The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) questioned scientific conclusions and edited language in multiple studies assessing the health effects of chemical substances, according to a report released today by the House Science and Technology Committee subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.

In 2004, OIRA began reviewing advanced drafts of each and every assessment produced by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System. The IRIS program studies and lists in a public database the health risks associated with hundreds of chemicals. Previously, OIRA mainly reviewed drafts of agency regulations as well as forms agencies distribute to private entities or citizens requesting information. Its decision to wade into pure science was, and continues to be, controversial.

During reviews, OIRA went so far as to strikeout EPA language and insert new language, according to documents unearthed by the subcommittee’s majority staff. Here’s an example of an OIRA comment on the assessment of a polybrominated diphenyl ether, called BDE-209 or decaBDE, from the report:

“Together these studies suggest that decaBDE has a very limited potential to activate the AhR signal transduction pathway, which is considered to be a key is the critical toxicological mechanism for many persistent aromatic hydrocarbons.” Please also add a citation for this? [emphasis in original] 

The report calls the comment “very disturbing because it represents a substantive editorial change regarding how to characterize the science.”

Although the comments and edits coming from OIRA were of a scientific nature, the report points out that OIRA’s position – nested inside the Executive Office of the President and, more specifically, the Office of Management and Budget – gives its comments greater weight than those of other commenters or peer reviewers. The report says OIRA reviewers “implicitly had the endorsement of the President and the President’s top staff.”

Will similar interventions continue under President Obama? Lawmakers will investigate that question today when the subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) hears from EPA and Government Accountability Office officials. EPA recently changed the process for assessing chemicals under IRIS, mostly for the better, but it chose to preserve a role for the White House. It is unclear whether the “White House offices” EPA refers to will include OIRA, other offices like the Office of Science and Technology Policy, or both.

The hearing begins at 1pm. A webcast should be available here: science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2485.