Arlington, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today expressed concern following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) completion of the final risk evaluation for formaldehyde under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), saying that while EPA made several important changes the highly criticized risk evaluation still threatens U.S. agriculture and food security due to potentially limiting the essential role formaldehyde plays in the chemistry of widely used fertilizers.
“EPA’s final TSCA risk evaluation includes several important adjustments but still highlights a continued failure to meet statutory requirements regarding scientific quality, peer review, and meaningful consideration of public and interagency input,” said TFI president and CEO Corey Rosenbusch. “While TSCA requires chemical review and regulations to be based on the best available science, the EPA is finalizing this evaluation relying on a flawed assessment by the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program that falls short of scientific integrity standards and lacks needed transparency. Rather than moving forward with questionable actions, the EPA should revisit the scientific foundation of its formaldehyde evaluation to avoid undermining the U.S. economy and food security.”
The Department of Agriculture, other government agencies, and EPA-selected peer reviewers have voiced concerns with the rushed timeline, scientific pitfalls, and harmful consequences of a substandard risk evaluation. Dismissing these concerns could lead to unnecessarily restrictive regulation of this essential chemistry, weakening the U.S. economy and increasing foreign dependence.
“A high-quality and scientifically rigorous risk evaluation is of great importance to U.S. fertilizer manufacturers and farmers,” said Rosenbusch, noting that formaldehyde chemistry is essential for the production of granulated urea, which accounts for over 25% of the nitrogen consumed domestically. “Formaldehyde chemistry is also needed to manufacture slow-release urea products that maximize nutrient use efficiency and minimize environmental losses.”
Notwithstanding minor improvements, EPA’s final risk evaluation concludes nearly all conditions of use, including fertilizer manufacturing and commercial use of fertilizer products (i.e. grower handling and application of urea), contribute to ‘unreasonable risk’ under TSCA, meaning formaldehyde production and downstream applications in fertilizer manufacturing and use could face difficult-to-meet restrictions.
“Not only is EPA’s suggested starting point for workplace limits inconsistent with the best available science, it disregards the existing measures that protect workers, such as the use of personal protection equipment. These workplace limits are significantly lower and out of line with recently updated standards from international regulators,” Rosenbusch concluded. “We will continue working to inform EPA on how formaldehyde is essential for U.S. agriculture and sharing the substantial scientific evidence supporting the safe use of formaldehyde.”
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The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is the leading voice of the nation’s fertilizer industry. Tracing its roots back to 1883, TFI’s membership includes fertilizer producers, wholesalers, retailers and trading firms. TFI’s full-time staff, based in Washington, D.C., serves its members through legislative, educational, technical, economic information and public communication programs. Find more information about TFI online at TFI.org and follow us on Twitter at @Fertilizer_Inst. Learn more about TFI’s nutrient stewardship initiatives at nutrientstewardship.org and on Twitter at @4rnutrients.
