Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed a rule April 24 limiting the types of scientific research the EPA may use in crafting agency regulations, according to The Washington Post.
The proposed rule aims to "strengthen the science used in regulations issued by EPA" and "ensure that the regulatory science underlying agency actions is fully transparent, and that underlying scientific information is publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent validation," according to an April 24 EPA news release.
However, many scientists and public health organizations warn such a rule would prevent the EPA from utilizing landmark studies because such studies often include confidential personal or medical histories or proprietary information, according to The Washington Post.
EPA officials said the proposed rule will be subject to a 30-day comment period — and various scientific organizations have already begun campaigning to block the proposed rule. An estimated 985 scientists signed a letter written by the Union of Concerned Scientists urging the agency not to move forward with the motion, stating that while third-party organizations would be able to attempt to replicate the findings of studies submitted to the EPA, "many public health studies cannot be replicated, as doing so would require intentionally and unethically exposing people and the environment to harmful contaminants or recreating one-time events."
Some scientists also argue enacting such a policy would make it more difficult for researchers to recruit participants to their studies, even if they pledge to redact participants' private information.
"The best studies follow individuals over time, so that you can control all the factors except for the ones you're measuring. But it means following people's personal history, their medical history. And nobody would want somebody to expose all of their private information," said Gina McCarthy, former EPA administrator and current Professor of the Practice of Public Health in the department of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
While it is unclear how much it would cost the EPA to impose the proposed rule, the Congressional Budget Office projects the measure would cost the agency $250 million for initial compliance and between $1 million and $100 million annually, The Washington Post reports. A 2015 CBO analysis cited by the publication found the agency would likely cut the number of studies it utilizes by 50 percent if the proposed rule is enacted.
To access The Washington Post report, click here.