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Friday, April 11, 2008

EPA Gives White House Control over Chemical Exposure Science

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced it will allow political considerations to infiltrate its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) — one of the most important sources of information on human exposure to potentially toxic chemicals. IRIS is a database which contains risk assessment documents covering more than 540 contaminants, according to Environment News Service.

IRIS assessments can inform regulatory action (or inaction) intended to protect humans from the harmful effects of certain substances. "Through IRIS, EPA provides the highest quality, science-based, human-health assessments to support EPA's policymaking activities," according to the agency.

Yesterday, EPA announced changes to IRIS. EPA is altering a number of aspects of the process, but one of the biggest, and most troubling, is the decision to include the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the scientific assessment process.

Under the revised process, EPA will perform a qualitative assessment of a chemical which will include potential health risks, susceptible populations, and potential uncertainties. After a public review period, EPA will then perform a draft toxicological review of the chemical. The toxicological review will include quantitative assessments of the chemical and attempt to give policy makers and the public a more concrete understanding of the risks associated with exposure to the chemical under review.

Unfortunately, under the revised process, EPA will then have to submit the draft toxicological review to OMB — the Executive Branch's graveyard for scientific thought.

Granting political appointees at OMB the opportunity to censor, alter, or suppress human health assessments may lead to weaker public protections. Instead of attacking policies during the regulatory review period, as OMB currently has the power to do under Executive Order 12866, OMB will now be able to destroy the very foundations on which these regulations are built.