Washington, D.C. – Congressman Mike Carey (OH-15) was joined by eight of his House colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, urging him to avoid putting hundreds of thousands of American jobs at risk by releasing a flawed and incomplete risk assessment of formaldehyde.
“By rushing a scientifically flawed and incomplete risk assessment of formaldehyde, the EPA is putting hundreds of thousands of American jobs and critical supply chains at risk. Formaldehyde has not only been proven safe as one of the most studied chemicals in the world, but it is used in the production of hundreds of items from wood products to prescription drugs to automobiles that the American economy depends on. Scientific integrity, not speed, should be the priority in evaluating chemical risk – public confidence and American jobs are at stake.”
This letter comes as the agency seeks a “do-over” of a 2010 draft human risk assessment of formaldehyde that was highly criticized by the National Academy of Sciences for the EPA’s failure to use the best available science and modern scientific methods. It appears that the current draft risk assessment is being “fast-tracked” by EPA leadership to minimize internal and interagency review, relying on old and incomplete data and emphasizing speed over sound science and transparency.
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
Carey was joined in sending this letter by Representatives Troy Balderson, Glenn Grotham, Bill Johnson, Dave Joyce, Bob Latta, David McKinley, Hal Rogers, and Bruce Westerman.
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