The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is now amonument to irony , a lieu where scientist are   strong-arm , ban , and dismissed , and its chief is as well-disposed to coal as he is unfriendly to climate science . It ’s hard to see what the spot of it is at the moment , and its latest job posting does n’t do anything to soften this vantage point .

Asannouncedby the White House , one Dr Michael Dourson is set to be the head of the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention ( OCSPP ) . The aim of this sectionalisation is to “ protect you , your family , and the environment from potential risk of exposure from pesticide and toxic chemical ” using “ sound science ” , as per theagency ’s website .

Dourson may have been cull by the notoriously anti - science , EPA - hate President Trump , but his CV seems pretty stellar at first . He ’s an award - acquire prof at the University of Cincinnati , establish his own nonprofit for toxicology consultancy , has appeared on multiple government advisory panels and is a phallus of three toxicology journals . He ’s even a former EPA employee , one that spent 15 age at the federal agency .

At this point , you ’re probably wondering if there ’s a catch . Well , of course there is ! Several , in fact .

As first pointed out byInsideClimate Newsback in 2014 , that non-profit-making – the Toxicology Excellent for Risk Assessment ( TERA ) – has very close ties to the chemical manufacture and tobacco plant industries .

Remarably , of the 240 scientists that have served on TERA ’s advisory panels over the years , just a smattering had an solely environmental or ecologic background signal .   Over one-half of the advisory panels that TERA has organized since 1995 were funded by industry chemical group , and regularly gave toxic chemicals feeble safety guidelines compare to those chip in by the EPA .

One   of TERA ’s large hits under Dourson ’s tenure include suggesting that a potential carcinogen found on several types of fast foods is 10 times less dangerous than an official determination by the EPA .   reckon that he is now in charge of the government department that decides which chemicals are safe and which are not , we ’d say that this history screams difference of opinion of involvement .

Dourson is also an evangelical Christian . While this is n’t inherently a problem , BuzzFeed Newshas highlighted that the White Housepress releaseon his new job poster contains kudos from two religious figureheads . You ’d think that his scientific credential would be the only thing that mattered here , but it seems his religion was a key marketing point too .

One such spiritual referee explains that “ Michael ’s judicious integrating of trust and the sciences has struck me as telling as it is rarefied . ” BuzzFeed also points out that Dourson on a regular basis writesBible - Science story – BS account , if you will – wherein he somehow squelch up scientific fact with spiritual apologue .

So Dourson has strong tie to industry , and regularly fuse religion and science in his casual life . This has n’t escaped the attending of theEnvironmental Defense Fund(EDF ) , who have since released a stinging statement on the nomination .

“ We are profoundly concerned over the   nominating address of Michael Dourson   to point the toxics office at EPA , ” it begin . “ unluckily , this nominating address fits the clear pattern of the Trump Administration in appoint individuals to positions for which they have significant conflicts of interest .

“ Dr Dourson has extensive , longstanding tie to   the chemical substance industry ( as well as earlier ties to the tobacco industry ) . ”

Here ’s the question , then : why not rent someone to this elderly post who does n’t have such deep industry ties , and who is n’t in spades praised for “ integrating trust and the sciences ? ” How about a dependant , autonomous academic or else ?

It ’s almost like they ’re making theseinappropriateappointmentson intention .

[ H / T : BuzzFeed ]