US EPA

In April 2022, EPA publicly released the draft formaldehyde assessment for review and comment. The IRIS Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation provides the scientific support and rationale for the hazard and dose-response assessment of inhalation exposure to formaldehyde. Following public comment, the assessment will undergo an independent external scientific peer review managed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), under contract with EPA.

U.S. EPA. IRIS Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation (External Review Draft, 2022). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-22/039, 2022.

Formaldehyde is present in a variety of products including plywood adhesives, abrasive materials, insulation, pesticides, and embalming fluids. Major sources of anthropogenic emissions include household furnishings and building materials, motor vehicle exhaust, manufacturing plants that produce or use formaldehyde or substances that contain it (e.g., glues), and tobacco smoke.

Date	Description
11-May 2011	NAS's Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST) released the NAS Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's Draft IRIS Assessment of Formaldehyde (Final Report).
12-Apr 2014	EPA convened a state-of-the-science workshop on formaldehyde on April 30 and May 1, 2014 in Arlington, VA. This workshop focused on 3 themes, see the web site for specific details.
13-Jun 2018	The IRIS Assessment of Formaldehyde (Inhalation) Agency Review draft (completed in 2017) is formally suspended.
15-Mar 2021	EPA updates the list of priority assessments developed by IRIS. EPA unsuspends the IRIS Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde (Inhalation).
16-Dec 2021	EPA initiated an interagency science consultation on the draft Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde (Inhalation).
17-Apr 2022	EPA released the draft Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation (External Review Draft) for public comment and subsequent external peer review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Also released was the EPA lead Interagency Science Consultation draft with interagency comments.

The assessment is available for a 60-day public comment period. After the public comment period, the assessment will undergo an independent external scientific peer review managed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

This download(s) is distributed solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. It has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency determination or policy.

• Assessment Overview for the Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation (PDF)  (193 pp, 5 MB, about PDF)
• Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation (External Review Draft) (PDF)  (789 pp, 15 MB, about PDF)
• Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation, Supplemental Information (External Review Draft) (PDF)  (1058 pp, 16 MB, about PDF)
• Draft Charge Questions to Reviewers (Apr 2022) (PDF)  (8 pp, 275 KB, about PDF)

If you have a disability and the format of any material on our web pages interferes with your ability to access the information, please reach out to us using the Contact us about IRIS form for assistance. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of the accessibility problem, the web address of the requested material, your preferred format in which you want to receive the material (electronic format (ASCII, etc.), standard print, large print, etc.), and your contact information.

• IRIS Toxicological Review of Formaldehyde-Inhalation (Interagency Science Consultation Draft, 2021)
• IRIS Program Outlook April 2019-Suspended/Discontinued Assessment
• IRIS Program Outlook Jun 2021-Unsuspended Assessment

• Primary Literature Search References Sorted By Author (Formaldehyde)

• FR Notice: Apr 14, 2022

Comments on the assessment may be submitted and reviewed using the Docket ID EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0396