Message Number: |
114 |
From: |
Andrew Skol <askol Æ umich.edu> |
Date: |
Tue, 22 Mar 2005 09:47:37 -0500 |
Subject: |
Politics hijacking science and our health |
Hi all,
Below are the first three paragraphs of a WP article that talks
about how the EPA not just ignored, but kept from public record, a
Harvard University study that showed that the current mercury level
regulations being put forth by that agency are insufficient to protect
public health. And can you imagine if we just allowed industry to
regulate itself, as Bush would like.
Andrew
New EPA Mercury Rule Omits Conflicting Data
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55268-2005Mar21.html)
Study Called Stricter Limits Cost-Effective
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 22, 2005; Page A01
When the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a rule last week to
limit mercury emissions from U.S. power plants, officials emphasized
that the controls could not be more aggressive because the cost to
industry already far exceeded the public health payoff.
What they did not reveal is that a Harvard University study paid for by
the EPA, co-authored by an EPA scientist and peer-reviewed by two other
EPA scientists had reached the opposite conclusion.
That analysis estimated health benefits 100 times as great as the EPA
did, but top agency officials ordered the finding stripped from public
documents, said a staff member who helped develop the rule.
Acknowledging the Harvard study would have forced the agency to consider
more stringent controls, said environmentalists and the study's author.
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