{"id":32602,"date":"2023-03-31T00:01:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T04:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=32602"},"modified":"2023-03-30T18:06:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T22:06:10","slug":"office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, March 31, 2023)\u00a0A report from the Office of the Inspector General<\/a> (OIG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most recent event in the very long chronicle of EPA dysfunction<\/a> that \u2014 put charitably \u2014 constitutes failures to enact its mission, and more accurately, sometimes crosses the line into malfeasance. In the report, OIG concludes<\/a> that EPA\u2019s 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment<\/a> failed to \u201cuphold the agency\u2019s commitments to scientific integrity and information quality,\u201d and that the agency\u2019s actions \u201cleft the public vulnerable to potential negative impacts on human health.\u201d As reported by The Guardian<\/em><\/a>, \u201cTrump administration appointees at . . . EPA meddled in agency science to weaken the toxicity assessment of a dangerous chemical.\u201d Last year, Beyond Pesticide concerns about the myriad risks and harms of pesticides intersected with those about the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances) family of chemical compounds, of which PFBS is a member, when a study found very high levels of PFAS in multiple pesticide products<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

The EPA OIG explains<\/a> why it undertook the evaluation that led to this report: \u201cto determine whether the EPA followed applicable policies and procedures to develop and publish the January 19, 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid toxicity assessment. Two weeks after publication, the EPA removed the toxicity assessment from its website, citing political interference and Scientific Integrity Policy violations. . . . The EPA\u2019s Scientific Integrity Policy, established in 2012, states that science is the backbone of the EPA\u2019s decision making and that the Agency depends on the integrity of its science to protect human health and the environment. All EPA employees \u2014 including scientists, managers, and political appointees \u2014 must follow the Scientific Integrity Policy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

PFBS (perfluorobutane sulfonate<\/a>) is one of thousands of PFAS \u201cforever chemicals\u201d that are emerging as a ubiquitous and serious threat<\/a> to human<\/a> and organismic health. These compounds do not break down in the environment,\u00a0and can move through soils, contaminate water resources<\/a>,\u00a0and bioaccumulate in aquatic and terrestrial organisms<\/a>. The Guardian<\/em> writes<\/a> that PFBS \u201cis toxic at low levels. Research has\u00a0linked<\/a>\u00a0the chemical to kidney disease, reproductive problems and thyroid damage, and it has been found\u00a0throughout the environment<\/a>, including in an\u00a0estimated<\/a>\u00a0860,000 Americans\u2019 drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Concurrent with the recent Biden administration EPA announcement of new proposed federal standards<\/a> for PFAS compounds in drinking water, the Environmental Working Group published an interactive map<\/a> of the nearly 3,000 (and rising) number of sites in the U.S. (and two territories) contaminated by PFAS chemicals. EPA warned<\/a>, in June 2022, that PFAS compounds, linked to reproductive, immune, cardiovascular, and endocrine (especially thyroid) anomalies and to several kinds of cancer, are an even greater health threat than was previously known. Many advocates have noted that the proposed new federal standards are still inadequate because they are less stringent than the interim advisory levels for safe consumption EPA set out last year<\/a> \u2014 lifetime exposures of no more than 0.004 to 0.02 ppt (parts per trillion), depending on the type of PFAS compound.<\/p>\r\n

The OIG report notes \u201cunprecedented\u201d interference<\/a> on the part of Trump EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and other political appointees in the PFBS assessment. At the 11th<\/sup> hour, Mr. Wheeler ordered the insertion of a range of toxicity values, rather than a specific limit. The compromised assessment, which would have guided drinking water standards for the chemical, as well as targets that polluters would need to meet in pollution cleanup \u2014 thus, allowing companies to remediate PFBS to higher, more-dangerous levels \u2014 was published just four days prior to the inauguration of President Biden. The OIG report notes<\/a> that \u201cThe new numbers were inserted without being fully scientifically vetted, and they lacked \u2018technical and quality assurance review.\u2019\u201d Kyla Bennett of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) notes that<\/a> \u201c[t]hey were trying so hard to get [the assessment] out before Trump left office.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The Biden administration yanked the 2021 PFBS assessment<\/a> in February 2021 because of its determination that there had been political interference. According to The Guardian<\/em><\/a>, it was republished several months later \u201cusing what it said is sound science, and declared it had resolved the issue.\u201d But some EPA scientists related to the newspaper that \u201cseveral employees willingly worked with the Trump appointees to weaken the assessment, and they were never reprimanded or fired. The scientists say the controversy is part of a\u00a0deeper problem<\/a>\u00a0afflicting EPA: industry influence on career staff, and an unwillingness from the EPA to address it.<\/p>\r\n

\u2018The issue is part of the larger rot at the agency of career staff working with industry to weaken the EPA,\u2019 a current agency scientist familiar with the situation said. The scientist did not use their name for fear of reprisal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

After the 2021 assessment was pulled, the Biden administration declared<\/a> in a statement that the EPA evaluation of PFBS had been \u201ccompromised by political interference as well as infringement of authorship.\u201d The Guardian<\/em> reports<\/a> that, \u201cDuring its review, the administration took no action against career employees who implemented the political appointees\u2019 changes. Those employees \u2018made the changes happily,\u2019 according to PEER\u2019s Kyla Bennett, of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), but remained at the agency.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

According to The Guardian<\/em>\u2019s coverage<\/a>, internal emails from the ebbing days of the Trump EPA, as well as comments in the OIG report, indicate that career employees in the agency\u2019s OCSPP (Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention) either asked for the toxicity metric changes or did not object to them. Reportedly, the sole career employee who opposed the order for changes to the PFBS assessment was Orme-Zavaleta, who told The Guardian<\/em> that Administrator Wheeler\u2019s order \u201cflew in the face of scientific integrity.\u201d Former EPA scientist Betsy Southerland told the paper<\/a> that the changes were \u201csomething that industry has always wanted.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Beyond Pesticides has repeatedly highlighted the too-cozy relationship between the chemical industries and EPA, with particular attention to the impacts on EPA\u2019s registration and regulation of pesticides. A 2021 press release on a letter sent to the Biden Administration<\/a> by Beyond Pesticides and PEER (with 35 other groups) summarized the issues: \u201cThe Office of Pesticides Programs within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has become so captured by industry that it has lost sight of its health and environmental mission. . . . [T]he groups are urging the Biden administration to adopt reforms within OPP to ensure pesticide approval and use decisions are science-based.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

It continues<\/a>, \u201cInside OPP [EPA\u2019s Office of Pesticide Programs], marginalization of science remains cause for celebration and the result has been repeated ecological and public health disasters. . . . The letter recounts a litany of improper pesticide approval decisions, some of which were blocked in court, while still others are being reversed under Biden. But the groups say these cases are symptomatic of a larger institutional illness that calls for thoroughgoing reforms. The cumulative effects of years and decades of this regulatory abuse are untold human deaths, disabilities, and illnesses. Industry has been forced to pay out billions of dollars for damages claims over OPP-approved products. The groups also point to the decline of pollinators \u2014 the key to American food security \u2014 due to the indiscriminate application of highly potent pesticides. The health of non-target wildlife, as well as our soil and waters, is under chemical siege.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Beyond Pesticides has covered many of the transgressions of EPA during the Trump administration, including those related to pesticides (e.g., dicamba<\/a>, chlorpyrifos<\/a>), scientific integrity<\/a>, lack of transparency and accountability<\/a>, poor enforcement of regulations<\/a>, and water protection<\/a>, among others. Investigative journalists Cary Gillam<\/a>, Sharon Lerner<\/a>, and PEER<\/a> have all bird dogged EPA on its chemical and pesticide policies and regulations; Beyond Pesticides has featured their work (and others\u2019) in various Daily News Blog entries. See, for example, coverage on EPA\u2019s ongoing failures and malfeasance: EPA reliance on industry research<\/a>; the \u201crevolving door<\/a>\u201d between industry and EPA; chemical industry influence<\/a> on the agency; the corrupt alteration of scientific information, as related to the pesticide dicamba<\/a>; and so many instances of EPA disregarding scientifically demonstrable harms<\/a> that they cannot reasonably be listed here.<\/p>\r\n

Beyond Pesticides\u2019 three-part series, based in part on Ms. Lerner\u2019s work, goes directly to these issues: undermining of EPA function by industry influence<\/a>, the susceptibility of EPA officials and managers to corrupt behavior<\/a>, and the ongoing failure of the agency to align its efforts with its own 2012 Scientific Integrity Policy, here<\/a> and here<\/a>. Further, the many transgressions of the Trump EPA are a dramatic demonstration of how whip-sawed EPA\u2019s operations and approach can be with the advent of administrations whose politics harbor animus toward regulation \u2014 even though the agency\u2019s job is to protect human and environmental health.<\/p>\r\n

As is the practice for the offices of federal Inspectors General in reports on their internal agency investigations, the EPA OIG made recommendations<\/a> to the agency. Three of those are directed to the assistant administrator for Research and Development; they (1) \u201caim to reduce procedural confusion and strengthen existing policies, procedures, and guidance by clarifying if and when comments expressing scientific disagreement can be expressed; (2) making clear if and when toxicity ranges are acceptable; and (3) using the OIG as a resource for high-profile scientific integrity concerns that relate to political interference or that assert risk to human health or the environment.\u201d Another is directed to the assistant administrator for Mission Support: \u201cto update policies and procedures on environmental information quality to require additional quality assurance reviews for EPA products.\u201d The last goes to the deputy administrator of EPA: \u201cto strengthen the EPA\u2019s culture of scientific integrity, transparency, and accountability of political leadership actions when changes occur as a result of policy decisions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Whether and how EPA chooses to adopt these recommendations remains to be seen. Yet even this OIG report \u2014 though potentially helpful in righting EPA\u2019s ship \u2014\u00a0does not address the comprehensive overhaul needed at EPA to ensure it pursues its mission with integrity, based in science, and with protection of health and environment at the helm.<\/p>\r\n

As Beyond Pesticides recently wrote<\/a>, \u201c[EPA\u2019s] track record, on so many pesticides [and chemicals broadly], is to deal with one compound (under a narrow range of circumstances and\/or narrow time frame and\/or specific exposure levels) at a time. Beyond Pesticides has dubbed this the \u2018whack-a-mole\u2019 struggle on pesticides. Each regulatory baby step at EPA, each judicial settlement or knock-down of a particular pesticide, each bit of research demonstrating harms \u2014 these represent small, incremental advances on a pesticide [and broad \u201cchemical saturation\u201d] problem that is vast in scope. But this approach is wholly inadequate to the devastation that [dangerous chemicals] are causing, and it continues the \u201ccollision course\u201d we are on re: human health and well-being, biodiversity collapse, and the climate crisis. A precautionary approach<\/a> . . . is far more suited to the task of genuinely protecting public health and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Source: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/mar\/23\/trump-appointees-epa-toxic-chemical-pfas-pfbs-toxic?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other<\/a><\/p>\r\n

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2023)\u00a0A report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most recent event in the very long chronicle of EPA dysfunction that \u2014 put charitably \u2014 constitutes failures to enact its mission, and more accurately, sometimes crosses the line into malfeasance. In the report, OIG concludes that EPA\u2019s 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment failed to \u201cuphold the agency\u2019s commitments to scientific integrity and information quality,\u201d and that the agency\u2019s actions \u201cleft the public vulnerable to potential negative impacts on human health.\u201d As reported by The Guardian, \u201cTrump administration appointees at . . . EPA meddled in agency science to weaken the toxicity assessment of a dangerous chemical.\u201d Last year, Beyond Pesticide concerns about the myriad risks and harms of pesticides intersected with those about the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances) family of chemical compounds, of which PFBS is a member, when a study found very high levels of PFAS in multiple pesticide products. The EPA OIG explains why it undertook the evaluation that led to this report: \u201cto determine whether the EPA followed applicable policies and procedures to develop and publish the January 19, 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[354,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environmental-protection-agency-epa","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOffice of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2023)\u00a0A report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most recent event in the very long chronicle of EPA dysfunction that \u2014 put charitably \u2014 constitutes failures to enact its mission, and more accurately, sometimes crosses the line into malfeasance. In the report, OIG concludes that EPA\u2019s 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment failed to \u201cuphold the agency\u2019s commitments to scientific integrity and information quality,\u201d and that the agency\u2019s actions \u201cleft the public vulnerable to potential negative impacts on human health.\u201d As reported by The Guardian, \u201cTrump administration appointees at . . . EPA meddled in agency science to weaken the toxicity assessment of a dangerous chemical.\u201d Last year, Beyond Pesticide concerns about the myriad risks and harms of pesticides intersected with those about the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances) family of chemical compounds, of which PFBS is a member, when a study found very high levels of PFAS in multiple pesticide products. The EPA OIG explains why it undertook the evaluation that led to this report: \u201cto determine whether the EPA followed applicable policies and procedures to develop and publish the January 19, 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-31T04:01:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-31T04:01:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\"},\"wordCount\":1821,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\",\"name\":\"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-31T04:01:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"description\":\"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2501,\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"description\":\"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","og_description":"(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2023)\u00a0A report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most recent event in the very long chronicle of EPA dysfunction that \u2014 put charitably \u2014 constitutes failures to enact its mission, and more accurately, sometimes crosses the line into malfeasance. In the report, OIG concludes that EPA\u2019s 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment failed to \u201cuphold the agency\u2019s commitments to scientific integrity and information quality,\u201d and that the agency\u2019s actions \u201cleft the public vulnerable to potential negative impacts on human health.\u201d As reported by The Guardian, \u201cTrump administration appointees at . . . EPA meddled in agency science to weaken the toxicity assessment of a dangerous chemical.\u201d Last year, Beyond Pesticide concerns about the myriad risks and harms of pesticides intersected with those about the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances) family of chemical compounds, of which PFBS is a member, when a study found very high levels of PFAS in multiple pesticide products. The EPA OIG explains why it undertook the evaluation that led to this report: \u201cto determine whether the EPA followed applicable policies and procedures to develop and publish the January 19, 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid […]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2023-03-31T04:01:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again","datePublished":"2023-03-31T04:01:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/"},"wordCount":1821,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg","articleSection":["Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/","name":"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg","datePublished":"2023-03-31T04:01:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/EPA.toxic_.unclesam.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/office-of-the-inspector-general-slams-epa-for-betraying-scientific-integrity-again\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Office of the Inspector General Slams EPA for Betraying Scientific Integrity. . . Again"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","description":"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization","name":"Beyond Pesticides","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2501,"caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4","name":"Beyond Pesticides","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"description":"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/"],"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32602"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32639,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32602\/revisions\/32639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}