[Air pollution by formaldehyde in some Polish cities]

On the basis of won studies and the results reported by selected Sanitary-Epidemiological Stations the pollution of atmospheric air with formaldehyde was evaluated. All air samples were obtained by the aspiration method continuously during 24 hours. In the samples formaldehyde was determined by the colorimetric method with chromotropic acid. The obtained results showed that in the highly industrialized parts of the country excessive air contamination was present. The highest proportions of the results exceeding acceptable level were noted in Lódź--67.8%, and in Silesian cities, such as Dabrowa Górnicza--88.0%, Dzierzoniów--22.7%, Rybnik--39.0%, Wodzisław--31.0%, Wałbrzych--65%. In urban areas, even with high traffic intensity, no significantly excessive concentrations of formaldehyde in air were found. The proportion of results above the acceptable value was from 0.3 to 9.0%.