The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services lost its state epidemiologist because she "cannot work for a department and an administration that deliberately misleads the public," she wrote in her resignation letter, according to a WNCN report.
At issue is the drinking water safety for North Carolinians living near ash ponds. Those residents were told last year their water was contaminated. The warning was retracted despite claims otherwise from state toxicologist Ken Rudo, PhD, who is part of the North Carolina Division of Public Health, according to the report.
Since then, the state has set its sights on taking Dr. Rudo down. The governor's office said Dr. Rudo lied under oath and last week, State Health Director and Assistant Secretary for the Environment Tom Reeder issued a statement discrediting the toxicologist, according to the report.
Megan Davies, MD, the former state epidemiologist for NCDHHS, submitted her immediate resignation after seeing Mr. Reeder's letter, which she claims contained misrepresentations of the state's proceedings and Dr. Rudo, according to the report.
DHHS said in a statement that its top priority is to ensure its citizens' safety and that it has provided homeowners with full information about their drinking water, according to WNCN.
Read the full report here.
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