Staff at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) organized for a new office desk to air out in a remote warehouse for a week so that former agency head Scott Pruitt wouldn’t have to breathe in any traces of the carcinogenic chemical formaldehyde from his furniture, emails obtained by Politico have revealed.

At the same time, Pruitt was refusing to more strictly regulate the chemical, despite sitting on a report that said it’s putting Americans at risk of leukemia and throat cancer.

Last month it emerged key figures in the EPA were suppressing an agency report, completed just before Donald Trump took office, that found that a majority of Americans inhale unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde vapor in the course of daily life, which puts them at risk of developing cancer of the blood, throat and nose. According to Politico, a trade group representing the businesses could face new regulations if the study were released had frequent access to EPA officials and successfully pressured them to refrain from publishing the report.

Pruitt himself, however, was protected from inhaling the chemical.

As part of the $9,500 refurbishing of his office – which had already caused controversy for surpassing the $5,000 limit set by Congress for redecoration costs – Pruitt ordered a new desk. When it emerged that it contained formaldehyde, aides sought advice about whether it would be safe for Pruitt.

Deputy chief of staff Reginald Allen emailed Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, then serving as acting head of the EPA’s toxic chemicals office to ask for more information about formaldehyde safety. Cleland-Hamnett told him the desk was made in California, where formaldehyde is more stringently regulated, and was therefore likely to be fine – but to be sure they could air it out for a few days.

According to emails obtained by American Oversight with a Freedom of Information request, and shared with Politico, plans were then made to have the desk assembled in a separate warehouse and left there for a week so as to ensure Pruitt’s safety.



While EPA officials went to such lengths to ensure Pruitt’s safety, they have done nothing to regulate levels of formaldehyde, and continue to delay the report’s release. In states that don’t have specific regulations, it is still used in compressed wood, adhesives and other materials.