No IRIS Act of 2025
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Grothman (for himself, Mr. Ellzey, Mr. Guest, and Ms. …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The "No IRIS Act of 2025" prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using scientific assessments generated by its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program. IRIS is the EPA's database of toxicity assessments that evaluate health risks from exposure to chemicals found in industrial processes, products, and pollution. This bill would prevent EPA from relying on these scientific assessments when creating environmental regulations, enforcing pollution limits, issuing permits to polluting facilities, or developing air quality screening tools.
Who Benefits and How
Chemical manufacturers, petroleum refineries, and other industrial facilities that emit toxic pollutants would benefit significantly from this bill. These industries currently face EPA regulations based on IRIS toxicity assessments for chemicals like benzene, formaldehyde, and other carcinogens. By prohibiting EPA from using IRIS data, these companies would face reduced regulatory scrutiny and weaker chemical safety standards. Pesticide manufacturers and mining operations that release chemicals assessed by IRIS would also gain reduced compliance burdens and potentially lower costs from avoiding more stringent environmental controls.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The EPA would lose a critical scientific tool for protecting public health, severely limiting its ability to regulate toxic chemicals based on peer-reviewed risk assessments. Communities living near industrial facilities, chemical plants, and refineries would face increased health risks from toxic air emissions that would no longer be regulated using IRIS toxicity data. Public health advocates and environmental organizations would bear the burden of fighting for chemical safety protections without the scientific backing of IRIS assessments. Ultimately, the general public's health protections from toxic chemical exposures would be weakened.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits EPA from using IRIS assessments to develop, finalize, or issue any rules or regulations
- Prevents EPA from using IRIS data in any enforcement actions or permitting decisions for polluting facilities
- Bars EPA from incorporating IRIS assessments into air toxics screening tools and pollution mapping systems
- Creates a blanket prohibition overriding any other federal law that would allow IRIS use
- Applies to all existing and future IRIS chemical risk assessments
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Prohibits the EPA from using Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessments in any rulemaking, enforcement, permitting, or screening activities
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Restrict EPA regulatory authority by prohibiting use of IRIS chemical risk assessments"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Chemical manufacturers subject to EPA regulation
- Oil and gas industry (refineries, processors)
- Industrial facilities with toxic emissions
- Mining companies
- Pesticide manufacturers
Likely Burden Bearers
- Environmental Protection Agency (reduced regulatory tools)
- Public health advocates
- Communities near industrial facilities
- Environmental protection groups
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A program of the Environmental Protection Agency that generates assessments used in regulatory actions
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology