The public’s health

Saturday, May 3, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

The Environmental Protection Agency is charged with warning the American public about toxic chemicals, but a recent audit says its work has been hindered by the Bush administration.

The Government Accountability Office reported that the administration has undermined the agency’s authority and ordered that other federal agencies be involved in determining what is — or isn’t — a toxic chemical and how those chemicals should be handled.

The GAO added that the other agencies are involved “at almost every step of the way,” which has significantly slowed the review of toxic chemicals. Beyond that, a GAO official told Congress that the White House is “actually dictating which assessments that the EPA can undertake.”

For example, White House officials interfered with the EPA’s workings in 2004 when the agency was reviewing naphthalene, a chemical used in rocket fuel, to determine whether there should be more restrictions on its use. The chemical has been a source of contamination on military bases, and the Pentagon fought the review. The White House agreed with the Pentagon and the review of the chemical has been slowed, allowing the Defense Department to continue using the chemical as it had been.

The Energy Department and NASA have also jumped into chemical reviews, hindering the EPA’s work on chemicals used by those agencies.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee, rightly said the Bush administration’s EPA was “putting politics ahead of science.”

That type of behavior is shameful and potentially endangers the public’s health. Congress should investigate this matter fully and take whatever appropriate action is necessary to try to prevent it from happening again.