New U.S. EPA science advisers heavy on industry experts

EPA’s science advisory panels now have more experts from industry, including the chemical, oil, and gas sectors. Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt added more than 20 new advisers in early November after cutting the panels’ rosters by barring researchers who get EPA grants from serving on them. New members of the Science Advisory Board—EPA’s flagship panel that provides advice on chemical safety, water pollution, and other issues—include Kimberly Wise White, an environmental toxicologist who is a senior director at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a chemical industry association. Others are chemist Merlin R. Lindstrom, vice president of technology at Phillips 66, and John D. Graham, a risk assessment expert and dean of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University who served as the federal government’s top regulatory gatekeeper under President George W. Bush. Meanwhile, ACC Senior Toxicologist Richard Becker is a new member of the Board of Scientific Counselors’ subcommittee on chemical safety. That board reviews EPA’s plans for in-house research.