Data Disclosure for Chemical Evaluat... [Environ Health Perspect. 2012] - PubMed - NCBI

Use the link to access more information about the article.  The abstract reads as follows: "BACKGROUND: Public disclosure of scientific data used by the government to make regulatory decisions for chemicals is a practical step that can enhance public confidence in the scientific basis of such decisions. OBJECTIVES: We review the Environmental Protection Agency's current practices regarding disclosure of data underlying regulatory and policy decisions involving chemicals, including pesticides. We seek to identify additional opportunities for EPA to disclose data and, more generally, to promote broad access to data it uses, regardless of origin. DISCUSSION: We recommend that when EPA proposes a regulatory determination or other policy decision that relies on scientific research, it should provide sufficient underlying raw data and information about methods to enable reanalysis and attempts to reproduce independently the work, including the sensitivity of results to alternative analyses. This recommendation applies regardless of who conducted the work. If EPA is unable to provide such transparency, it should state whether it had full access to all underlying data and methods. A timely version of submitted data cleared of information about confidential business matters and personal privacy should fully meet the standards of transparency articulated below, including public access sufficient for others to undertake an independent reanalysis. CONCLUSION: Reliable chemical evaluation is essential for protecting public health and the environment and ensuring availability of useful chemicals under appropriate conditions. By permitting qualified researchers to endeavor to reproduce independently the analyses used in regulatory determinations of pesticides and other chemicals, such data disclosure would increase confidence in the scientific basis of such determinations."