Energy & Environment — EPA draft says formaldehyde causes cancer

A long-awaited draft assessment from the EPA says that breathing in the chemical formaldehyde causes cancer, while a new lawsuit alleges that 34 states aren’t following air pollution rules.

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Industrial chemical linked to head, neck cancers

Breathing in formaldehyde — a common industrial chemical — can cause multiple cancers involving the head, neck and blood, according to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft assessment released Thursday. 

The agency’s latest draft assessment said that formaldehyde inhalation causes nasopharyngeal cancer, impacting the head and neck; sinonasal cancer, involving the nasal cavity or sinuses; and myeloid leukemia, which impacts bone marrow and blood cells.  

The draft goes further than a previous agency determination, which stated the substance was a “probable human carcinogen.”  

Formaldehyde can be found in wood products, building materials, housing insulation and household products like glues, permanent press fabrics and paints. 

Some political backstory: Thursday’s draft release comes after reports that the EPA under the prior Trump administration had suppressed the finding that formaldehyde causes leukemia.  

Politico reported in 2018 that top advisers to then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt were delaying the report’s release as part of an effort to undermine the EPA’s research on the risks posed by toxic chemicals. At the time, the agency denied that the findings were being held up.  

Allegations surrounding the agency’s handling of formaldehyde and other chemicals spurred House subpoenas in 2019.  

This is not the first time that the EPA has described formaldehyde in a draft as carcinogenic. That finding was previously revealed in a 2010 rendition of the EPA’s assessment, which underwent review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine but was ultimately never finalized. 

So what does this draft finding do? If finalized, the finding released Thursday is expected to enable the EPA to pursue more stringent controls on the substance.  

“I’m really pleased to see this IRIS assessment of formaldehyde — we’ve known formaldehyde is a human carcinogen for years,” Linda Birnbaum, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, told The Hill.   

“Hopefully, this will finally lead to better regulation,” Birnbaum added. 

Read more about the draft assessment here.  

34 states not following air pollution rule: lawsuit 

Four environmental organizations filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging it has failed to properly enforce the Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule.

The EPA amended the rule in 2017, extending the window in which states could submit air pollution reduction plans through July 2021. However, as of April 2022, 34 states have not submitted their plans, according to the lawsuit.  

Under the rule, all states are required to develop regional haze plans to prevent air pollution that affects visibility in national parks, wildlife refuges and other wilderness areas. Under the text of the rule, the EPA is required to issue a determination of failure to submit to states within six months of the deadline, which would have been Jan. 31 of this year.   

The suit calls on EPA Administrator Michael Regan to immediately enforce the rule for the 34 states. Earlier this month, the agency announced its intent to find failure to submit for certain states by Aug. 31. However, this announcement “effectively extend[ed] the deadline” and was not legally binding, according to the lawsuit.  

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Defense Fund, National Parks Conservation Association and Sierra Club.  

Read more about their lawsuit here.

US EMISSIONS DROPPED 11 PERCENT IN 2020 

U.S. emissions of planet-warming gases dropped 11 percent in 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday, largely attributing the drop to the coronavirus pandemic.  

The agency said that the decrease in emissions since 2019 was mainly driven by an 11 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion. This drop in turn was caused by a 13 percent decrease in transportation emissions “driven by decreased demand due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Emissions from electric power also fell 10 percent, which the agency said was because of both a “slight” demand declined from the pandemic and a shift away from coal and toward natural gas and renewables.  

The emissions were 21 percent below 2005 levels. The Obama and Biden administrations have used 2005 as a benchmark year for setting their climate goals, pledging to cut emissions at least 26 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030 respectively.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Europe Reluctantly Readies Russian Oil Embargo (The New York Times) 
• ‘Rights of nature’ law clinic faces transphobia allegations, (E&E News) 
• Powerful ‘rivers in the sky’ could cause Antarctic Peninsula’s biggest ice shelf to collapse (CNN) 
• Climate, environment shape Gen Z life decisions (Axios) 
• EPA rejects Utah’s claim that its ozone pollution comes from Asia (Salt Lake Tribune)
  
  

ICYMI

• South African president points to climate change after fatal flooding 
• Haley says Biden should ‘put the hammer’ on Germany over Russian energy imports 

And finally, something offbeat and off-beat: Corny. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.  

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