It is well-known that electrosurgery produces VOCs (volatile organic compounds) including formaldehyde and various particulate matter, exposing operating room personnel to harmful substances throughout the procedure. Developing methods and devices to combat exposure to formaldehyde and other harmful chemical agents will improve the environment of care. ASHRAE 170 indicates minimum ventilation requirements for healthcare facilities (currently 20 ACH and positive pressure), however this specification does not indicate limits on air contamination levels and does not contain requirements that are adequate for all situations. 2 There is a large interest in reducing formaldehyde exposure due to a number of associated health concerns including coughing, irritation and asthma-like symptoms. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans. OSHA has specified a permissible exposure limit of 0.75 ppm as an 8 h time-weighted average as well as a short-term exposure limit of 2 ppm over a 15-minute period. Peripherally stationed air recirculating devices equipped with UV lamps and HEPA filters are currently used to disinfect and decontaminate the air in operating rooms (ORs). Inclusion of activated carbon in these devices removes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air. Activated carbon is typically included in surgical smoke evacuation systems to improve the air quality in ORs during electrosurgery. However, not all VOCs show the same propensity for binding to the surface of activated carbon. The binding strength of activated carbon to a VOC is dependent on a variety of factors including the surface composition of the activated carbon, molecular structure of the VOC and presence of competing adsorbates including water vapor. Assessment of the binding efficiency of formaldehyde to activated carbon is complicated due in part to its polar nature and variations in the surface chemical composition of differing activated carbon materials. A recent report showed that the charcoal present in a built-in filter port system used in laparoscopic surgery was unable to reduce formaldehyde levels significantly. In order to efficiently remove formaldehyde from an OR environment, we reasoned that a catalytic material that can chemically transform formaldehyde at room temperature to benign substances would provide a more reliable and robust approach compared to adsorptive removal. It is well known that transition metal oxides and noble metals can catalytically oxidize formaldehyde to CO2 and H2O. A significant advantage of a catalytic system is that it can be re-used whereas even an effective adsorptive material will become ineffective once all the binding sites are occupied. Additionally, surface adsorbed contaminants, including formaldehyde, can potentially undergo desorption and mix back into the room air. It was shown that increasing levels of water vapor reduce the breakthrough time for formaldehyde to desorb from activated carbon. Given that a significant portion of surgical plume is water vapor, the effectiveness of activated carbon technology is questionable when used for formaldehyde removal during electrosurgery. Similarly, competitive adsorption by irrelevant species can also reduce the effectiveness of an adsorbing media such as activated carbon. Developing a robust method for formaldehyde removal will provide a significant contribution to the safety of healthcare workers. In this report, we demonstrate that interfacing a polyurethane foam containing transition metal oxide catalyst with a medical grade air recirculating device significantly reduces formaldehyde levels in a simulated OR exposed to formalin and surgical smoke.