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E&E News Continues To Ignore The Facts In Latest Smear Campaign

Contact Information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON (Dec. 12, 2019) — E&E News is at it again refusing to include answers that don't fit their anti-Trump narrative. In a recently published article, E&E News chose to attack a Trump administration official's resume and ignore the previous administration's role in reorganizing an EPA office.

Below are the "questions" received from E&E and responses EPA provided.

Q: What does Dunlap plan to tell House science staffers?

EPA: David Dunlap will answer questions from staff of the House Science Committee during a transcribed interview later this week.

Q: And does EPA have any comment on this email he wrote seven months before joining the agency, in which he stated definitively that "formaldehyde does not cause leukemia" and complained that NCEA was ignoring scientific evidence to that effect?

EPA: Since coming to work for EPA, David Dunlap has voluntarily recused himself from matters relating to the IRIS formaldehyde assessment. The Agency often receives comments from outside parties, from a variety of backgrounds on numerous issues.

​Q: The story will also note that Dunlap has no scientific training.

EPA: Your statement is patently false and ignores information that can be easily found on the EPA’s website. Mr. Dunlap has a BS in Chemical Engineering, extensive post graduate education and training and over 35 years of experience studying and solving environmental problems. His background includes work in the areas of chemical risk assessment; safety and security; water quality; municipal and industrial wastewater; and hazardous waste characterization and site cleanup.

Q: Since joining EPA, Dunlap has played a role in eliminating NCEA and shelving the completed formaldehyde assessment, which was some 1,400 pages long and cost millions of dollars to conduct in man-hours alone.

EPA: Again, this is a false statement. The career-led Office of Research and Development (ORD) reorganization began long before this administration and was instituted to create greater efficiencies and help ORD continue in its role of producing high quality science for the Agency. This reorganization was career-led and included oversight and review from Congress. The career staff involved should be congratulated for efficiently facilitating the transition.

Additionally, all of the work of NCEA, including the IRIS Program and all associated personnel, continues in today’s reorganized ORD. Contrary to past statements, the HCHO IRIS assessment is not complete. The HCHO IRIS assessment was discontinued in December 2018 because, at the time, no national program offices identified it as a priority. And on August 23, 2019, EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention proposed to designate 20 chemical substances, including formaldehyde, as high-priority substances for upcoming risk evaluations under TSCA.