Risk of formaldehyde greater than thought: ProPublica

December 3, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Emissions rise from smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant, near Emmett, Kan., Sept. 18, 2021. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File

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NATIONWIDE – A NEW REPORT BY ProPublica released on Tuesday draws the worrying conclusion that in every populated census block in the U.S., formaldehyde exposure risks are estimated to be above the safety goals set by the EPA, and in most places significantly higher. The EPA’s goal for lifetime risk of cancer caused by formaldehyde is 1 case per 1 million people; the great majority of Americans – 320 million out of 335 million – live in locations where estimated risks exceed 1 per 100,000.

Additionally, the nonprofit newsroom reports, even these high estimates may be underestimating the danger. Former EPA workers and experts interviewed for the report said that the agency is wrongly discounting studies showing that formaldehyde can cause myeloid leukemia, meaning the chemical, which is already known to be responsible for more cancers than any other air pollutant, may be even more deadly than commonly believed. The Biden administration’s EPA has made hesitant moves towards cracking down on formaldehyde exposure, but has not gone as far as many believe it should have; with the more industry-friendly Trump administration set to take control of the agency, experts have low hopes for a change any time soon. Trump’s pick for EPA chief, former New York governor candidate Lee Zeldin, did not comment on the story to ProPublica.

Formaldehyde is used in a wide variety of commercial applications, is produced by vehicles and other sources, and can also form in the atmosphere on its own. It’s present in many shampoos and other cosmetics, as well as in common home products like pressed wood and lacquer, and is ubiquitous in industrial environments. ProPublica’s risk assessment, which only addresses outdoor exposure, includes various types of emissions from vehicles and industrial sources, as well as “secondary formations” from a variety of sources. Indoor exposure risks from products treated with formaldehyde vary widely and can be far higher.

ProPublica also released an online mapping tool that allows Americans to look up the estimated outdoor formaldehyde risk on their blocks. One of the areas of Brooklyn with the highest estimated risks, according to ProPublica, is the area of Mill Basin immediately adjacent to the Kings Plaza Shopping Center, where, the nonprofit says, “The incremental lifetime cancer risk from formaldehyde alone […] is 1 in 54,000.”

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