The Environmental Protection Agency - unbiased?
No. From David Heath and Ronnie Greene writing at
PBS Newshour:
Ouster of Scientist from EPA Panel Shows Industry Clout
In 2007, when Deborah Rice was appointed chair of an Environmental Protection Agency panel assessing the safety levels of flame retardants, she arrived as a respected Maine toxicologist with no ties to industry.
Yet the EPA removed Rice from the panel after an intense push by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), an industry lobbying group that accused her of bias. Her supposed conflict of interest? She had publicly raised questions about the safety of a flame retardant under EPA review.
Rice's travails through the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, program reveal the flip side of industry's sway. Not only does the ACC back many scientists named to IRIS panels, it also has the power to help remove ones it doesn't favor.
This agency simply cannot do anything right. They need to be defunded. They had their day -- we now have clean air and water.
Posted by DaveH at February 13, 2013 3:31 PM