FORMALDEHYDE Causes Leukemia, According To EPA Assessment Suppressed by Trump Officials

[BeckyDem]

Although the formaldehyde assessment has grave implications for public health, Trump administration officials refused to allow the EPA to release it.

Sharon Lerner
August 19 2021, 10:41 a.m.

A 2017 DRAFT assessment of formaldehyde that was suppressed by the Trump administration found that the chemical causes myeloid leukemia, according to several sources familiar with the document. The draft assessment concludes that 1 microgram of formaldehyde in a cubic meter of air increases the number of myeloid leukemia cases by roughly 3.5 in 100,000 people, more than three times the cancer risk in the assessment now in use. The EPA currently regulates formaldehyde using an outdated set of calculations, finalized in 1991, based on the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. If the nasopharyngeal cancer and myeloid leukemia risks are combined, the cancer risk could be 4.5 times higher than the current value.

Although the suppressed assessment, produced by a division of the Environmental Protection Agency known as the Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, has grave implications for public health, Trump administration officials, including former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, refused to allow the agency to release the assessment, several sources told The Intercept.

If the Biden EPA permits IRIS to finalize the assessment, which is among the most controversial in the agency’s history, other branches of the EPA will likely set regulatory limits based on the new risk value. IRIS values are used to determine safety thresholds for the amounts of the chemical permitted in air and water, emissions caps from industrial facilities, and guidance for cleanups. Such thresholds also alert exposed people to the dangers they face.


“This is a big, big deal. It could trigger significant interest by the personal injury bar,” said Bob Sussman, who served as the senior policy counsel to the EPA administrator during the Obama administration and deputy EPA administrator under President Bill Clinton. “Even without including the leukemia, the risk is a significant one. With the leukemia, it’s certainly a very significant public health concern.”

https://theintercept.com/2021/08/19/formaldehyde-leukemia-epa-trump-suppressed/

[OhZone]

1. So should we avoid -

bananas

and aspartame?

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Mobile Homes and campers have high concentrations of it, especially when new.

[BeckyDem]

3. I was so upset after reading this article. No matter what problem we face in the US

the vast majority of them stem from corruption. The Republican Party always leads that effort along with their corporate backers. They are going to help accelerate the end of mankind.

They hate people.

[TheBlackAdder]

4. Also what's bad, most astroturf that's installed in little league fields.

[hunter]

5. They used to put it in some brands of hair shampoo to make hair shiny and manageable.

I used to break out in a rash and have asthma symptoms whenever I used those shampoos. I became wary of all shampoos.

Not only do we have the most expensive health care system in the U.S.A. (and a health care system that's not particularly effective in spite of that), we also have entire industries selling products that are harmful to our health.

[stuffmatters]

6. Koch Industries: the biggest producer of formaldehyde in US

[Moebym]

7. Formaldehyde

Leaches into groundwater from embalmed bodies.