Dismantling EPA’s research office jeopardizes environmental safety, public health, and US competitiveness
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Recent reports suggest that the US administration plans to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Research and Development (ORD) (1, 2).Most staff would be cut, with remaining personnel reassigned to program offices.The fate of ORD's laboratories, field stations, and scientific infrastructure remains uncertain.While a court order has temporarily paused EPA's reorganization, ORD staff remain in limbo, facing job uncertainty and the potential for a loss of scientific capacity (3).As former EPA and ORD scientists, we argue that dismantling ORD would not only jeopardize human and environmental health, but also weaken American science and global competitiveness.ORD's vital-yet often overlooked-contributions have transformed chemical safety in the United States and abroad.More than a research office, ORD is EPA's scientific core: a central hub with spokes reaching into every aspect of public health, technological innovation, and environmental protection ( Fig. 1 ).ORD has had a litany of achievements-losing or greatly weakening the office would jeopardize work that's had a critical impact on public health and the environment. Science that Protects UsAs the EPA's independent science arm, ORD ensures that agency decisions are grounded in the best available science.To meet mandates like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, ORD's scientists work with EPA offices, states, tribes, and communities to address urgent research needs-from chemical safety and exposure to environmental cleanup and emergency response.Its work spans the entire The EPA's ORD has helped document and explain the health effects of dangerous pollution-forexample,thehazethatenveloped New York and other East Coast cities inJune2023duetoCanadianwildfiresmoke.
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4411205701