110 HR 7234 IH: Integrated Risk Information System U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-29 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7234 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 29, 2008 Mr. Miller of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To increase research, the synthesis of research findings, and the production of scientific information on chemicals, and to expedite the listing of information in the Integrated Risk Information System maintained by the Office of Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Integrated Risk Information System Authorization Act.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development met a pressing national need when it created the Integrated Risk Information System in 1985 to disseminate scientific information on the toxicity of chemicals. (2)The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is the Nation’s premier database for scientific information on the toxicity of chemicals. (3)Researchers, government officials, public health experts, and members of the public all rely on IRIS for information about health risks associated with exposure to chemicals with some 9 million inquiries of the database each year. (4)IRIS provides important scientific information that supports the development of risk assessments of chemicals. (5)An estimated 700 new chemicals enter the marketplace in the United States each year, presenting a constant challenge to keep the IRIS database up-to-date. (6)The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development’s efforts to enter new scientific information about the toxicity of chemicals into the IRIS database has ground to a halt in recent years due to an overly burdensome review process. (7)The burdensome new review process has slowed new entries to the IRIS database to an average of just 2 per year. (8)The Nation needs more, and more timely, scientific assessments of chemicals to guide further research and to inform decisions. (9)The development and review of chemical assessments for inclusion in the IRIS database must be a science-based process managed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development, and this Office must move more expeditiously to produce assessments without interference by other Federal offices.

3.

Definition

In this Act, the term Assistant Administrator means the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency.

4.

Research and assessment

(a)

Database

The Assistant Administrator shall maintain a publicly accessible database of scientific information on the toxicity of chemicals, including— (1)hazard identification; (2)dose response assessments; (3)reference doses; and (4)any other information that would facilitate the development of risk assessments. (b)

Final assessments

The Assistant Administrator shall publish final assessments for at least 15 new chemicals per year and shall publish at least 5 updates to existing assessments per year. (c)

Nominations for toxicity assessments

The Assistant Administrator shall solicit nominations for chemical assessments from Environmental Protection Agency program offices, other Federal agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, and the public. (d)

List

The Assistant Administrator shall issue a list of chemicals proposed for assessment 2 years prior to the initiation of a chemical’s assessment. A chemical assessment shall be completed and made available on the database maintained under subsection (a) within 4 years after its appearance on a list under this subsection. Such list shall not be subject to review or approval by any other Federal agency or official.

5.

Assessment review

(a)

In general

The Assistant Administrator shall determine the information to be used to assess a chemical and shall establish a process for reviewing a chemical assessment prior to its inclusion on the database maintained under section 4(a). The process shall include the following: (1)Opportunity for public comment by the stakeholder community, including other Federal agencies that will use the database. (2)Opportunity for internal deliberation and review in cooperation with other Federal agencies with statutory responsibilities over public health or whose primary mission is to conduct or support research in the areas of public health or environmental protection. (3)Peer review of the chemical assessment by independent scientists prior to its publication in the database. (b)

Exclusions

In establishing the process in subsection (a), the Assistant Administrator shall ensure that— (1)Federal agencies with a real or perceived conflict of interest shall not participate in the development or internal review of chemical assessments; and (2)the Assistant Administrator shall develop and review chemical assessments without review by the President and shall publish final assessments without prior review by the President or any other Federal agency or official.

6.

Inapplicability of bulletins

The preparation and review of chemical assessments shall not be subject to the provisions of Bulletin No. 07–02, Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices and the Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review of the Office of Management and Budget.

7.

Backlog of chemical assessments

For chemical assessments that have been in development for IRIS entries prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator shall finalize and publish those entries within 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act.