EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt at the Concordia Summit in New York last month. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt hinted Tuesday at plans to rid the agency’s scientific advisory boards of researchers who get EPA grants, arguing that the current structure raises questions about their independence. Halpern said industry membership on the agency’s Science Advisory Board is fine, as long as individuals are evaluated for their scientific expertise and their ability to remain objective. But he called Pruitt’s complaints about scientists who receive EPA grants a double standard. “It’s a fundamental misrepresentation of how conflicts of interest work.”The EPA in recent months has solicited candidates for positions on its influential Science Advisory Board.

Source: Washington Post October 17, 2017 23:50 UTC