Sludge Watch ==> Hundreds of EPA scientists report political interference

[Maureen Reilly]

Hundreds of EPA scientists report political interference

An official with the independent group that conducted the survey says it 
indicates the widespread nature of the problem.

By Judy Pasternak, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 24, 2008


WASHINGTON -- More than half of the scientists at the Environmental 
Protection Agency who responded to a survey said they had experienced 
political interference in their work.

The survey results show "an agency under siege from political pressures," 
said the Union of Concerned Scientists report, which was released Wednesday 
and sent to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.



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The online questionnaire was sent to 5,419 EPA scientists last summer; 1,586 
replied, and of those, 889 reported that they had experienced at least one 
type of interference within the last five years.

Such allegations are not new: During much of the Bush administration, there 
have been reports of the White House watering down documents on climate 
change, industry language inserted into EPA power-plant regulations and 
scientific advisory panels' conclusions about toxic chemicals going 
unheeded.

But Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program for the 
Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based nonprofit group, said the 
survey documented the widespread nature of the problem at the EPA. "What 
we've been up against until now is anecdotal evidence," Grifo said.

She acknowledged that scientists who were frustrated or upset might have 
been more likely than those who were satisfied to respond to her 
organization's survey, but added: "Nearly 900 EPA scientists reported 
political interference in their scientific work. That's 900 too many."

EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar noted that administrator Johnson had had a 
27-year career as a scientist himself.

"We have the best and finest scientific community in the world at EPA," 
Shradar said. "All of the issues we deal with are issues that we all are 
very passionate about. It's important that we let the scientists do the 
science and allow policymakers to do the policy work."

The survey respondents were split over the impact of political interference 
on regulations. According to the report, 48% believed that the EPA's actions 
were "frequently or always" consistent with scientific findings, and 47% 
believed that agency policy "occasionally, seldom or never" made use of 
scientific judgments.

In optional essays, scientists repeatedly singled out the Office of 
Management and Budget at the White House, accusing officials there of 
inserting themselves into decision-making at early stages in a way that 
shaped the outcome of their inquiries. They also alleged that the OMB 
delayed rules not to its liking. EPA actions "are held hostage" until 
changes are made, a scientist from the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation 
wrote.

Some also accused members of Congress of inappropriate intervention.

All of the respondents remained anonymous.

J. William Hirzy, an EPA senior scientist and union official, said that 
politics trumped science at times during the Clinton administration as well 
but that "what we're seeing now is . . . the favoring of energy interests, 
coal-fired power plants. That's something different in this administration."

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) wrote to Johnson on Wednesday asking 
him to be prepared to respond to the findings at a hearing next month of the 
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-epa24apr24,1,5692736.story