EPA to conclude that irritation is not the most sensitive toxic endpoint and that carcinogenicity should dictate how to establish exposure limits for formaldehyde.
Coclusion for RESIDENTIAL INDOOR FORMALDEHYDE LIMITS:
"assessment concludes that a formaldehyde indoor air limit of 0.1 ppm shouldprotect even particularly susceptible individuals from both irritation effects and anypotential cancer hazard.
"The purpose of this paper is to provide the logic and rationale for deriving a residentialindoor air concentration for formaldehyde using the most defensible scientific datarelated to exposures and/or effects reliably associated with this chemical, including bothcancer and non-cancer effects
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