Dispute over formaldehyde toxicity assessment escalates

A new US National Academies report adds weight to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) findings on the health risks associated with formaldehyde, which have attracted fierce criticism from the chemical industry. However, the report also suggests that the agency makes some needed clarifications to its draft assessment.

When EPA released its latest health assessment of formaldehyde toxicity in April 2022 that linked long-term exposure to the chemical with health problems like nasal cancers and myeloid leukaemia, there was immediate pushback from the chemical industry. That draft assessment went further than the EPA’s previous determination that formaldehyde is a ‘probable human carcinogen’, prompting the American Chemistry Council (ACC) – a trade body that represents chemical companies – to express concern about conflicts of interest and potential bias in the EPA’s evaluation.