EPA to Review Petition about Formaldehyde in Composite Wood Products

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it has received a petition from 25 organizations and 5,000 consumers concerned about the risks to human health and the environment from exposure to formaldehyde in composite wood products, including hardwood plywood, particle board and medium-density fiberboard. The petitioners are requesting that the EPA assess and reduce these risks by “adopting and applying nationally the formaldehyde emissions regulation for composite wood products recently approved by the California Air Resources Board; and to extend the regulation to include composite wood products used in manufactured homes.”

The petition was received on March 24. Under the guidelines of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EPA must either grant or deny a petition such as this one within 90 days of receipt, which for this petition is June 21. Therefore, EPA must receive comments about the petition on or before May 12.

Comments can be mailed to EPA at Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001 or can be submitted electronically by clicking here.

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