Government sets standards for chemicals after damage done

 

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WASHINGTON, D.C.- by Carol Forsloff -  "Without the action of Congress, better regulation of formaldehyde could have taken many years longer," is the response of a major environmental group to standards for a toxic chemical they say has impacted thousands but has come too late for many.

 Becky Gillette, Formaldehyde Campaign Director for the Sierra Club said this  in response to a long-awaited concern about this chemical formaldehyde and the harm it has already caused.

The Sierra Club applauds President Obama and the bipartisan members of Congress who delivered legislation that will protect consumers by enacting national standards for formaldehyde in composite wood products.  President Obama signed the bill this week.

"This doesn't make up for the illnesses of tens of thousands of families housed in Katrina trailers with high formaldehyde levels. But it is encouraging to see that sometimes our government works for the people instead of for the profits of big corporations. Congress has taken a major step to protect people from unsafe levels of formaldehyde."

The Sierra Club describes these new standards as matching the ones adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which dramatically reduce formaldehyde off-gassing that can cause watery eyes, headaches, depression, memory problems and cancer. People with existing respiratory conditions such as asthma and emphysema are especially susceptible to formaldehyde’s toxic effects.

Composite wood products are made from wood pieces, particles or fibers bonded together with resin. Most contain some formaldehyde, and the new law will significantly reduce formaldehyde levels in products such as furniture, cabinets, shelving, countertops, flooring and molding.

The Sierra Club and a broad coalition of groups and citizens concerned about public health submitted a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking that the Agency adopt the more protective formaldehyde standards already in place in California and extend them to manufactured housing. 

Key coalition partners included the United Steelworkers and the National Center for Healthy Housing. As the first organization to publicize the toxicity of formaldehyde-laden emergency housing after Hurricane Katrina, the Sierra Club has taken a lead role in fighting for better disaster assistance and stronger regulations.

 According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers Surveillance System, in 2002 1,260 people were exposed to formaldehyde/formalin and 116 were exposed to urea/ formaldehyde in construction products. Nine people had a life-endangering reaction to formaldehyde/formalin, with medical complications that left them disabled, and two died from the exposure (Watson).  That is just one year's documentation of the health problems caused by this agent, despite its use over many years.

It was found formaldehyde at unhealthy levels in trailers that housed Hurricane Katrina refugees given to them by FEMA

Five years later, in 2010, the government establishes standards for formaldehyde

How long it took these guidelines to be developed, after the fact, has raised concerns by the Sierra Club about how toxic agents can impact the health of people before standards are developed.  

The crisis in the Gulf has already raised the concerns about Corexit, the main ingredient used in the dispersants BP has spread by plane in large amounts along the ocean and what the long-range impact will be from chemicals that other governments do not use in similar situations.

The use of the dispersants was questioned early on in press briefings, but the public was assured by Admiral Mary Landry of the Coast Guard and Doug Suttles of BP that there was no problem using them because they had passed EPA standards.

The EPA is presently continuing to test the dispersants, already finishing initial evaluations; but this was said to have already been established at the outset as the government agency continues to examine whether there is potential harm from the use.

Standards like those for formaldehyde were developed after the health problems had already developed.

Standards for Corexit and the dispersants are being investigated even as workers in clean-up efforts are already complaining of what is now being called "Gulf oil syndrome."