On June 10, 2011, the National Toxicology Program ("NTP") issued its twelfth report on chemicals that are deemed to be carcinogenic to humans and listed formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen. This is not an unexpected result and comes on the heels of a controversial study of Chinese workers published in early 2010 that concluded that exposure to formaldehyde caused certain kinds of leukemia. U.S. EPA relied on this study when compiling its June 2010 draft Integrated Risk Information Systems ("IRIS") assessment of formaldehyde. The International Agency for Research on Cancer also determined that formaldehyde was a human carcinogen in late 2009. In addition, as part of its recent national air toxics assessment released in March 2011, U.S. EPA concluded that formaldehyde was a significant driver of overall air toxics risks.
The NTP had originally proposed to list eight chemicals in the twelfth Report on Carcinogens ("RoC"): aristolochic acids, captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide and hard metals, glass wool fibers, ortho-nitrotoluene, riddelliine, styrene and formaldehyde. Of these eight chemicals, only formaldehyde was listed as a known human carcinogen. Styrene was identified as a reasonably anticipated human carcinogen while cobalt-tungsten carbide, ortho-nitrotoluene, captafol, and glass wool fibers were classified as reasonably anticipated human carcinogens. The RoCs are informational documents that are intended to inform and educate the public about the risk of exposure to carcinogens by providing (i) available cancer data in humans and/or animals for the substance of interest; (ii) the potential for exposure to the substances listed, and (iii) the regulations promulgated by federal agencies to limit exposures. The listing of a chemical in an RoC is not a regulatory action in itself but may prompt regulatory agencies to implement regulations governing exposure or use of the specific chemical. Please click here to go to the NTP website to download a copy of the 12th RoC.
