WASHINGTON (Jan. 2, 2025) – Today, the American Chemistry Council’s Formaldehyde Panel issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) completion of the final risk evaluation for formaldehyde under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):
“While ACC acknowledges EPA made several important adjustments in the final risk evaluation, concerns remain about the agency’s continued disregard for statutory requirements on scientific quality, peer reviews, and engagement with public and interagency comments. TSCA requires that EPA reviews and regulates a chemical based on the best available science. This risk evaluation relies on a flawed assessment by EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program – a program that has never been authorized by Congress, lacks transparency, and is out of step with the best available science and methods. EPA should go back to the scientific drawing board on formaldehyde instead of pursuing unaccountable lame duck actions that threaten the U.S. economy and key sectors that support health, safety and national security.
“Government agencies like Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Small Business Administration and EPA-selected expert peer reviewers have raised concerns about the shortened timeline, scientific shortcomings, and potential devastating effects of a flawed TSCA risk evaluation. Ignoring these concerns could result in overly restrictive regulation of this building block chemistry, handicapping America’s economy and creating reliance on overseas production.
“Despite minor improvements, EPA’s final evaluation concludes that virtually all conditions of use contribute to ‘unreasonable risk’ under TSCA. This includes 58 of 63 subcategories of formaldehyde uses, including subjecting all manufacturing, import, processing, distribution in commerce, recycling, disposal, and industrial use of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-derived products to potential bans or difficult-to-meet standards for some uses.
“EPA’s suggested starting place for workplace limits continue to be inconsistent with the best available science and ignore practices that are already in place to protect workers, including the use of personal protective equipment. These workplace limits are significantly lower than the recently updated European Union occupational limits.
“Any assessment of formaldehyde must begin with the best available science. Formaldehyde is a natural part of our world and, through decades of responsible innovation and regulation, is essential to critical applications for housing, agriculture, transportation, healthcare, and national security. Formaldehyde technologies have broad roles in the economy, supporting over 1.5 million jobs and $1.6 trillion in manufacturing shipments and other economic output in 2023 in the United States.
“Effective implementation of the TSCA program has been plagued with challenges, and the final risk evaluation does not meet EPA’s requirement to use the best available science. If EPA continues on its current path during the two-year risk management phase, formaldehyde manufacturing and many of its downstream uses could be severely restricted or potentially banned in the United States.
“Formaldehyde is integral to modern life, and businesses and families rely on the important products it enables. Without robust formaldehyde manufacturing in the United States, we could face increased product prices, reduced economic output, and a loss of the U.S.’s competitive edge. In the coming months, we will collaborate with formaldehyde users to engage the next Administration and safeguard access to this essential chemical building block.”
Additional Resources from ACC
