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US firefighters push for end to test that prevents PFAS-free gear

by Chemical Watch | August 23, 2021
“A change in the NFPA standard could have reverberations in the US and beyond, according to Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which has advocated for PFAS-free protective clothing.   If the substances are ...

Biden nominates first Native American to run National Park Service

by Courthouse News Service | August 19, 2021
“Former President Donald Trump’s administration cycled out various acting directors for the National Park Service, including David Vela, whose nomination never got to the Senate floor for a vote. Vela resigned after less than a year on the job after a legal challenge to his ...

Formaldehyde Causes Leukemia, According to EPA Assessment Suppressed by Trump Officials

by The Intercept | August 19, 2021
“Just knowing that the IRIS assessment acknowledges that formaldehyde causes myeloid leukemia is huge, regardless of what the value is,” Jennifer McPartland, a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, said after being told about the main findings of the draft assessment. “ ...

EPA accused again of compromising chemical safety assessments

by Chemistry World | August 18, 2021
“The US non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), which represents the four EPA whistleblowers, says they are concerned that this ban on communication with other specialists is hampering safety assessments of new chemicals before they are rushed to market ...

National Park Service still waiting for Biden to pick a director

by Roll Call | August 18, 2021
“There’s a real problem with not having a leader at the head of the agency. It’s killing morale. Killing morale,” Kristen Brengel, senior vice president for government affairs with the National Parks Conservation Association, said in an interview. Jeff Ruch of the Public Employees ...

Water on Chesapeake Bay military bases contains toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

by The Guardian | August 11, 2021
“A 2020 study conducted in the same area by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) found PFAS levels in striped bass at more than 23,000 ppt, crab meat at about 6,000 ppt and oysters at more than 2,000 ppt. Though the federal government has failed to set limits ...

‘Forever chemicals’ contamination at Defense Department sites threatens Chesapeake Bay fish

by ewg | August 11, 2021
“A 2020 study by the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility found 36 PFAS compounds in rockfish, oysters and crabs harvested from Cornfield Harbor in the Potomac River and from St. Inigoes Creek in Saint Mary’s County, near the Patuxent River Naval Air ...

EPA Asked to Stop Barring Employees From Sharing Scientific Findings With Each Other

by Government Executive | August 10, 2021
“Managers at EPA began instituting the policy in early 2020, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which wrote to the agency asking for its revocation. The ban affects the New Chemicals Division in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, ...

US EPA downplays risks of new chemicals, agency scientists say

by c&en | August 6, 2021
“The complaints, filed through the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), claim that EPA managers succumb to pressure from manufacturers and intimidate scientists into approving new chemicals when they have insufficient data to make a safety determination ...

Whistleblowers Say EPA Managers Engaged in Corrupt and Unethical Practices, Removed Findings and Revised Conclusions

by Beyond Pesticides | August 6, 2021
“The organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has filed complaints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on behalf of four EPA whistleblower scientists. The scientists maintain that during the ...

Leaked Audio Shows Pressure to Overrule Scientists in “Hair-on-Fire” Cases

by The Intercept | August 4, 2021
“Through documents, interviews, and a written disclosure that they provided exclusively to The Intercept, the EPA inspector general, and select members of Congress, these government scientists have detailed some extreme examples of interference with the scientific evaluation of ...

NGOs and PFAS: A New Element of Disclosure

by JD Supra | July 30, 2021
“Recent NGO activity regarding pesticides and PFAS took state and federal regulators by surprise and has resulted in scrutiny of products that do not traditionally contain PFAS chemicals. For example, the NGO Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) purchased an off- ...

Public Comment Sought On Air Tour Management Plans For National Parks

by National Parks Traveler | July 29, 2021
“Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility brought the lawsuit that the judge acted on. ‘These air tours are noisy and usually low-flying, adversely affecting both wildlife and park visitors, as well as residents in gateway communities,”’PEER General Counsel ...

Feinstein Bill Would Protect Congressional Whistleblowers from Retaliation

“Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced the Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act, a bill to strengthen protections for congressional whistleblowers who share information about fraud, waste and abuse with Congress. The bill is supported by the Government ...

Whistleblower revelations about EPA TSCA new chemical reviews

by Environmental Defense Fund | July 29, 2021
“[I delivered these comments at the July 28, 2021 webinar titled “Toxic Chemicals, Whistleblowers, and the Need for Reform at EPA” cosponsored by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), NY PIRG, and EDF. [A recording of the webinar is available here.]  The ...

Public Comment Sought On Air Tour Management Plans For National Parks

by National Parks Traveler | July 29, 2021
“More than two decades after initial steps were taken, and after a federal judge ordered action, the National Park Service and Federal Aviation Administration finally are seeking public input on air tour management plans proposed for some of the country’s national parks. Public ...

EPA Whistleblowers Allege ‘Atmosphere Of Fear’

by Science Friday | July 23, 2021
“Two of our whistleblower clients appeared on the Science Friday show/podcast to discuss the below: Earlier this month, four whistleblowers from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) chemical safety office went public with allegations of intimidation and downplayed chemical ...

Government examining plastic containers’ connection to ‘forever chemicals’

by Houston Chronicle | July 22, 2021
“Known as ‘forever chemicals,’ PFAS chemicals used in products such as non-stick pans and stain repellents have long confounded scientists for their ubiquity in the environment – so commonplace that they show up in the blood of humans and animals in the furthest reaches of ...
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