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710724 
Technical Report 
Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's draft IRIS assessment of formaldehyde 
National Research Council :: NRC 
2011 
Yes 
The National Academies Press 
Washington, DC 
1-194 
English 
Formaldehyde is ubiquitous in indoor and outdoor air, and everyone is exposed to formaldehyde at some concentration daily. Formaldehyde is used to produce a wide array of products, particularly building materials; it is emitted from many sources, including power plants, cars, gas and wood stoves, and cigarettes; it is a natural product in come foods; and it is naturally present in the human body as a metabolic intermediate. Much research has been conducted on the health effects of exposure to formaldehyde, including effects on the upper airway, where formaldehyde is deposited when inhaled, and effects on tissues distant from the site of initial contact. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released noncancer and cancer assessments of formaldehyde for its Intergated Risk Information System (IRIS) in 1990 and 1991, respectively. The agency began reassessing formaldehyde in 1998 and released a draft IRIS assessment in June 2010. Given the complexity of the issues and the knowledge that the assessment will be used as the basis of regulatory decisions, EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct an independent scientific review of the draft IRIS assessment. In this report, the Committee to Review EPA's Draft IRIS Assessment of Formaldehyde first addresses some general issues associated with the draft IRIS assessment. The committee next focuses on questions concerning specific aspects of the draft assessment, including derivation of the reference concentrations and the cancer unit risk estimates for formaldehyde. The committee closes with recommendations for improving the IRIS assessment of formaldehyde and provides some general comments on the IRIS development process. 
978-0-309-21193-2 
IRIS
• Ammonia
     Cited 2016
          ToxReview
          Supplemental
• Arsenic (Inorganic)
     3. Hazard ID Screening
          Potentially relevant epidemiology studies
     Cited in Volume 1
• BBP (Butyl benzyl phthalate)
     Additional Search Strategies
     Excluded: No Primary Data on Health Effects
          Miscellaneous
     Secondary Literature
          Reviews/editorials
• Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)
     Cited
• Biphenyl
     Cited References
• tert-Butanol
     Cited in Document
• n-Butanol
     • Cited 2016 Public Comment Draft
          Tox Review
• tert-Butanol
     Cited in Public Comment Draft – May 2016
          Toxicological Review
• Chloroform Combined (current)
     Chloroform (original)
     Chloroform (current)
• Chromium VI
     Not in Lit Search
• Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)
• Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP) Final
     Additional Search Strategies
          References obtained during assessment process
     No Primary Data on Toxic Effects
          Not chemical specific
     Cited in September 2014 DIBP Preliminary Materials
• Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP)
• ETBE
     Cited in Document
     Not in Lit Search
• Formaldehyde [archived]
     Prior to 2013 Search
     Toxicokinetics
          Cited
     Genotoxicity
     Cited in text
     2014 LitSearch
          Reproductive and Developmental Effects
               PubMed
               Search Update
     Retroactive RIS import
          2014
               HERO_Formaldehyde_20132014LitSearch_ReproDev_062016
                    Title/Abstract Screen
                         2014 FA-Other
• Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD)
     Guidance/contextual references added during assessment development
• Inorganic Arsenic (7440-38-2) [Final 2025]
• IRIS Formaldehyde (Inhalation) [Final 2024]
     Literature Indexing
          PubMed
     Literature Identification
          Mechanistic Studies of Respiratory Tract Cancer, Genotoxicity
               Excluded
• Methanol (Non-Cancer)
     Cited in Final (2013)
     Cited in External Review Draft (2013)
     Cited in External Review Draft (2011)
• Naphthalene
• RDX (121-82-4)
     Cited 2015 (private)
• Trimethylbenzenes (Interagency Science Discussion Draft)
     Cited August 2016
          Cited Supplemental Information
• Trimethylbenzenes (TMB)
     Cited in Tox Review – Revised TMBs Draft
     Cited in Supplemental Information – Revised TMBs Draft
     Cited in Revised TMBs Draft - All
OPPT REs
• OPPT_1,4-Dioxane_C. Engineering
     Data screening total
          Screening: Excluded
• OPPT_1,4-Dioxane_D. Exposure
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• OPPT_1,4-Dioxane_E. Fate
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• OPPT_1,4-Dioxane_F. Human Health
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• OPPT_Cyclic Aliphatic Bromine Cluster (HBCD)_C. Engineering
     Data screening total
          Screening: Excluded
• OPPT_Cyclic Aliphatic Bromine Cluster (HBCD)_D. Exposure
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• OPPT_Cyclic Aliphatic Bromine Cluster (HBCD)_E. Fate
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• OPPT_Cyclic Aliphatic Bromine Cluster (HBCD)_F. Human Health
     Total – title/abstract screening
          Off topic
• Project 9 – Soil and Dust Ingestion
     Cited October 2016
          Supplemental Information - Cited