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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Update on EPA Changes to the IRIS Assessment Process

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently made changes to its program for studying the toxic effects of industrial chemicals — the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Under the revised process, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is given unprecedented control over the content and conduct of these studies.

Today, OMB Watch released a factsheet "OMB Interferes in IRIS Assessments of Toxic Chemicals," which details the problems with the revised process. The factsheet answers the following questions:

• What is IRIS?
• How does OMB interfere in IRIS assessments?
• How does the new IRIS assessment process make matters worse?
• Why is the IRIS assessment process important?

Also today, the House Science Committee's subcommittee on Investigation and Oversight held a hearing on the changes to the IRIS process. Committee members and witnesses focused their discussion on the transparency, or lack thereof, in OMB's review of IRIS assessments and on the slow pace of completion of IRIS assessments. (EPA has completed only four assessments in the past two years.)

The committee heard from John Stephenson, the Director of Natural Resources and Environment for the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Stephenson's testimony was based on a recent GAO report critical of OMB's involvement in the IRIS assessment process.

Stephenson's primary complaint about the IRIS process is that any comments from OMB or other federal agencies will not be disclosed to the public. Stephenson also warned additional steps included in the revised process could further slow EPA's efforts to complete assessments.

Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), chair of the panel, released a document that reveals the opinions of EPA staff scientists on OMB's role in the IRIS assessment process. In responding to GAO's report, staff involved in the IRIS program said OMB's comments are often "troubling to address" and the OMB review process "has added tremendously to the time it takes to release" draft and final assessments.