U.S. EPA chief proposes relying only on public data

Abstract

A recently proposed rule could significantly restrict the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect Americans’ health and the environment from pollution. Under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s proposal, the agency would be limited to using publicly available scientific data. Pruitt’s move would affect scientific studies, models, and analyses that are critical for determining regulatory standards—including information used to estimate the health risks posed by individual chemicals and weigh the costs and benefits of regulations. Such regulations dictate allowable levels of air or drinking water pollution, how pesticides may be used, controls on production of new commercial chemicals, and cleanup requirements for hazardous waste sites. Pruitt’s move is to ensure that critical data underlying environmental regulations “are publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent validation,” the proposal says. “Using scientific information that can be independently validated will lead to better outcomes” and strengthen public confidence in EPA’s decisions, the proposal