Why Has the EPA Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots

Sunday, 22 October 2017 08:16

Lipton writes: "For years, the Environmental Protection Agency has struggled to prevent an ingredient once used in stain-resistant carpets and nonstick pans from contaminating drinking water."

Ms. Hamnett in Falls Church, Va. Last month, she retired as the top official overseeing pesticides and toxic chemicals at the E.P.A. �I had become irrelevant,� she said about changes there under the Trump administration (photo: Jared Soares/NYT)

Why Has the EPA Shifted on Toxic Chemicals? An Industry Insider Helps Call the Shots

By Eric Lipton, The New York Times

22 October 17

A scientist who worked for the chemical industry now shapes policy on hazardous chemicals. Within the E.P.A., there is fear that public health is at risk. (At right, a signing ceremony for new rules on toxic chemicals.)

or years, the Environmental Protection Agency has struggled to prevent an ingredient once used in stain-resistant carpets and nonstick pans from contaminating drinking water.

The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, has been linked to kidney cancer, birth defects, immune system disorders and other serious health problems.

So scientists and administrators in the E.P.A.�s Office of Water were alarmed in late May when a top Trump administration appointee insisted upon the rewriting of a rule to make it harder to track the health consequences of the chemical, and therefore regulate it.

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