Health and Safety Executive<\/a> (HSE) at two parts per million (ppm) over eight hours, which is seven times higher than the EU limit of 0.3ppm, and is the highest defined limit in the world. <\/p>\nThe UK\u2019s threshold also exceeds the level deemed safe in the US. Just last year, after completing a risk evaluation, the US Environmental Protection Agency ruled that formaldehyde presents an \u201cunreasonable risk of injury to human health\u201d.<\/p>\n
Pathologist Dr Richard Yates and academic Dr Magdalena Plesa have been trying to raise the issue with regulators after their research revealed last year that 70 per cent of 117 NHS pathology departments in England had exceeded the EU safety threshold regularly over 12 months, and 34 per cent had even exceeded the UK limit.<\/p>\n
Before Brexit, the HSE had been planning to bring the UK threshold into line with the EU, and in 2019, parliament was told by the regulator that there were plans to revise the limit. <\/p>\n
But in a letter to Dr Yates\u2019 MP Munira Wilson,in July, the HSE said: \u201cWhen Great Britain was part of the EU, HSE participated in the EU regime for setting workplace exposure limits (WELs). As we are no longer part of the EU regime, HSE has moved to a blended approach to controlling exposures, such as communicating what proportionate control measures it expects rather than solely introducing a WEL, as directed by evidence.\u201d <\/p>\n
Speaking to The Independent, Dr Yates said: \u201cPeople have been saying over the last 25 or 30 years that formaldehyde is the next asbestos, so it\u2019s not really a new position, and I think that we need to take it as seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, there\u2019s a bit of cognitive dissonance that\u2019s being applied in the situation at the moment, where you have a huge amount of regulation of asbestos as a carcinogen in the work environment, and very little regulation of formaldehyde as a carcinogen in the work environment, and that\u2019s what needs to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the known risks, just 54 per cent of NHS labs were monitoring formaldehyde levels more than once a month, according to Dr Yates\u2019s data. <\/p>\n
\u2018We believed it was safe\u2019 <\/p>\n
A recent report by the clinical negligence body NHS Resolution revealed that it had received 371 claims from NHS staff relating to exposure to harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde, between April 2013 and March 2023. It could not provide a breakdown of the number of claims that were specifically related to formaldehyde.<\/p>\n
NHS staff and university laboratory staff have described to The Independent and Channel 4 News how they have worked in a dilapidated lab environment, without adequate ventilation, while tubs of chemicals such as formaldehyde were left exposed and open. <\/p>\n
Mr Mifflin was left with such acute respiratory symptoms that he was forced to retire early, and now much of his time is spent at home, struggling with everyday tasks. <\/p>\n
![\"Mifflin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Outlook-44vubcak.png\")
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Mifflin has to use a Zimmer frame every time he walks his dog, because of the condition of his lungs (Channel 4 News)<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cFirst of all, it was just eyes and nose irritation, and then gradually, over time, I had sores in my nostrils, as well as vomiting, nosebleeds, and constant problems with my breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it got to the point where I was so lethargic, I was struggling to get up to go to work, and I just felt constantly ill \u2013 and I hadn\u2019t a clue why. I kept apologising to my line manager, saying \u2018I\u2019m not going to be able to come in again\u2019 \u2013 and she was great about it. But we didn\u2019t know what it was,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Mr Mifflin claims that he and his colleagues believed the work environment was safe: \u201cWell, we believed it, really. When I think back now, I can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he was exposed to formalin within a lab that did not have adequate ventilation. He also alleged that the university failed to tell staff that the ventilation system had not been working for a month. <\/p>\n
Mr Mifflin, who was represented by law firm Irwin Mitchell, was awarded a \u00a3200,000 settlement this year after the university accepted it had breached its duty of care in relation to exposing Mr Mifflin to formaldehyde during his employment. <\/p>\n
A University of Oxford spokesperson said: \u201cWe cannot comment on individuals, but we constantly strive to ensure that our facilities comply with current health and safety requirements, and that all staff are trained to use equipment and facilities safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Downdraft](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-(4).png\")
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Downdraft benches are usually used to protect workers from inhaling formaldehyde fumes (Channel 4 News)<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Scotland, Sally*, who worked as a biomedical scientist for NHS Lanarkshire, recalled the \u201cstink\u201d of formaldehyde as she entered the hospital\u2019s lab every day. She was forced to retire at 60 after developing severe asthma.<\/p>\n
Sally, who has asked to remain anonymous, began working at the health board in 1984, and described being surrounded by jars of formalin throughout her career. <\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWe were making up the jars of the formalin solution, and the place would absolutely stink. It\u2019s only really after my experiences that I realised that they didn\u2019t take enough care. We didn\u2019t have any respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE) \u2013 just some gloves and an apron if you were lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that jars containing human tissue samples are supposed to be stored on surfaces that draw the fumes down, called downdraft benches. However, in her lab, she described samples being left open and lined up in jars, trollies, or big buckets. <\/p>\n
In 2023, Sally was diagnosed with occupational asthma, which doctors linked to formalin exposure.<\/p>\n
Nine years later, in 2024, after further exposure to harsh cleaning chemicals during the Covid pandemic, she received a settlement from the trust, having retired due to ill health. <\/p>\n
Sally was represented by the law firm Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, which also reported a settlement for another worker, who was a lab assistant at the same health board. The other woman received a settlement of \u00a390,000 after it was found she had been exposed to \u201csignificant amounts of formalin\u201d.<\/p>\n
An NHS Lanarkshire spokesperson said: \u201cWhile we cannot comment on individual cases, scheduled monitoring has consistently shown formaldehyde levels below workplace limits. We have reviewed safety systems, and a 2024 Health and Safety Executive inspection found no issues. Ongoing monitoring will continue to ensure staff are not at risk from chemical exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a pregnant NHS lab worker in London claims she was fobbed off by managers when she attempted to find out the risks of formaldehyde to her unborn baby. She said she had asked for PPE, but was refused and was told to \u201cget on with it\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Department of Health and Social Care said: \u201cNHS trusts are responsible for ensuring safe working environments for all staff, and, where concerns are raised, we expect the Health and Safety Executive to take swift action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government inherited a crumbling NHS estate which had been starved of investment, but is turning this around through a record \u00a330bn for day-to-day maintenance and repairs \u2013 with over \u00a35bn allocated specifically to address the most critical cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
A HSE spokesperson said that employers have a \u201clegal duty to assess risks from hazardous substances and implement adequate control measures\u201d.<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cAs formaldehyde is a carcinogen, exposure must be reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the legal requirement is already to reduce exposure to the lowest reasonably practicable level, there would be no health risk benefit to be gained by lowering the current workplace exposure limit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware of the research concerning formaldehyde exposure in NHS pathology departments and have met with the researchers to discuss their findings.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Name has been changed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-323401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-(3).png\")
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