Thread: Plywood and formaldehyde ?

I have never had clearly evident problems with ply wood but I lost my sense of smell for 3 weeks from using MDF to build the insides of a very large computer.

I sealed the MDF with 2 coats of sanding sealer and now it does not bother me. However, whenever I work MDF I very quickly begin to smell BBQ sauce and smoke and if I keep working with it it gets stronger and I am worried about losing my sense of smell again. Even just me thinking about this and writing about it makes me sense these smell faintly.

CorpWatch : US: Unwanted Imports: Goods deemed toxic elsewhere shipped to U.S.
this one on on banned ply wood

Toxic Trailers Traced to Chinese Plywood
this one on trailers, that used Chinese ply

Timber e-News | Issue 17
this one from our own industry newsletter.

About the only way to check it definitively would be to get an environmental testing company to measure the indoor air for formaldehyde levels.

However, formaldehyde clears from the body fairly quickly - are you able to relocate to somewhere else for a few weeks to see if your symptoms abate, as this might be cheaper than an air test (even if you are in a hotel or something).

If you've still got some of the ply around, you might be able to figure out what emission level it has - it should be stamped with the brand/makers name and emission levels...but if it's cheap stuff of unknown provenance, it might be cheaper in the long run to re-line in something else!

Thanks for the help and advice. I have ordered a one-time test kit that I hope will tell me what the levels are like in here. As sad as it is I haven't been away from here for 2 weeks, not even 1 week. About 2 days is the most I have been away and that was before all the plywood was added last year.

Scary reading some of those links you posted. I just hope the stuff installed is outdoor lower level wood (as supposedly the outdoor stuff has less toxins).

I tried looking all over the wood but can't see a label, I am guessing the builder put that side facing the outer layer, which makes sense.

Blaze
I am a LEED AP and that means I deal with kind of thing on a regular basis.
It will help if you air the room out as much as possible. You can also clean the air by keeping live green plants in the room. The plants will absorb the toxins and convert them into oxygen.

NASA did a study on air quality in closed spaces a long time ago and they came up with list of plants that work best. That list is on the net. They also put a charcoal filter under the roots of the plants and forced air through the filter. The roots of the plant grew into the charcoal and absorbed the toxins and cleaned the charcoal. The efficiency went way up. Then they added a grow light and the efficiency went up again.

There is company here in the States that makes a commercial version but it is expensive and shipping would be expensive also.
Regards
Joe

Thanks jredburn, I will definitely look in to the plants, I don't have much spare space but I can try and add some. I try and keep my window open 80% of the time now if I can, but that may change come Winter. I will check that NASA list out in a moment.

Sadly my place gets so hot due to all the electrical equipment, often around 35 degrees Celsius, so I am guessing that doesn't help matters.

If I decided to paint the plywood with seal, any idea if just painting one side will help ? The other side faces the outer wall (that is facing against loglap). I am just thinking if I seal it then it probably has to escape somewhere.

Thanks again !!

Paint won't really form much of a barrier to formaldehyde. Strip and reline with gyprock or equivalent.