17 January 2006

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/2006/2006-01.pdf

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2006-1

January 9, 2006

OMB Requests Peer Review of Proposed Risk Assessment Bulletin

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) today released a proposed bulletin on risk assessment and asked the National Academy of Sciences for peer review. The proposed bulletin seeks to improve the quality of agency risk assessments.

Risk assessment is a widely recognized and accepted analytic tool for estimating the likelihood and severity of risks to human health, safety, and the environment and for informing decisions on how to manage those risks. Transparent and accurate risk assessments are necessary for agencies and other decision makers to make wise risk management decisions during the formation of agency rules and policy decisions.

“This Bulletin provides clear, minimum standards for the scientific quality of federal agency risk assessments. We look forward to comments from the National Academy of Sciences on how the Bulletin can be improved,” said Dr. John D. Graham, OIRA Administrator.

The OMB bulletin, prepared in consultation with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, defines general risk assessment and reporting standards for agency risk assessments and defines special standards for influential agency risk assessments. Standards for risk assessments used in regulatory analysis are also defined. OMB anticipates the new guidance will facilitate faster peer reviews of risk assessments and decrease the need for document revisions.

The proposed bulletin includes guidance related to:

• objectivity,

• reproducibility,

• transparency and presentation,

• risk characterization, and

• uncertainty characterization in risk assessments.

The OIRA proposal comes in the form of a draft “Bulletin” that was released today. OMB will modify the Bulletin, as appropriate, based on the National Academy of Sciences review, comments received from the public during the public comment period, which ends on June 15, 2006, comments from the federal agencies, and our further consideration of this issue. The Bulletin is scheduled for completion in late 2006.

A copy of the draft bulletin is available on OMB’s website at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/proposed_risk_assessment_bulletin_010906.pdf

For more information please contact OMB Communications at 202-395-7254.

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