EPA Integrated Risk Information System Made "Substantial Improvements"
A new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council has found that changes EPA has proposed and implemented into its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) process are "substantial improvements" over its old system. IRIS is used to assess the hazards posed by environmental contaminants but has been rather sporadically followed in the past. A court had to order the EPA to stop blaming fracking for problems without doing a study and the agency has had to defend itself against charges of 'secret' science in determining greenhouse gas policy. While acknowledging the progress made to date, the report offers further guidance and recommendations to improve the overall scientific and technical validity of the program. read more