"Four whistleblowers in EPA's chemicals office allege officials tampered with key risk assessments and processes, according to a complaint filed by an environmental group on behalf of the agency staffers.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said today that it has raised concerns brought forward by EPA staffers with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform as well as EPA's Office of Inspector General. The four staffers work in EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and say they witnessed repeated attempts to downplay the harms posed by new chemicals, The Intercept first reported this morning.

Among other actions, those staffers say, EPA officials deliberately tampered with risk assessments conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act, including evaluations on the impacts of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

In a letter shared with E&E News, PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse asked Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who chairs the Oversight Committee's Environment Subcommittee, to ensure that EPA's watchdog conducts a performance audit of potentially altered risk assessments, among other actions."

E.A. Crunden reports for E&E News July 2, 2021. [2]