NTP Report Delayed by data Challenges

Challenges by chemical makers and industry groups under the federal Information Quality Act (IQA) have delayed release of the biannual "Report on Carcinogens," a watchdog group charged in an analysis released last week. The National Toxicology Program issues the carcinogen report, which is required by law and lists chemicals that are known or reasonably anticipated to be carcinogenic. OMB Watch, an organization that tracks the White House Office of Management & Budget and federal agencies, analyzed the 10 challenges NTP received from industry under IQA from 2002 to 2006. The group found that industry challenged NTP-issued notices about the agency's intent to study chemicals, how meetings were conducted, and documents "clearly beyond the parameters" of IQA. "Instead of seeking to improve the quality of data, the intent of these challenges seems to be to keep scientific information out of the hands of health professionals and government decisionmakers," concludes Clayton Northouse, information policy analyst at OMB Watch. The report is available online at ombwatch.org/info/NTPDataQuality.pdf.