RESTON, VA – The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Assn. has issued a statement in support of the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) critical review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) risk assessment of formaldehyde.
Released last month, the NAS review of the 2010 draft IRIS risk assessment on formaldehyde, claimed the EPA assessment failed to support its conclusions that formaldehyde causes respiratory cancers, leukemia and other health problems, including asthma. The NAS report also indicated that EPA “overstated” its conclusions that formaldehyde damages the nervous system and questioned the EPA link to reproductive effects.
“This long-awaited independent review by leading scientists confirms that EPA’s 1,000-page assessment does not prove that formaldehyde causes leukemia or other serious health problems,” said Dick Titus, KCMA executive vice president. “For years, materials essential to the construction of affordable, durable, and fashionable storage cabinetry sought by consumers have been unfairly described as unsafe based on the same science as was rejected by the NAS review. The report’s finding supports what the KCMA has been saying for years; that the low levels of formaldehyde typically found in cabinets to which most people are exposed are not high enough to cause harm. Further, the kitchen is the best ventilated room in the home, which reduces any risk even further.”
Posted by Karen Koenig
Released last month, the NAS review of the 2010 draft IRIS risk assessment on formaldehyde, claimed the EPA assessment failed to support its conclusions that formaldehyde causes respiratory cancers, leukemia and other health problems, including asthma. The NAS report also indicated that EPA “overstated” its conclusions that formaldehyde damages the nervous system and questioned the EPA link to reproductive effects.
“This long-awaited independent review by leading scientists confirms that EPA’s 1,000-page assessment does not prove that formaldehyde causes leukemia or other serious health problems,” said Dick Titus, KCMA executive vice president. “For years, materials essential to the construction of affordable, durable, and fashionable storage cabinetry sought by consumers have been unfairly described as unsafe based on the same science as was rejected by the NAS review. The report’s finding supports what the KCMA has been saying for years; that the low levels of formaldehyde typically found in cabinets to which most people are exposed are not high enough to cause harm. Further, the kitchen is the best ventilated room in the home, which reduces any risk even further.”
Posted by Karen Koenig
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