The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a hearing in July about its proposed rule “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.” The proposed rule would restrict the research and methods that EPA staffers could use in regulatory activities, impacting public health by making it difficult to consider important epidemiological studies when setting limits on hazardous pollutants.
Several Milken Institute SPH faculty members testified at the hearing, including Michael and Lori Milken Dean Lynn Goldman.
Dean Lynn Goldman urged the EPA to reject the rule in its current form and without full engagement from EPA scientists and the scientific community. In her testimony, she concludes: “What is at stake is no less than the credibility of the agency with the American public and public confidence in the integrity of EPA’s science and decisions.”
Professor David Michaels and Assistant Professor Ami Zota also delivered comments that were informed by their research on pollutants. Both are in Milken Institute SPH’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Liz Borkowski, a senior researcher at the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, commented on the rule's reproductive health implications.
Dean Goldman also published an op-ed in The Hill, which argues against the proposed rule, writing, “this proposal would threaten rules in process to limit toxic chemicals like TCE and deadly methylene chloride, as well as future regulatory actions to clean up widespread drinking water contaminants. The end result? Millions of Americans will face greater exposure to toxic substances associated with cancer, lung disease, asthma, neurological disorders, and other devastating illnesses.”
Dean Goldman served as Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances in the EPA during the Clinton Administration. Prior to the EPA, she worked in environmental health for the California Department of Public Health.
Read Dean Goldman’s full op-ed in The Hill here. A Twitter Moment recapping the hearing can be viewed here.