Various:
More than 900 scientists at the
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) say they have personally experienced political
interference in their work, according to a
survey
released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
The report has been picked up by
ScienceNOW,
Reuters,
Los
Angeles Times,
Washington
Post"Our investigation found an agency in crisis,"
said
Francesca Grifo, director of UCS's Scientific Integrity
Program. "Distorting science to accommodate a narrow
political agenda threatens our environment, our health, and our
democracy itself."The survey results show "an agency under
siege from political pressures," says UCS while in a statement
EPA says that the concerns may largely reflect a
misunderstanding of how policy is made. EPA spokesman Jonathan
Shradar said the findings will not change anything.The survey
was sent to the majority of 7000 scientists at EPA last summer,
and 1586 filled it out.Among the UCS report's
findings:â 889 scientists (60 percent) said
they had personally experienced at least one instance of
political interference in their work over the last five
years.â 394 scientists (31 percent) personally
experienced frequent or occasional "statements by EPA officials
that misrepresent scientists' findings."â 285
scientists (22 percent) said they frequently or occasionally
personally experienced "selective or incomplete use of data to
justify a specific regulatory outcome."â 224
scientists (17 percent) said they had been "directed to
inappropriately exclude or alter technical information from an
EPA scientific document."â Of the 969 agency
veterans with more than 10 years of EPA experience, 409
scientists (43 percent) said interference has occurred more
often in the past five years than in the previous five-year
period. Only 43 scientists (4 percent) said interference
occurred less often.â Hundreds of scientists
reported being unable to openly express concerns about the
EPA's work without fear of retaliation; 492 (31 percent) felt
they could not speak candidly within the agency and 382 (24
percent) felt they could not do so outside the agency.The UCS
investigation also revealed that EPA scientists cannot freely
communicate their findings to the media, public or colleagues.
Seven-hundred-eighty-three respondents (51 percent) said EPA
policies do not let scientists speak freely to the news media
about their findings. Scientists also shared anecdotes about
being barred from presenting their research at conferences and
their difficulties clearing research publication articles with
EPA managers.Scientists who reported political interference
tended to work in offices that write regulations rather than in
basic research labs. Hundreds said they feared retaliation by
officials if they voiced concerns about EPA regulations.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.
