Dismantling of EPA’s Scientific Arm Fulfills Key Chemical Industry Goal
"Companies feared rules and lawsuits based on the Office of Research and Development’s assessments of the dangers of formaldehyde, ethylene oxide and other substances."
"Companies feared rules and lawsuits based on the Office of Research and Development’s assessments of the dangers of formaldehyde, ethylene oxide and other substances."
"Just six months into his second term, President Donald Trump has moved quickly to reshape the Environmental Protection Agency in ways not seen over its 55-year history, drastically restructuring offices, realigning priorities, and reducing staff."
"Twenty-seven blue, pink and purple trunks, adorned with yellow roses and other flowers, were placed within view of the White House on Monday – each representing a child who perished when Camp Mystic in Texas was overwhelmed by a devastating flood."
"Environmental regulators have launched an investigation into a heavily trafficked lake below the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range, with an Enterococci reading 384 times the safety threshold."
"Many of the nation’s wetlands are being filled with toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” as wastewater treatment plant effluent tainted with the compounds is increasingly used to restore swampland and other waters. The practice threatens wildlife, food and drinking water sources, environmental advocates warn."
"Every January, Charles Linder travels from Illinois to Idaho to retrieve thousands of bee hives from a temperature-controlled storage facility. He loads boxes of hives onto a semi truck headed west for almond season, the first of many stops his bees will make on a cross-country pollination tour. But two winters ago, Mr. Linder opened those boxes and discovered that around 90 percent of his bees were dead."
"Trump administration officials say the White House has no plans to crack down on pesticides in farming, despite a report led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that called crop protection chemicals a danger to people’s health."
"Louisville’s drinking water utility says a West Virginia factory’s PFAS pollution could cause problems locally. The facility faces a lawsuit for violating its permit."
"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that it would eliminate its scientific research arm and begin firing hundreds of chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, after denying for months that it intended to do so."

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to forbid government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals, WatchDog was among those who paid heed to this worrisome move to censor science, and the harm it portends for environmental science, environmental journalism and, ultimately, public health. But as WatchDog warns, it could be just the tip of the iceberg.