Chairwoman Johnson Demands EPA Explain Removal of Formaldehyde Assessment from IRIS Program Outlook
(Washington, DC) – Today, Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanding responses to numerous previous requests related to the decision to remove formaldehyde and nine other chemical assessments from its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program outlook—cutting short reviews already in process. Despite numerous opportunities over the past five months, the EPA has failed to provide a reasonable explanation for eliminating these assessments, which evaluate the health effects of chemicals that Americans encounter in their daily environment.
“I am deeply troubled by this lack of cooperation with our efforts to evaluate a program so vital to ensuring the health and safety of the American people, and this behavior fits into a disturbing pattern of obstruction and disrespect of a Congressional authority,” said Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson in the letter. “At this point, the Committee has exhausted all non-compulsory means of conducting oversight over EPA. The Agency’s obstruction of Congress is particularly disturbing considering the implications of the matter at hand for children’s health.”
A copy of the full letter can be found here.
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