The
formaldehyde content of textiles has been legally limited in only a few countries. Finland followed Japan in 1987 and introduced strict limits for textile
formaldehyde content. The comprehensive registration system of
occupational diseases in Finland has enabled the study of the incidence of
occupational diseases caused by
formaldehyde among workers in the textile and clothing industries. Diagnosed
occupational diseases caused by
formaldehyde were relatively rare in 1975-1993, and no decrease in the incidence of occupational
formaldehyde diseases were observed after regulations were implemented at the end of 1987. Limitations on textile
formaldehyde content are needed, however, because textiles with
formaldehyde content of 435-855 micrograms/g can cause irritating airborne concentrations during pressing in clothing industry. With modern low
formaldehyde cross-linking agents it is possible to achieve textile
formaldehyde content less than 100 micrograms/g, as determined by the Japanese
acetylacetone method. When limits for textile
formaldehyde content are considered, it is also important to define the test method because the existing procedures produce different results.