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When the former director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, chose an ornate office as part of this expensive renovation last year, members of the The staff planned to take precautions to protect it from the harmful effects of formaldehyde. Yet Pruitt delayed the publication of an EPA report warning the public of the dangers of … formaldehyde.
Helpers were ready to act when they noticed a California warning on a desk Pruitt was planning to order, noting that the furniture contained formaldehyde. , a carcinogen found in pressed wood and many other products. We do not know if the office was finally ordered.
But deputy chief of staff, Reginald Allen, contacted Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, who was then the agency's chief of the agency's chemical bureau, to inquire about the situation. warning, according to emails obtained by the non-profit monitoring group American Oversight. . She suggested that the office be aired for days before installing it in Pruitt's office. Ironically, she noted that the "good news" is that California "regulates formaldehyde emissions" … so that "the office's exposure is likely to be good."
At the time, federal regulations limited formaldehyde emissions. put on hold by the Trump administration, Politico noted. In addition, a disturbing report from the EPA on the risks of the chemical that was completed during the Obama administration has not yet been released by the EPA.
Pruitt, who resigned earlier this month in several ethical investigations, was questioned about formaldehyde. report at a Senate hearing in January. "I understand that EPA has finalized its conclusion that formaldehyde causes leukemia and other cancers," said Professor Ed Markey (D-Mass.) At Pruitt
.
"The irony would be comical if not dangerous," said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, in a statement.
The EPA was under pressure from the chemical industry to delay the report. . Kimberly Wise White, a member of the lobby group of the American Chemistry Council, now sits on the EPA's Scientific Advisory Committee, while retaining her role in the lobbying organization. A former group member, Nancy Beck, is now a top MP defining EPA's policies on hazardous chemicals
Politico reported that Pruitt's aides, including the head of state – Major Ryan Jackson, blocked the report.
Markey and two other senators sent a letter to Pruitt in May expressing their concern that "politicians" are delaying the publication of the assessment while the agency was under pressure from the share of companies with links to people. l & # 39; EPA.
EPA officials have denied the removal of the project or prevented Americans from ignoring the risks they face and continue to "discuss" the draft report with "our partners".
Formaldehyde is one of the commonly used chemicals in the nation. It is used in wood composites in furniture and cabinets, as well as in cleaning products and cosmetics, and is projected into the air by oil refineries. Formaldehyde can be inhaled as a gas or vapor or it can be absorbed through the skin in liquid form, according to the National Cancer Institute. The Federal Centers for Disease Control says that formaldehyde is "known to cause cancer."
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