NFFS joins letter urging limitations on funding for EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

NFFS joins the American Chemistry Council letter to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees urging them to include limitations on funding for EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and referencing problems with the program in the FY2025 Interior Appropriations bills.

At risk is the use of formaldehyde in basically all foundry operations, limiting occupational exposure levels to 11 parts per BILLION vs the present 750 parts per billion in the present OSHA regulations. This would make many of the resin/binder systems presently used in the foundry industry useless as they result in employee exposure well above the 11 PPB threshold for employee exposure levels.

EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is an initiative aimed at assessing the health risks associated with environmental contaminants. The goal of the program is to provide comprehensive health assessments of chemical substances found in the environment. These assessments are used to support the EPA’s regulatory and policy decisions, ensuring the protection of public health and the environment.

Critics argue that IRIS lacks transparency in its processes and decision-making, express concerns about the scientific rigor and reliability of assessments conducted by IRIS, believe the system to be vulnerable to political and external influence, and argue that overly conservative risk assessments can result in excessive regulatory burdens that stifle innovation, increase costs and affect competitiveness.