Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.
[This post is adapted from comments I provided for the science policy panel at the June 27, 2017, forum TSCA Reform: One Year Later, co-sponsored by Environmental Law Institute, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., Environmental Defense Fund, and George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.]
I don’t know anyone who opposes EPA using the best science it can and considering all the evidence in making decisions.[pullquote]The irony here is that core features of the final rules – each the result of changes since their proposal made in response to chemical industry comments – actually move us away from any meaningful realization of what best available science means.[/pullquote]
So why is it that this science stuff is so controversial? It’s long been a battleground across all of what EPA does, and the debate over reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was no exception. I have no doubt this will continue unabated into implementation of the amendments to TSCA made by last year’s Lautenberg Act.
Science policy issues are among the most “cultish” of any policy issues I have ever dealt with. Different camps have formed, each with its own belief system, each seeing a right way and a wrong way of doing science. Each is highly suspicious of the others, including what they mean by each word.
At the risk of appearing cultish myself, I want to briefly discuss my concerns about the final prioritization and risk evaluation rules in relation to the term “best available science.” Read More »