EPA’s Formaldehyde Proposal Offers Clue for Future Carcinogens

Future EPA chemical analyses are likely to reuse the agency’s recently proposed, unusual analytic methods that could downgrade formaldehyde’s estimated risks, critics predict.

The agency proposed new toxicity and risk calculations for the cancer-causing chemical on Dec. 3 as a way of revising conclusions the Biden administration made in its final analysis earlier this year.

Both the January 2025 Biden-era and the latest proposed risk evaluations conclude formaldehyde is so risky it must be regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). But the science underpinning that conclusion could shape restrictions the Environmental Protection Agency will impose on industry and ...