On 21 April, the Environmental Protection Agency notified hundreds of employees working on diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice issues that they would be fired or reassigned to other positions.
EPA
Posted inResearch & Developments
Trump Administration Moves to Weaken PFAS Rules
President Donald Trump’s EPA is considering a rule that would weaken regulations limiting chemicals harmful to human health in consumer goods, The Guardian reports.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of chemicals added to consumer products, oftentimes for their water- and stain-resistant properties. Exposure to PFAS is known to raise the risk of certain cancers, kidney and liver disease, and complications surrounding reproductive health. The chemicals are omnipresent in everyday life and contaminate drinking water across the United States.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Trump Administration Plans to Fire More Than 1,000 EPA Scientists
The Trump Administration plans to fire more than 1,000 scientists in the EPA’s research arm. The layoffs are part of a “reduction in force” that comes after the agency already fired hundreds of probationary workers. (A federal judge has since ordered that these employees be reinstated, and though the administration has complied, most of the workers have been placed on administrative leave.)
Posted inResearch & Developments
404: Air Quality Data from U.S. Embassies Removed
On 4 March, AirNow, the home of the U.S. Air Quality Index, shut down its webpage that reported data from air quality monitors at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. Eos learned of the removal of these data from Dan Westervelt, a climate change and pollution scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.
Posted inNews
Unregulated Industrial Contaminants Detected in Some U.S. Drinking Water
Communities of color are more likely to have higher levels of these contaminants in their drinking water.
Posted inNews
EPA Air Monitoring Network Misses 2.8 Million Americans in Pollution Hot Spots
Current EPA air monitoring may not capture the extent of particulate air pollution.
Posted inNews
More Than Half of Contiguous U.S. River Water Comes from Ephemeral Streams
The finding has potential implications for water regulations, which don’t currently cover these seasonal streams.
Posted inNews
Toxic Ethylene Oxide May Exceed Safe Levels in Cancer Alley
Concentrations of the cancer-causing chemical far surpass EPA threshold levels for safety in southeastern Louisiana.
Posted inOpinions
The Supreme Court Is Bypassing Science—We Can’t Ignore It
The court’s exclusion of scientists from the environmental rulemaking process comes full circle as the EPA strips federal protections for wetlands.
Posted inNews
EPA Air Pollution Proposal Stirs Debate
The agency’s proposal to tighten standards for small-particulate pollution has prompted opposing calls for tighter and looser regulations.