Ord Staff Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments (2022)

Overview

EPA released the report, “ORD Staff Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments,” or “IRIS Handbook,” which provides the operating procedures for developing assessments to the scientists in the IRIS Program. The IRIS Handbook implements recommendations and input from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), EPA Agency reviewers, other Federal Agencies, EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), and workshops provide additional input from experts in systematic review. The IRIS Handbook will be used by scientific staff on the development of the first two steps of a human health risk assessment: 1) hazard identification and the 2) dose-response assessment into an IRIS Assessment. The IRIS Handbook does not include any changes in the steps of the overall IRIS process for developing assessments.

History/Chronology

Date	Description
Oct 2020	NASEM held a preliminary closed meeting of the panel prior to the release of the public comment draft report. [NAS Meeting Oct 26, 2020]
Nov 2020	EPA released the draft IRIS Handbook and charge to reviewers for a 90-day public comment period. The comment period ended on March 1, 2021. Refer to the official notice in the Federal Register Notice and in the docket on Regulations.gov for additional information. [FR Nov 30, 2020]
Feb 2021	NASEM had it's first public meeting to discuss the EPA draft IRIS Handbook. [NAS Meeting Feb 11, 2021]
Mar 2021	NASEM held a closed meeting for the panel to discuss the study selection and deriving toxicity values. [NAS Meeting Mar 1, 2021]
Nov 2022	NASEM released the prepublication copy of their peer review report. A link was added to the EPA website.
Dec 2022	EPA released the ORD Staff Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments on the EPA website.

This document has been reviewed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

• ORD Staff Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments (PDF)  (243  pp, 4.3 MB, about PDF)

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Document Related Link(s)

• ORD Staff Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments (Public Comment Draft, Nov 2020)