A key panel of independent scientists suggested substantial changes to EPA’s draft assessment on formaldehyde, a commonly used chemical hotly contested over its cancer risks.
EPA’s Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals in its final report concluded the agency’s draft assessment’s “documents are comprehensive and rely on the best available science.”
But the committee, a group of 20-or-more toxicologists and risk assessors established under the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act, asked EPA to reconsider its approach for calculating cancer risks, rely on more robust data sets and be more transparent about how it reached conclusions.
Under consideration was EPA’s March draft risk assessment, which found formaldehyde overall poses an unreasonable risk to human health but was “less certain” the chemical can cause cancer.
