Scientists at one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s research offices have been ordered to stop publishing studies, and with no timeline or reason for the demand afforded staff, according to two agency employees who spoke with the Washington Post in a report published Saturday.
“This represents millions of dollars of research, potentially, that’s now being stopped,” one of the agency employees told the outlet, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “[Americans] aren’t going to benefit from the release of this science.”
According to the employees, staff at the EPA’s Office of Water – which researches and implements methods to ensure drinking water is safe – were instructed to halt nearly all publications of research until further notice, instructions issued, they said, by ‘political appointees.’
More specifically, the employees said they were told not to publish research papers unless they had already been vetted through a peer review and acceptance process, the final step before a research paper’s publication, and that their research papers would also be subjected to a new review process ahead of any potential publication.
The Trump administration has acted antagonistically against the EPA, with President Donald Trump moving to roll back dozens of environmental regulations established during the Biden administration. Staff at the EPA have not taken kindly to Trump’s regulatory roll backs, having often written letters of dissent to the administration, which in turn have been followed by well over 100 EPA employees being placed on administrative leave.
The two EPA employees who spoke with the Washington Post said the order to stop publishing research papers was ‘unprecedented.’ Kyle Bennet, director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, suggested the order was one rooted in a political motive, and not a scientific one.
““Science is not supposed to be political,” Bennett said, speaking with the Washington Post. “Science is supposed to transcend politics and inform decision-making at the EPA.”
