Proportionate Mortality among New York Embalmers

r Since the turn of the century, formaldehyde has been the main preservative in commercial embalming fluids (1). In an industrial hygiene survey of a mortuary science college conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the airborne formaldehyde concentrations exceeded 3.0 ppm in two samples when the ventilation system was closed and dropped to 0.20-0.91 ppm when the system was operating (2). A survey of six funeral homes revealed airborne formaldehyde levels ranging from 0.09-5.26 ppm, with average concentrations of 0.25-1.39 ppm. Paraformaldehyde particles with formaldehyde vapors were small enough to be deposited in the lungs (3). In humans, formaldehyde irritates the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, but the chronic effects of exposure are unknown (4). Serious concerns were raised by preliminary results of an animal inhalation study by the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, in which rats exposed to 15 ppm formaldehyde vapors developed a marked excess of nasal cancers (see Kerns et al., Chap. l C7