EPA To Release Assessment On Effects Of Formaldehyde Wednesday
June 01 2010 - 5:38PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will release Wednesday
a draft assessment of the effect of formaldehyde emissions from
pressed-wood products, advancing an ongoing agency review of the
chemical.
The draft assessment will be reviewed by a panel at the National
Academy of Sciences. The release kicks off a 90-day comment period
in which the EPA will accept written comments from the public and
the National Academy of Sciences that it will use in making its
final determination on the regulations surrounding the use of
formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is commonly used as a preservative and is found in
certain pressed-wood products. The chemical is an irritant and has
been linked to cancer by the National Cancer Institute.
Brad Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Columbia
Forest Products, the country's largest producers of hardwood
plywood, called Wednesday a "watershed" moment in the debate over
formaldehyde. His company stopped using the chemical in 2005, but
he said he supports an industry-wide ban that would force other
companies, especially Chinese companies, to stop using formaldehyde
in its products.
"We want to be on an even playing field," he said. "Everybody
needs to be held against the same standard. If we're going to have
imports from Asia, they need to have the same standards we meet,"
he said.
The EPA's move to investigate formaldehyde comes after private
citizens and several environmental organizations submitted a
petition to have national regulation on the chemical, similar to
regulation enacted in California.
In 2008, the California Air Resources Board finalized a
regulation that would reduce formaldehyde emissions from three
types of wood products: hardwood plywood, particleboard and medium
density fiberboard.
Legislation introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and
Sen. Mike Crapo (R., Idaho) aims to create a new nationwide
standard for formaldehyde emissions based on the California
legislation.
-By Shayndi Raice, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9291;
shayndi.raice@dowjones.com.
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