V
II. U.S. FEDERAL REGULATORY INFORMATION
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Urea-formaldehyde foam was used as an insulating material until 1982, when it was banned by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The ban was overturned in the courts, but the action greatly reduced the use of this foam in residential products (47).
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The U.S. EPA IRIS is currently reviewing toxicity values for formaldehyde, and review progress is published (54).
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The U.S. EPA Office of Pesticide Programs is currently preparing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for formaldehyde; a RED is a complete review of the human health and environmental effects of pesticides first registered before November 1, 1984, to make decisions about future pesticide uses of formaldehyde (55).
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Formaldehyde is one of 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) listed under section 112(b) of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, and is regulated from more than 170 industrial source categories (56).
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates formaldehyde as a food additive (used as a defoaming agent, and in the feed of animals used for food sources including some chicken and fish) (57).
< The U.S. EPA requires reporting of quantities of certain chemicals that exceed a defined reportable quantity, and that quantity varies for different chemicals. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 “Toxic Chemicals,” quantities of formaldehyde greater than 25,000 pounds manufactured or processed, or greater than 10,000 pounds otherwise used, is required; under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), reporting releases of formaldehyde of any quantity exceeding 100 pounds is required (58).