Formaldehyde in occupational environments: Literature review and an occupational health surveillance proposal

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Abstract

Introduction: Formaldehyde is a substance widely used in the industry; however, it is classified as mutagenic and carcinogenic to humans. In order to determine the risk of workers who are occupationally exposed to formaldehyde, it is necessary to monitor its environmental concentra-tion levels and the biomarkers that allow identifying its potential health effects. Unfortunately, in Colombia there are not guidelines on occupational exposure to this substance. Objective: To review recent studies on occupational exposure to formaldehyde to design a monitoring and surveillance strategy for Colombian workers exposed to this substance. Materials and methods: A literature review was conducted in PubMed, MedLine, Science-Direct and Embase using the following search strategy: articles on occupational exposure to formaldehyde published in English or Spanish between 2013 and 2017. The following search terms were used: “occupational exposure”, “formaldehyde” “mutagenicity test” y “DNA adducts” and their Spanish equivalents. Results: The initial search yielded 103 articles, of which only 36 met the inclusion criteria. Conclusions: Proper management of the risk derived from occupational exposure to formaldehyde, as well as the appropriate medical follow-up of these workers, requires the implementation of a series of interdisciplinary actions that allow the creation of a compre-hensive occupational health surveillance system for workers exposed to this substance.

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Villadiego-Molinares, M. M., Ramírez-Martínez, J. A., & Rodriguez-Pulido, A. I. (2020). Formaldehyde in occupational environments: Literature review and an occupational health surveillance proposal. Revista Facultad de Medicina. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v68n3.73188

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