EPA Releases Public Database on Risk Assessments

March 24, 2010
On March 24, EPA released the Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO) database to provide access to the scientific studies used in making key regulatory decisions, including EPA’s periodic review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six major pollutants.

The publicly accessible HERO database provides an easy way to review the scientific literature behind EPA science assessments, which are used to support agency decision-making. The database includes more than 300,000 scientific articles including the authors, titles, dates and abstracts. In addition, through a simple keyword search, anyone can see information from the articles that were used to develop specific risk assessments.

This database is part of the open government directive to conduct business with transparency, participation and collaboration.

“The HERO database strengthens our science and our transparency – two pillars of our work at EPA. Giving the public easy access to the same information EPA uses will help open the lines of communication, increase knowledge and understanding, and open the doors of EPA,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Americans have a right to know the background of decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. We're taking a big step forward in opening government to the people.”

HERO includes peer-reviewed literature used by EPA to develop its Integrated Science Assessments (ISA) that feed into the NAAQS review. It also includes references and data from the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), a database that supports critical agency policymaking for chemical regulation.

For more information about the HERO database, visit http://www.epa.gov/hero.

About the Author

Laura Walter

Laura Walter was formerly senior editor of EHS Today. She is a subject matter expert in EHS compliance and government issues and has covered a variety of topics relating to occupational safety and health. Her writing has earned awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), the Trade Association Business Publications International (TABPI) and APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. Her debut novel, Body of Stars (Dutton) was published in 2021.

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