Explore the Many Uses of Formaldehyde

This simple molecule plays an invaluable role in many areas of the economy including the aerospace, automotive and building and construction sectors. It is essential to the workings of the human body and other biological systems and is used in making pill coatings, heart valves and vaccines. Its benefits have been improving our lives for more than a century.

A close look at the stamp below reveals leg braces that were worn by thousands of children and adults who suffered from poliomyelitis until the 1960s. One of the most famous victims of polio was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32^nd President of the United States, who was stricken as an adult and forced to use the type of heavy leg braces that appear in the stamp, although he most often appeared publicly in a wheelchair. Thousands of U.S. and Canadian children and adults did not survive the disease and it still persists today in developing countries.

Formaldehyde played a pivotal role in the defeat of polio by allowing Jonas Salk to pioneer a "killed-virus" vaccine that would immunize without the potential risk of injecting a live virus.

The Formaldehyde Council, Inc. (FCI) was formed by the producers and users of formaldehyde to ensure that accurate information regarding the use of this important compound would be available to the public. FCI supports the scientific evaluation of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-based materials. The organization is dedicated to communicating credible scientific information relating to the uses, benefits and sustainability of those products and the potential risk that may be associated with their manufacture.

Canadian stamp issued In 2005 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first mass polio vaccination campaign. Click on the stamp to learn more.
 
 

The majority of the content on this web site is taken from the Global Insight report, "The Economic Benefits of Formaldehyde to the United States and Canadian Economies," August 2005. Additional sources include FCI fact sheets, backgrounders and member company brochures.