A Study on the Disposable Diapers for Formaldehyde Content and its Recognizability and Consumer's Attitudes toward the Products

일회용 기저귀의 Formaldehyde 함량과 인지도 및 소비실태에 관한 연구

  • Nam Sang Woo (Dept. Home Economics Education, Chungang Univ.) ;
  • Lee Sun Young (Dept. of Home Economics, Dongjoo Women's College Instructor)
  • 남상우 (중앙대학교 사범대학 가정교육학과) ;
  • 이선영 (동주여자전문대학 가정학과)
  • Published : 1987.12.01

Abstract

This study was designed to measure the amount of formaldehyde in the disposable diapers of seven different products. It was aimed to investigate the actual situation of the diaper consumption and to relate it to the amount of formaldehyde measured. The degree of recognizability on the harmfulness of formaldehyde was also studied. The amount of formaldehyde was measured by means of the Acetyl Acetone method. The a ual situation of consumption and the recognizability of the formaldehyde were investigated by questionnaire. In the survey, the subjects had their babies aged from 0$\~$3 years and lived in Seoul. The statistical methods used were simple frequency and chi-square. The results obtained from this study were as follows; 1) Among seven (7) different disposable diapers, two were found to have less amount of formaldehyde than the Japanese regulation. 2) From the survey on the actual situation of consumption most respondents ($53.7\%$) experienced the dermatological problem after using the disposable diapers. Actually for the diapers which had a lot of formaldehyde, the respondents experienced the problems more severely. 3) The recognizability of formaldehyde was very low. The recognizability on the harnfulness of formaldehyde was lower, which represented the consumers had least or no knowledge about the formaldehyde release problem.

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