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Adhesives & Sealants Industry Magazine Feature Article: Formaldehyde - What You Don't Know May Hurt You
08/03/2011
Stan Perry
Over the past dozen years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been conducting extensive studies on the toxicity of formaldehyde, a chemical that has been used for decades in everything from adhesives and life-saving medicines to construction, aerospace, and transportation. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) considers formaldehyde to be a “basic building-block chemical, essential to an estimated $145 billion of the U.S. gross national product.”
Like many government-sponsored scientific research projects, the investigation into formaldehyde has had many twists and turns, as well as conflicting findings from studies by the EPA and National Academy of Sciences. In June of this year, however, the EPA issued its “trump card,” the definitive word on formaldehyde in the 12th Report on Carcinogens: formaldehyde and five other chemicals were added to the government’s list of carcinogens.
News agencies from The New York Times to the Today Show featured the report as a top news item. One group that certainly didn’t miss the EPA’s announcement was toxic tort lawyers.
Excerpt from Adhesives & Sealants Industry magazine, August 3, 2011. To view the full article, click here.