References 



IRIS Questions and 

 Answers 



health risks of a given chemical in a given situation, which can then 

 lead to risk management decision designed to protect public health. 



The information contained in Section I (Chronic Health Hazard As- 

 sessment for Noncarcinogenic Effects) and Section II (Carcinogenicity 

 Assessment for Lifetime Exposure) of the IRIS chemical files repre- 

 sents a consensus judgment of EPA's Reference Dose (RfD) Work 

 Group or Carcinogen Risk Assessment Verification Endeavor 

 (CRAVE) Work Group, respectively. These two Agency-wide work 

 groups include high-level scientists from EPA's program offices (haz- 

 ardous waste, air, pesticides) and the Office of Research and Develop- 

 ment. Individual EPA offices have conducted comprehensive 

 scientific reviews of the literature available on the particular chemical, 

 and have performed the first two steps of risk assessment: hazard 

 evaluation and dose-response assessment. These assessments have 

 been summarized for IRIS and reviewed and revised by the ap- 

 propriate work group. As new information becomes available, these 

 work groups will re-evaluate their work and revise IRIS files accord- 

 ingly. For more information, contact IRIS User Support in EPA's 

 Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Cincinnati, OH 

 (513/569-7254 or FTS 684-7254). 



NRC (National Research Council), 1983. "The Nature of Risk Assess- 

 ment." In: Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Manag ing 

 the Process. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. p. 18. 



U.S. EPA. 1985. "Principles of Risk Assessment: A nontechnical 

 review." Prepared for a risk assessment workshop. Easton, MD, 

 March 17-18. 



1) How can I get access to IRIS? 



IRIS is available on every EPA electronic mailbox. Once the EPA 

 electronic mail system has been accessed, simply type in 'IRIS' and hit 

 the return key. The IRIS menu will appear on the screen. To obtain 

 a copy of the IRIS User's Guide, call IRIS User Support at FTS 

 684-7254 or print out the identical on-line version provided in menu 

 option 4. 



2) How can those outside the agency get access to IRIS? 



Those outside EPA can obtain an IRIS account by calling Mike 

 McLaughlin of DIALCOM, Inc. at (202) 488-0550 or write to: 



Mike McLaughlin 

 DIALCOM, Inc. 

 Federal Systems Division 

 600 Maryland Avenue SW 

 Washington, D.C. 20024 



I RIS is also available through the Public Health Network (PHN) of the 

 Public Health Foundation. Call Paul Johnson at (202)898-5600 for 



