22 January 2009 marks a new day on the EPA watch according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO):


EPA’S PROCESSES FOR ASSESSING AND CONTROLLING TOXIC CHEMICALS

 EPA’s ability to protect public health and the environment depends on credible and timely assessments of the risks posed by toxic chemicals. Its Integrated Risk Information System, which contains assessments of more than 500 toxic chemicals, is at serious risk of becoming obsolete because EPA has been unable to keep its existing assessments current or to complete assessments of important chemicals of concern. Overall, EPA has finished only nine assessments in the past three years; at the end of 2007, most of the 70 ongoing assessments had been underway for more than five years. EPA urgently needs to streamline and increase the transparency of this assessment process. The agency also requires additional authority than currently provided in the Toxic Substances Control Act to obtain health and safety information from the chemical industry and to shift more of the burden to chemical companies to demonstrate the safety of their products.

The GAO released thereby the biennial update to its "list of federal programs, policies, and operations that are at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement or in need of broad-based transformation." How the federal government assesses and controls toxic chemicals is one of the three new areas in the 2009 High-Risk List. The other two areas are: The outdated U.S. Financial System and FDA oversight of medical products.

"I am hopeful that the inclusion of these issues will lead to greater scrutiny and spur needed reforms," Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the U.S. and head of the GAO, said.