Calcium formate seems to be safe as a calcium supplement for people with one time doses of 3.9 g (1200 of calcium) per day. Increases in blood formate concentration have been observed with such doses, but in healthy subjects the formate does not accumulate, and is quickly metabolized. Calcium formate is shown to be more readily absorbed form of calcium than calcium carbonate and calcium citrate. No optic nerve damage has been observed with calcium formate supplementation – along with formaldehyde, formate is a major metabolic product of methanol, which can cause blindness upon ingestion
Calcium formate could be used to remove environmentally harmful (see acid rain) sulfur oxides (SOX) from fossil fuel exhausts of e.g. power plants. Calcium formate is added to wet calcium carbonate to promote the formation of gypsum when exhaust is run through it. This process is called wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGS). Gypsum binds sulfur oxides thus reducing their release to the environment via exhaust. Calcium formate seems to be more effective than or almost equally as effective as some other industrially used WFGS agents
