08/19/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/19/2024 16:33
WASHINGTON (August 19, 2024) - Today, the American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Formaldehyde Panel issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Final Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Assessment of Formaldehyde:
"As required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), any assessment of formaldehyde must begin with the best available science. This assessment fails that test and is therefore unfit for regulatory decision-making. EPA's final assessment fails to reflect fundamental criticism from multiple peer review bodies or public comments provided by hundreds of experts, stakeholders, and other agencies. The Agency is on a path to ignore applicable scientific standards and procedural requirements, and issue unscientific and legally unsound regulatory actions based on this flawed assessment under TSCA and other laws later this year.
"If EPA continues on its current path, formaldehyde manufacturing and many of its downstream uses could be severely restricted or potentially banned in the U.S., with an overwhelmingly negative impact on the environment, human health, national security, and the economy.
Any assessment of formaldehyde must begin with the best available science and the fact that formaldehyde is an ever-present part of the natural world. Backed by decades of responsible innovation and regulation, formaldehyde is essential to goods including contributing to a sustainable future for wood products, electric vehicles, lifesaving vaccines, and medical devices.
"The toxicity values produced by EPA's IRIS Assessment are significantly out of step with international authorities, such as global health agencies and regulators, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Chemicals Agency, which have used decades of scientific evidence by universities and independent scientists to support a safe threshold for formaldehyde exposure and no causal association with leukemia.
"The Formaldehyde Panel has extensively commented on the numerous procedural and scientific flaws with EPA's assessment, most recently outlined in a July 2024 letter to EPA Administrator Regan. Unfortunately, the final assessment does not meaningfully address key scientific, legal, peer review, and procedural issues with the underlying IRIS Assessment, which requires the Agency to go back to the drawing board on this assessment.
"The IRIS program has a troubling history of being out of step with the best available science and methods, lacking transparency, and being unresponsive to peer review and stakeholder recommendations. In recent years, bipartisan Members of Congress have raised concerns about IRIS, a program that has never been authorized by Congress.
"Formaldehyde is extensively regulated to protect human health and the environment. Decades of scientific evidence support a safe level of formaldehyde exposure at current regulatory levels."
EPA's IRIS assessment fails to demonstrate the best available science and is deficient in many ways, including:
This unscientific assessment will be the basis for several midnight regulations in late 2024, including risk evaluations under TSCA and FIFRA for formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is a critical building block for essential applications including agriculture, food safety, medical devices, semiconductors, automobiles/electric vehicles, and affordable housing. Formaldehyde technologies have broad roles in the economy, supporting 987,000 jobs and $552.7 billion in sales in 2022 in the United States.
The American Chemistry Council's mission is to advocate for the people, policy, and products of chemistry that make the United States the global leader in innovation and manufacturing. To achieve this, we: Champion science-based policy solutions across all levels of government; Drive continuous performance improvement to protect employees and communities through Responsible Care®; Foster the development of sustainability practices throughout ACC member companies; and Communicate authentically with communities about challenges and solutions for a safer, healthier and more sustainable way of life. Our vision is a world made better by chemistry, where people live happier, healthier, and more prosperous lives, safely and sustainably-for generations to come.
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