$40k renovation gives homeowner formaldehyde poisoning

She had spent about $40,000 making her new apartment liveable, but it turned out to be anything but a cosy home for her and her two cats.

Days after moving into her unit at a condominium in the east in November 2023, the 32-year-old loan consultant, who wanted to be known only by her first name, Aden, started feeling sick.

“There was a burning sensation in my eyes, up my nostrils and down my throat. At times, I could not breathe and suffered shortness of breath,” she told The Straits Times.

She was suffering from formaldehyde poisoning, which was diagnosed only after she was referred to an ophthalmologist.

Formaldehyde is commonly used in building products and household furnishings, and products containing the chemical can release particles that are hazardous to health, should levels of exposure be high.

Often found in resins and glues used in wooden furniture – as well as in composite wood products such as plywood and fibreboard – formaldehyde, commonly known as “new house smell”, can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, with long-term exposure linked to certain cancers.

“I should have caught on that something was not right because whenever I visited the apartment while work was going on, there was a pungent smell. It was particularly bad when the cabinets were being installed,” Aden said.

Another clue that she missed was that her cats, Bobby and Fluffy, stayed on the balcony, refusing to step inside.

“They were also affected. They kept their eyes shut, and they were losing fur, leaving red patches, especially on Bobby’s skin,” she added.

Aden was away from January to March 2024 for work and did not have any symptoms while overseas, but when she returned and spent a day at home, she became sick again.

“The apartment had been shut, so there was a build-up of toxic fumes. My organs, especially my right eye, felt like they were on fire, so I immediately went to the emergency department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH),” she said.

Aden was diagnosed with a severe allergic reaction at TTSH, but all the tests she was put through to determine what she was allergic to returned negative.

She was sent back into the hotbed of toxic fumes with just antibiotics and steroid eye drops.

“I texted the ID (interior decorator) to inform him. He was not sympathetic at all. He even admitted that he had used the cheapest material in order to close my deal,” she said, playing his voice message on WhatsApp.

“He also told me to keep the windows open and put charcoal around the apartment to mitigate the situation and everything would be okay,” Aden added.

Mr Benjamin Bala, associate director of litigation and dispute resolution at TSMP Law, said since there are currently no legal or regulatory restrictions on the use of compounds containing formaldehyde in renovation works, Aden’s main recourse would be to sue the contractor or interior designer for negligence.

He said: “That would require her to prove that the materials used caused her condition and that (the contractor or interior designer) knew or should have known there was such a likelihood possible.

“Even if he did not know that this set of materials could cause this poisoning, it’s arguable that the excessive use of certain compounds known to contain formaldehyde would constitute negligence.”

There have been recent media reports of people in Singapore falling sick due to high formaldehyde levels in their furnishings, and that home owners are seeking help to deal with such situations.

Since 2020, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has received 19 cases of feedback on formaldehyde levels arising from renovation works.

One family that moved into their swanky new apartment at Normanton Park fell terribly ill just days after moving in, like Aden. They were diagnosed with possible formaldehyde poisoning.

Without legal or regulatory restrictions on the use of formaldehyde currently, TSMP Law’s Mr Bala said concerned home owners could include in their contracts “clear provisions limiting the use of building or renovation materials containing formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs)”.

VOCs are chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals and refrigerants.

“For example, home owners can specify that at the time of handover, the formaldehyde levels in the occupied spaces indoors shall not exceed a certain amount. The current guideline is less than 0.08 parts per million.”

Home owners can check if the levels are under the agreed limit by using a device called a spectrophotometer.

“This will give the home owners a degree of certainty and assurance in terms of the indoor air quality post-renovation, as well as a clear basis for seeking legal recourse in the event that there is a breach of any term in the contracts,” Mr Bala said.

As for Aden, she had to seek a second opinion regarding her condition and was referred to an ophthalmologist.

“The eye specialist told me it was formaldehyde-induced conjunctivitis that resulted in subsequent wound infection of my right eye because of dryness caused by the VOC. The eyelid of the affected eye had to be stitched shut to allow the eye to heal,” she said.

Aden was also referred to infectious disease expert Leong Hoe Nam. She was hospitalised for four or five days and put on intravenous antibiotic treatment.

Aden, who had not been going out for fear of more infections, has since moved into her parents’ HDB flat with her cats.

She has hired a different contractor to tear down the interior of her apartment and renovate the whole place.

“It would probably mean another $20,000 spent on my new place, on top of the $40,000 already spent. Then there is also my hospitalisation bill and my ongoing medical treatments. I hope I will be able to recoup my losses,” she said.

Unfortunately, dispute amounts for formaldehyde-related issues may not be high, and a court process may be “prohibitively expensive”, Mr Bala said.

“Mediation could be one way to resolve such disputes,” he added.