EPA Whistleblowers Say Managers Bullied Them to Approve Dangerous Chemicals

The Intercept Briefing

The Intercept

Politics, Unknown, Daily News, History, News

4.8 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2021

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Leaked audio reveals how chemicals hazardous to human health and the environment are fast-tracked and approved at the Environmental Protection Agency. This week on Intercepted, investigative journalist Sharon Lerner reports on how the chemical industry pressures the EPA to approve chemicals and pesticides that are dangerous to public health. Lerner speaks with whistleblowers from the agency, scientists who say their research has been manipulated by EPA managers to downplay the dangers of chemicals, including extreme cases that fall under the category of "hair on fire." Lerner also discusses how the agency has approved chemicals and pesticides — at the behest of companies — without proper research into their toxicity, or worse, even though scientists point to the chemicals’ dangers. But this is not new; it follows the long, historical trajectory of the EPA, including the “revolving door” between the agency and the chemical industry.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is intercepted.
0:30.0	I'm Roger Hodge, Deputy Editor of the Intercept.
0:37.0	Under the Trump Administration, we spend a lot of time reporting about how corrupt political
0:47.8	appointees undercut the efforts of the EPA's dedicated scientists and regulators.
0:54.0	Big changes at the EPA in the Trump Administration.
0:57.4	As a candidate, the president vowed to get rid of it in, quote, almost any form.
1:02.4	We are stripping burdensome cause from the American economy at an unprecedented pace.
1:06.4	And we are doing this while inspiring confidence in the American people.
1:09.4	That it is government going to work with them as opposed to against them.
1:13.4	She and two other former EPA administrators under Republican presidents sounding the alarm
1:20.2	over the Trump Administration's approach to the environment and its denial of science.
1:24.4	The Trump Administration issued a gag order on the Environmental Protection Agency.
1:28.4	The EPA was especially bad under Trump.
1:31.4	But bad policy from the EPA was nothing new.
1:35.4	For 51 years, since the EPA's founding, we've seen powerful corporations influence decisions
1:42.2	at the agency, sacrificing the public's health and safety and poisoning the environment.
1:48.4	And now, revelations from inside the agency are giving us an unprecedented view of how exactly that works.
1:55.4	There are five whistleblowers who work or have worked in the division of new chemicals within EPA.
2:02.4	That's Sharon Lerner, an investigative reporter with the Intercept.
2:05.4	And they have shared with me information about pressure that they've been facing to characterize chemicals
2:13.4	that they've heard and they actually are.
2:15.4	For years, Sharon has been reporting on the EPA, exposing how powerful chemical companies exert influence on the agency.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Intercept, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Intercept and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.