According to the literature, no evidence has been furnished anywhere that formaldehyde causes cancer or has a mutagenic or teratogenic effect on human beings exposed to it in the concentrations for which its pungent odor is tolerable.
According to the German Federal Authorities, existing epidemiological studies also give no indication that the overall or individual tumor rates are higher for people exposed to formaldehyde.
The aldehyde emission in motor vehicle exhaust gas can be determined quantitatively using the 3-methyl-2-benzothiazole (MBTH) method or the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (ONPH) method. Results from measurements have been used to calculate aldehyde emission concentrations for a street canyon.
Dispersion model analyses were performed for a street canyon with heavy traffic. The resulting immission concentrations were significantly lower than the AIR QUALITY STANDARD of 0.1 ppm formaldehyde recommended by the German Federal Health Office for residential and office rooms.