With so many health risks associated with formaldehyde use, it’s understandable if people don’t want to get exposed to it. However, it’s important to put the compound’s dangers in the right context.
Formaldehyde is an integral part in plywood manufacturing. Since ply is one of the most popular building materials around, it would be difficult to avoid using it.
The formaldehyde emissions from plywood tend to be at their highest immediately after the manufacturing process. This is when timber sheets are bonded together using phenol formaldehyde adhesive.
However, the formaldehyde emissions do eventually subside after a few weeks. Manufacturers also apply phenolic coating to plywood to help lower emission levels even further.
By the time the product reaches your plywood supplier, their formaldehyde emissions will will have become close to negligible.
Studies have shown a possible connection between formaldehyde use and cancer development. But we have to remember that the cancer-causing effects mostly appear after exposure to high levels of the compound.
Ply products typically emit only very low levels of formaldehyde. In fact, regulators in the United States and Europe consider the emissions far too low to even have any significant impact.
