The Environmental Protection Agency is overhauling a four-decade-old chemical risk program after mounting criticism from industries ranging from mining and manufacturing to funeral services and agriculture.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

The Environmental Protection Agency is dismantling a longstanding chemical hazard assessment system after years of complaints from industry groups that argued the program relied on unrealistic toxicity standards that harmed businesses and manufacturing across the United States.

According to reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation, EPA Deputy Administrator David Fatouhi issued an April 27 memorandum ending the agency’s use of the Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, which had been used since 1985 to classify hazardous chemical exposure risks.

Future Development and Use of Risk Assessments by yourNEWS Media

The IRIS framework generated toxicity values and carcinogen estimates used throughout the federal government to establish environmental cleanup standards, pollution thresholds, chemical regulations, and risk assessments tied to federal laws including the Clean Air Act and Toxic Substances Control Act.

Fatouhi’s memo stated that centralizing chemical hazard determinations within a single EPA office had become increasingly problematic because different legal and regulatory programs often require different scientific judgments and standards.

“While the IRIS program was designed originally to promote consistency, the development of a risk assessment often includes science policy judgments,” the memo stated. “Over the years, it has become more clear that having a single program within one office at EPA make these judgments for all hazard and dose-response assessments for all of EPA is not optimal for developing fit-for-purpose risk assessments tailored to meet specific legal, statutory, and regulatory obligations.”

The EPA will now shift responsibility for hazard classifications and chemical risk evaluations back to individual EPA program offices that oversee specific statutes and regulatory functions.

The move followed growing pressure from a broad coalition of industry organizations. More than 80 trade associations and business groups signed a January 2025 open letter organized by the American Chemistry Council urging EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to eliminate or significantly reform the IRIS system.

Groups supporting the changes included the Catfish Farmers of America, the National Funeral Directors Association, mining organizations, chemical manufacturers, and industrial trade groups.

The memo specifically highlighted controversy surrounding IRIS toxicity assessments for ethylene oxide, a chemical commonly used to sterilize medical equipment. According to Fatouhi, IRIS established exposure levels “at least 10,000 times lower than levels naturally occurring in the human body.”

Funeral industry representatives also criticized the agency’s handling of formaldehyde risk standards.

“Formaldehyde is a critical chemical used by funeral directors across America. Funeral directors are taught in mortuary school how to safely use formaldehyde,” National Funeral Directors Association Senior Vice President Lesley Witter told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Our members have been concerned about access to this critical tool due to regulations based on a flawed IRIS value for formaldehyde.”

Industry officials argued IRIS standards often established exposure thresholds below naturally occurring background levels.

A chemical industry source cited by the Daily Caller News Foundation said IRIS assessments for formaldehyde placed toxicity limits below the amount naturally produced through human respiration.

Mining industry representatives also supported the EPA’s move.

“In the past, IRIS risk assessments have applied overly conservative approaches that have driven regulatory standards arbitrarily lower—sometimes even below background levels—while offering little to no benefits,” a spokesperson for the National Mining Association said.

Another industry official told the outlet that toxicity standards involving hexavalent chromium would have forced drinking water standards below naturally occurring groundwater concentrations, potentially imposing major costs on municipal water systems without measurable public health improvements.

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates also endorsed the decision, stating the organization had long raised concerns about transparency and scientific rigor within the IRIS process.

Despite supporting the reforms, the American Chemistry Council said additional legislative action remains necessary.

ACC Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Dr. Kimberly Wise White told the Daily Caller News Foundation the organization supports full elimination of IRIS and passage of the No IRIS Act.

The legislation was introduced earlier this year by Glenn Grothman in the House and by John Kennedy in the Senate.

The bill, formally titled the No Industrial Restrictions in Secret Act, seeks to permanently codify the Trump administration’s rollback of the IRIS system.

Grothman argued IRIS standards had become economically unworkable for many industries and small businesses.

“In too many cases, IRIS assessments pushed impractical toxicity standards and emissions thresholds far below naturally occurring ambient levels,” Grothman told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That’s a direct hit on small businesses who don’t have the resources to chase ever-changing or unattainable standards.”

Grothman added that excessive regulatory burdens risk driving manufacturing overseas to countries with weaker environmental standards.

“If we truly care about reducing emissions worldwide, it needs to be a priority to keep manufacturing in the United States in a manner that reflects Gold Standard Science,” he said.