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Title Interference at the EPA : science and politics at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency / the Scientific Integrity Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists
Published Cambridge, MA : UCS Publications, 2008

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Description 1 online resource (vii, 96 pages) : illustrations, charts, digital, PDF file
Summary "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the simple yet profound charge "to protect human health and the environment." EPA scientists apply their expertise to protect the public from air and water pollution, clean up hazardous waste, and study emerging threats such as global warming. Because each year brings new and potentially toxic chemicals into our homes and workplaces, because air pollution still threatens our public health, and because environmental challenges are becoming more complex and global, a strong and capable EPA is more important than ever. Yet challenges from industry lobbyists and some political leaders to the agency's decisions have too often led to the suppression and distortion of the scientific findings underlying those decisions -- to the detriment of both science and the health of our nation. While every regulatory agency must balance scientific findings with other considerations, policy makers need access to the highest-quality scientific information to make fully informed decisions. Concern over this problem led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) to investigate political interference in science at the EPA. The investigation combines dozens of interviews with current and former EPA staff, analysis of government documents, more than 1,600 responses to a survey sent to current EPA scientists, and written comments from EPA scientists. The results of these investigations show an agency under siege from political pressures. On numerous issues -- ranging from mercury pollution to groundwater contamination to climate change -- political appointees have edited scientific documents, manipulated scientific assessments, and generally sought to undermine the science behind dozens of EPA regulations. These findings highlight the need for strong reforms to protect EPA scientists, make agency decision making more transparent, and reduce politicization of the regulatory process."
Notes Also available in the OCLC Digital Archive. Harvested from http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/Interference-at-the-EPA.pdf on May 21, 2008
"April 2008."
Title from title screen (viewed Apr 24, 2008)
Contributors: Timothy Donaghy, Francesca Grifo, and Meredith McCarthy (p. vi)
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 62-67)
Subject United States. Environmental Protection Agency.
SUBJECT United States. Environmental Protection Agency. fast (OCoLC)fst00534882
Subject Environmental sciences -- Political aspects -- United States
Science and state -- United States
Environmental policy -- Corrupt practices -- United States
Scientists -- Professional ethics -- United States
Pressure groups -- United States.
Pressure groups.
Science and state.
Scientists -- Professional ethics.
United States.
Form Electronic book
Author Donaghy, Timothy Quinn.
Grifo, Francesca.
McCarthy, Meredith
Union of Concerned Scientists.
Other Titles Interference at the Environmental Protection Agency
Science and politics at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency