<
https://www.propublica.org/article/shes-supposed-to-protect-americans-from-toxic-chemicals-first-she-just-has-to-fix-trumps-mess-and-decades-of-neglect>
"A few days after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, Michal Freedhoff
settled into her cramped home office in a suburb of Washington, D.C., to get to
work as the nation’s new top chemical regulator.
It was a key role, charged with protecting Americans from toxic substances used
in agriculture and manufacturing. But going back decades, the office had gained
a reputation for being captured by the companies it regulated. Under the Trump
administration, the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, like
many federal agencies, had taken a hard turn away from science. Important new
rules, years in the making, had been delayed or diluted.
In Freedhoff, Biden had found a public servant steeped in the risks of
chemicals and what it takes to police them. Testaments to her drive surround
her desk. On one wall hangs a framed front page of The Washington Post from the
day that automakers struck a deal she helped broker with California on vehicle
emissions standards; on another is an original copy of a 2016 law that gave the
Environmental Protection Agency sweeping new authority to protect people from
toxic substances. Seven senators had signed it, thanking her personally.
Freedhoff has long kept up a frenetic pace. The mother of four would stay out
late for work events and then send emails at 4 a.m. before heading out on a
pre-dawn bike ride. And she knew her new job would require a massive cleanup
effort, working with a traumatized staff to rework decisions the Trump
administration had pushed through based on skewed science. She was guaranteed
just four years, and she had a list of critical to-dos that ranged from finally
banning asbestos to fixing the process for authorizing new chemicals. A clock
was ticking."
Via Joyce Donahue and Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
