{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T21:42:52Z","timestamp":1782423772394,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Occup Environ Med"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The US Environmental Protection Agency has determined that formaldehyde presents an \u2018unreasonable risk of injury to human health\u2019. Occupational inhalation exposure is associated with short- and long-term damage to the respiratory, female reproductive and nervous systems, and is also carcinogenic. The European Union (EU) has recently introduced formaldehyde work exposure limits (WELs) lower (long-term 0.3 ppm; short-term 0.6 ppm) than those currently applied in the UK (long-term 2 ppm; short-term 2 ppm). UK regulation additionally requires exposure to carcinogens to be reduced to\n                      <jats:italic>as low as is reasonably practicable<\/jats:italic>\n                      . We evaluated formaldehyde airborne concentrations in National Health Service (NHS) cell pathology departments to assess the adequacy of exposure controls.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using the UK Freedom of Information Act (2000), we requested 12 months (2024\u20132025) of formaldehyde airborne monitoring data collected by cell pathology departments across 122 NHS Trusts in England (n=102), Scotland (n=10), Wales (n=6) and Northern Ireland (n=4). Results were evaluated empirically and using EN 689:2018 statistical methods to assess exposure variability, estimate upper-bound concentrations and determine the likelihood of adequate exposure control when benchmarked against EU WELs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 1\u2009715\u2009516 formaldehyde airborne monitoring results were disclosed by 117\u2009NHS cell pathology departments. Monitoring was infrequent, with 73% of sites measuring formaldehyde airborne concentrations once weekly or less. The EU long-term WEL was exceeded regularly at 70% of sites (95th percentile &gt;0.3\u2009ppm), and the EU short-term WEL was exceeded regularly at 43% of sites (95th percentile &gt;0.6\u2009ppm). The 95th percentile upper tolerance limit (UTL\n                      <jats:sub>95,70<\/jats:sub>\n                      ) exceeded the EU short-term WEL at 68% of sites. Only 11% and 17% of departments demonstrated frequent (once daily or more) formaldehyde airborne monitoring with 95th percentiles below the EU long- and short-term WELs, respectively.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Formaldehyde exposure is infrequently monitored and inadequately controlled in NHS cell pathology departments.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/oemed-2025-110545","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]],"date-time":"2026-06-03T00:00:10Z","timestamp":1780444810000},"page":"123-129","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Under the microscope: formaldehyde exposure in National Health Service pathology departments in the United Kingdom"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"83","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1297-2689","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Magdalena","family":"Plesa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Liverpool Management School, Liverpool, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3041-5288","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richard L","family":"Yates","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cellular Pathology, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.1","unstructured":"US Environmental Protection Agency . Risk evaluation for formaldehyde. 2024. Available: https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca\/risk-evaluation-formaldehyde"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.yrtph.2007.08.012"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S35","DOI":"10.4103\/0975-7406.155787","article-title":"Pulmonary function test in formalin exposed and nonexposed subjects: a comparative study","volume":"7","author":"Uthiravelu","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Pharm Bioallied Sci"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.4","first-page":"761","article-title":"Occupational exposure to formaldehyde and histopathological changes in the nasal mucosa","volume":"45","author":"Edling","year":"1988","journal-title":"Br J Ind Med"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0248258","article-title":"Exposure to formaldehyde and asthma outcomes: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and economic assessment","volume":"16","author":"Lam","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1097-0274(199907)36:1<206::AID-AJIM29>3.0.CO;2-D"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp.2008.156976"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp-2015-310750"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"893","DOI":"10.1007\/s10654-017-0249-8","article-title":"Occupational Formaldehyde and ALS","volume":"32","author":"Seals","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eur J Epidemiol"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.10","first-page":"e633","article-title":"Association Between Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde and Cognitive Impairment","volume":"98","author":"Letellier","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurology (ECronicon)"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers14010165","article-title":"The Carcinogenic Effects of Formaldehyde Occupational Exposure: A Systematic Review","volume":"14","author":"Protano","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cancers (Basel)"},{"key":"2026062501401039000_83.3.123.12","unstructured":"National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, et al . 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