The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was signed into law on June 22 and received exceptional bipartisan and diverse support from members of Congress, the chemical industry and environmental groups. This new law pushes up the deadline by which the EPA must evaluate the risk of hazardous chemicals in products on the market, like formaldehyde.
If the EPA determines a chemical is unsafe, the agency must impose restrictions. EPA’s toolbox of restrictions includes banning the chemical, phasing it out, imposing limits on its use, or requiring warnings and specific instructions. The agency’s first deadline is mid-December 2016 when the EPA must select ten chemicals from the 90 chemicals on the 2014 Work Plan for Chemical Assessment for risk evaluation.
AFDA will keep you informed of any future developments impacting formaldehyde.