Former EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s staff planned to take precautions to protect him from the toxic effects of formaldehyde in a fancy new desk – but months later, his top aides blocked the release of a report on the health dangers of the carcinogen, according to Politico.
Pruitt was wrapping up a more than $9,500 redecoration of his office when a top official noticed a California warning on a desk the administrator wanted to order saying it contained the chemical.
“Sorry to bother you with this but we need some help. The desk the Administrator wants for his office from Amazon has a California Proposition 65 warning,” acting deputy chief of staff Reginald Allen emailed Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, acting head of EPA’s toxic chemicals office, the news outlet reported.
“What I am asking is can someone in your area tell us whether it is OK to get this desk for the Administrator related to the warning?” Allen wrote April 7.
The emails were released to the group American Oversight under the Freedom of Information Act and shared with Politico.
In her response, Cleland-Hamnett explained that the desk was likely made of compressed wood in which formaldehyde is frequently used as a glue.
Although an EPA regulation limiting formaldehyde emissions from such items had been put on hold by Team Trump, California regulates the chemical, meaning emissions from the ornate desk were “likely to be fine,” Cleland-Hamnett wrote.
But she suggested letting the furniture piece air out for a few days before being placed in the administrator’s office. Administrative staff apparently made plans to have the desk assembled at a warehouse and left there for a week, according to the report.
It’s unclear whether Pruitt ended up ordering the desk as part of the renovation — which included artwork from the Smithsonian and framed photographs of Pruitt and President Trump — but his aides took steps to protect him from exposure to the chemical, documents showed.
A few months later, top EPA officials took steps to block a health report produced by another division at the agency that found the levels of formaldehyde that many Americans breathe every day are tied to leukemia and nose and throat cancer, among other ailments.
American Oversight chief Austin Evers said the emails fit into the pattern of behavior that led to the downfall of Pruitt, the perk-seeking, climate-change skeptic who recently resigned amid an avalanche of ethical controversies over his personal and professional behavior
“You can add ‘EPA chemical safety science’ to the list of taxpayer-funded benefits that Scott Pruitt kept for himself. The irony would be comical if this wasn’t so dangerous,” Evers said in a statement.
“Months before Scott Pruitt blocked the EPA’s report on the dangers of formaldehyde to public health, he got the benefit of EPA’s safety experts looking out for his own health,” he added.
Formaldehyde-based compounds are commonly used in industrial strength adhesives and can be found in composite wood products.