EPA Appoints Additional Members to Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals; NGO Scientists Decline Appointment

On March 22, 2018, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt appointed 11 additional members to the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals.  Under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the purpose of the Committee is to provide independent advice and expert consultation, at the request of the EPA Administrator, with respect to the scientific and technical aspects of risk assessments, methodologies, and pollution prevention measures or approaches supporting implementation of the Act.  According to EPA, these additional members “will increase the balance of scientific perspectives and add experts with experience in labor, public interest, animal protection and chemical manufacturing and processing to the committee.”  The additional 11 members — three from non-governmental organizations (NGO), four from industry, and four from academia or governmental organizations — will supplement the 18 expert members that were appointed on January 19, 2017.  The Committee will meet three to four times a year for two years, and its charter can be extended.  EPA has not yet scheduled the Committee’s first meeting.

Two of the members have reportedly declined the appointment.  Dr. Michael Wilson, National Director for Occupational and Environmental Health at the BlueGreen Alliance, “notified EPA that he was unable to accept the appointment,” according to a spokesperson for the BlueGreen Alliance.  Dr. Jennifer McPartland, Senior Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, has also declined the appointment.  Ruthann Rudel, Director of Research at the Silent Spring Institute, stated that she is “collecting some advice and information” and has not decided whether to accept the appointment.