It is very common for funeral directors to be using formaldehyde for embalming dead bodies, but it is only recently that Harvard that School of Public Health researchers have found out the consequences and the risks posed on these directors who use this chemical on a regular basis.
The research has reinforced the links between formaldehyde and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is a fatal condition which affects about 30,000 Americans annually, and with time paralyzes the patients by damaging their nerves. The risk posed on veteran is much higher than the average, although the reasons are not clearly known yet.
Almost 1.5 million people and their database have been used by Andrea Roberts and colleagues at Harvard and each of these individuals have filled out a survey at least once, if not more about their professions.
They calculated on the basis of that whether or not any of the people had exposure to formaldehyde at their workplace.
Formaldehyde is used for various purposes such as making particle board, wood products, some glues, preservatives in shampoo and also at times in making permanent press fabrics. It is used for preserving tissues as well as storing biological samples in mortuaries. It has been classified as a possible human carcinogen at high exposures by the federal government.
It was found that men who had high probability of exposure to formaldehyde had been thrice as likely to have died of ALS in comparison to men who had no probable exposure. The survey didn’t find enough women with a job that left them with enough exposure to breathe in the chemical to figure out their risks.
Nerves get damaged in various ways through formaldehyde exposure and studies seeking to link ALS to embalming fluid have mixed results.
The researchers mentioned that only 2 men who died had very high probability of formaldehyde exposure at high levels and both had been funeral directors. Most ALS death was in people with no probable exposure to formaldehyde and that has been 372 people in total.
The researchers said, “Our results should be interpreted cautiously. Jobs involving both high probability and high intensity of formaldehyde are relatively uncommon in the USA, and ALS is also rare; there were only two ALS deaths among men in such jobs.”
They also said they will be looking into it more thoroughly.
The research findings have been published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
