An investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency found that 889 of nearly 1,600 staff scientists reported that they experienced political interference in their work over the last five years.
The study, by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), follows previous UCS investigations of the Food and Drug Administration, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and climate scientists at seven federal agencies, which also found significant administration manipulation of federal science.
"Our investigation found an agency in crisis," said Francesca Grifo, director of UCS’s Scientific Integrity Program. "Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported political interference in their scientific work. That’s 900 too many. Distorting science to accommodate a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health, and our democracy itself."
The UCS report comes amidst a flurry of controversial activity swirling around the EPA. Congress is currently investigating administration interference in a new chemical toxicity review process as well as California’s request to regulate tailpipe emissions.
The UCS investigation included dozens of interviews with current and former EPA staff members, analysis of government documents, and a questionnaire sent to 5,419 EPA scientists by Iowa State University’s Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology. The questionnaire generated responses from 1,586 scientists.
Nearly 100 scientists identified the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the primary culprit.
"OMB and the White House have, in some cases, compromised the integrity of EPA rules and policies; their influence, largely hidden from the public and driven by industry lobbying, has decreased the stringency of proposed regulations for non-scientific, political reasons," said a scientist from one of the agency’s regional offices. A spokesman for EPA, Jonathan Shradar, denied these allegations.
"Certainly OMB plays a policy role," Shradar said by telephone. "It’s important that there is inter-agency cooperation. There’s not interference against the scientific work that they’re doing, that’s still highly respected and taken into account."
Previous UCS investigations of other federal agencies show that the problem of political interference is not unique to the EPA. These investigations recently prompted a group of prominent scientists – organized by UCS – to call on the next president and Congress to strengthen protections for all federal scientists. The statement urges them to ensure that federal scientists have the freedom to publicly communicate their findings; publish their work; disclose misrepresentation, censorship or other abuses; and have their technical work evaluated by peers–all without fear of retribution.
In an op-ed piece published Monday by The Hill, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said, "EPA has departed from its mission of environmental protection and instead seems to have aligned itself with special interests – the very polluters they were established to defend against. This has increasingly put the agency at odds with the laws it is supposed to uphold."
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