The Environmental Protection Agency will introduce a new rule that would limit the amount of scientific and medical research that can be used by the government to determine public health regulations, according to The New York Times.
The newspaper obtained a draft of an EPA proposal to require scientists to make the data they use available to the public, including confidential medical records. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told Congress in September that the change would increase transparency and make sure that conclusions are independently verified.
“We are committed to the highest quality science,” Wheeler said at the time. “Good science is science that can be replicated and independently validated, science that can hold up to scrutiny. That is why we’re moving forward to ensure that the science supporting agency decisions is transparent and available for evaluation by the public and stakeholders.”
However, many scientists have objected, noting that much of the research on pollution and disease involves personal health information that cannot be gained without a confidentiality agreement, which would prevent them from releasing the data to the public. This change would also apply retroactively, affecting public health regulations that are currently in place, such as the research from a 1993 Harvard University project that forms the basis of U.S. clean air laws.
“This means the EPA can justify rolling back rules or failing to update rules based on the best information to protect public health and the environment, which means more dirty air and more premature deaths,” Paul Billings, senior vice president for advocacy at the American Lung Association, told the Times.
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