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