Formaldehyde release from durable-press apparel textiles. Final project report to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission
A survey of formaldehyde (CH/sub 2/O) release from durable-press apparel textiles has been performed to better characterize the CH/sub 2/O emission properties of fabrics marketed in the US. An intercomparison of the ORNL extraction, the Japanese standard and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) sealed jar methods using 12 fabrics selected from the textile survey yielded an average emission ratio of 0.46 +- 0.16 for the ORNL/AATCC methods and 1.5 +- 0.5 for the ORNL/Japenese methods. The average CH/sub 2/O releases from the survey fabrics, as measured with the ORNL extraction test, were 117 +- 140, 58 +- 72, 19 +- 17 and 31 +- 29 ..mu..g CH/sub 2/O/g fabric for top-weight, bottom-weight, knit and flatgood categories, respectively. Formaldehyde releases of <100 ..mu..g CH/sub 2/O/g fabric were measured from 86% of the survey fabrics. Three to fourfold increases in CH/sub 2/O release were observed with additional seven to nine weeks of storage in a laboratory environment between repeated testing using the ORNL extraction test. The strongest emitting fabrics with initial emission levels of >125 ..mu..g CH/sub 2/O/g fabric exhibited a 74 +- 11% decline in CH/sub 2/O emission levels following the first washing, with an additional 13 +- 6% decline after the completion of six further washings. The weakest emitting fabrics with initial emission levels of <25 ..mu..g CH/sub 2/O/g fabric demonstrated both increases and decreases in CH/sub 2/O emission strength after washing but never exceeded 11 ..mu..g CH/sub 2/O/g fabric.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5074017
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-9790; ON: DE86003002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Walk-through survey report of the C. F. Hathaway Company, Waterville, Maine, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, February 10-12, 1981
Textile printing: an ancient art and yet so new