Supporters and critics alike say the policy will have far-reaching consequences that could limit the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions, air pollution, and pesticides.

Under the measure, the EPA will require that the underlying data for all scientific studies used by the agency to formulate air and water regulations be publicly available. That would sharply limit the number of studies available for consideration because much research relies on confidential health data from study subjects.

WASHINGTON — Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt signed a regulation Tuesday that restricts the kinds of scientific studies the agency can use when it develops policies, a move critics say will permanently weaken the agency’s ability to protect public health.


‘‘The era of secret science at EPA is coming to an end,’’ Pruitt said. ‘‘The ability to test, authenticate and reproduce scientific findings is vital for the integrity of the rule-making process. Americans deserve to assess the legitimacy of the science underpinning EPA decisions that may impact their lives.’’

The new regulation means that some of the most important research of the past decades — for example, studies linking air pollution to premature deaths and measuring human exposure to pesticides — would not be available to policy makers if scientists were unwilling to break the confidentiality agreements they struck with study subjects to collect sensitive personal information.

Enacting the policy as a regulation, as the EPA intends to do, will involve accepting comments from the public and going through a lengthy process.

In an interview Tuesday with the Washington Post, former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said that requiring the kind of disclosure Pruitt envisions would have disqualified the federal government from tapping groundbreaking research, such as studies linking exposure to lead gasoline to neurological damage. Scientists will have trouble recruiting study participants if the rule is enacted, she predicted, even if they pledge to redact private information.


Material from the Washington Post was included in this report.