A Trump administration appointee at EPA has taken an influential role in federal assessment of the risk posed by hazardous chemicals, “making it more aligned with the industry’s wishes,” reports the New York Times. The new approach includes the EPA decision in March to allow continued agriculture use of chlorpyrifos, an insecticide criticized as a risk to children and farmworkers.
The change in stance by the EPA was spearheaded by Nancy Beck, who became a top official in EPA’s toxic chemical unit in May, after five years as an executive at the trade group American Chemistry Council. “Dr. Beck, who has a doctorate in environmental health, comes from a camp — firmly backed by the chemical industry — that says the government too often directs burdensome rules at what she calls ‘phantom risks,'” said the Times. “Other scientists and administrators at the EPA … say the dangers are real and the pushback is often a tactic for deflecting accountability — and shoring up industry profits at the expense of public safety.”
Last year, Congress passed legislation to push the EPA to decide whether dozens of chemicals were so dangerous they should be banned or restricted in usage, said the Times. With the friendlier attitude from the government, chemical companies and manufacturers “say new chemicals are getting faster regulatory reviews and existing chemicals will benefit from a less dogmatic approach to determining risk.”
As a sidebar, the Times posted online a series of EPA emails and other documents on the decision to allow farmers to use chlorpyrifos, rather than ban it. The chief of staff for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said he felt “forced into a box” to meet a court deadline for a decision on banning the insecticide. Leaders of the American Farm Bureau Federation met EPA officials in the weeks before the EPA decision.
Separately, the Times said the EPA cancelled an appearance by three of its scientists who were to discuss climate change at a conference today in Rhode Island. “The scientists who have been barred from speaking contributed substantial material to a 400-page report to be issued on Monday,” said the newspaper.