“A Huge Setback”: New EPA Directive Could Weaken Hundreds of Chemical Regulations

ProPublica reports that EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi has issued an internal memo directing EPA offices to review chemical regulations built on assessments from IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System), a 40-year-old program responsible for toxicity evaluations underpinning over 500 federal and state regulations. The memo suggests IRIS assessments—covering standards for arsenic in drinking water, lead in paint, and ethylene oxide—are unreliable and overly cautious, with the agency planning to add disclaimer language to the program's findings; Fotouhi previously worked as a lawyer representing companies facing toxic pollution liability, creating potential conflicts of interest. The reporting is substantive and well-sourced, featuring named sources including environmental attorneys, EPA statements, and specific details about the memo's contents, Fotouhi's prior employment, and the IRIS program's 40-year history; ProPublica obtained the memo directly. Corroborating coverage from NPR and Prism Reports documents the broader pattern of EPA deregulation under the Trump administration, including paused ethylene oxide protections that would have eliminated 90% of emissions under Biden-era rules, and confirms that EPA leadership has cut budgets, eliminated departments, and reassigned dozens of IRIS scientists—contextual details that strengthen the article's framing of institutional dismantling rather than isolated policy review. Readers should monitor whether states challenge the memo's legal standing, how courts respond to companies citing it to overturn existing permits, and whether Congress acts on pending industry-backed legislation that would formally bar IRIS use in regulation.