Commission To Propose a Ban of Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission by a 3-to-2 vote yesterday proposed a nationwide ban on urea formaldehyde (UF) foam insulation.

UF foam insulation, which already has been installed in more than 500,000 homes across the country, has been the source of formaldehyde gas released into some homes. This gas has resulted in approximately 1,600 complaints to CPSC of short-term (acute) health problems such as breathing difficulties, skin and eye irritation and nausea; formaldehyde gas also has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals.

A final ban of UF foam insulation could not become effective for at least six months, since the proposal first must be published in the Federal Register and subjected to a 60-day period for public comment to be followed by a final vote by the Commissioners on the issue of whether a final ban should be issued.

The Commission and its staff have been focusing on the health hazards posed by UP foam insulation and formaldehyde for the past two years. More than 350 of the consumer complaints, some of which have resulted in families being dislocated from their homes, have been investigated by CPSC staff. Four public hearings were conducted around the country In late 1979 and early 1980 so chat the Commissioners and staff could receive testimony from consumers, industry and health experts.

The three Commissioners who voted in the majority to propose a ban of UF foam insulation (Chairman Susan 8. King and Commissioners R. David Pittle and Edith Barksdale Sloan) determined that cancer. for the consumer health hazards posed by the product outweighed the economic impact of the ban.

The proposed ban is based primarily on the long-corm "chronic" health effects (such as cancer) related to human exposure to formaldehyde gas, and also is supported by the short-term "acute" health effects (such as respiratory problems). Industry estimates that currently there are 600 to 800 companies still installing UP foam insulation, and its component chemicals are manufactured by about 12 firms. At the peak of its popularity (sales became significant in 1976), UF foam insulation constituted less than 10 per cent of the entire national market for various types of home insulation.

The majority found that public information disclosure or warning labels on UF foam installation contracts about the potential health hazards associated with the product would be insufficient to adequately protect consumer health. The majority also found that at the present time there is no feasible regulation or formaldehyde gas from UF foam insulation.

The proposed ban will include a provision to exempt any manufacturer or installer of UF foam insulation who can demonstrate to CPSC that their product does not emit hazardous levels of formaldehyde gas and thus does not present an unreasonable risk of adverse health effects.

Late in 1979 the State of Massachusetts banned all future installations of UF foam insulation and approved a retroactive rule requiring installers to pay for the removal of the insulation from any home in which householders could demonstrate adverse health effects from the product. The Commission, however, does not have any practical means of effectuating such a remedy for consumers.

During its two year investigation of UF foam insulation and consideration of regulatory options, CPSC staff and Commissioners have met with representatives of the Formaldehyde Institute and other industry representatives on numerous occasions, including a lengthy public meeting to assess industry data and viewpoints on December 3, 1980.

In addition to the hundreds of consumer complaints over acute health effects, the CPSC staff recommendation to propose the ban also relied on two advisory reports on the chronic and acute health effects posed by formaldehyde prepared for the Commission by two prestigious bodies of outside experts. In a 10-month comprehensive analysis of existing formaldehyde research in the international health community prepared for CPSC in March, 1980, the National Academy of Sciences recommended that consumer exposure to formaldehyde be reduced to the lowest practical level. Last November, a panel of 17 federal experts in health science an cancer research advised CPSC that formaldehyde should be considered to pose a risk of cancer for human beings. The panel's recommendation was based in part on a chemical industry cancer study conducted for two year on Laboratory animals which showed that two different species (rats and mice) developed nasal cancer when exposed to inhalation does of formaldehyde gas within the range of levels encountered by human beings. CPSC also recently received a report from the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia which tested nine separate installations of UF foam under conditions considered by installers to be ideal for minimizing release of formaldehyde gas. The Franklin Institute researchers discovered that were tested. In the future, CPSC staff will examine the potential exposure, if any, to formaldehyde gas that may be releases from other consumer products manufactured with formaldehyde, including various from wood and lumber products, plastics, textiles, and clothing.