Nominee Michael Dourson, an industry-aligned scientist, led a 2024 effort to undo Biden EPA limits on PFAS in water.
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He previously worked for the EPA but left to found Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (Tera), described by critics as an industry-friendly research shop.
Trump nominated Dourson to oversee chemical safety in 2017, but he withdrew after failing to secure Republican support.
Critics alleged he ran a “science for sale” operation allowing the American Chemistry Council to edit papers; Dourson cited procedural reasons for his withdrawal.
Dourson did not answer questions from The Guardian but shared Tera’s funding page, calling it a “science-neutral group.”
The new report states chemical makers paid him to work on substances SACC will review, including tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), acrylonitrile, styrene, and naphthalene.
His TBBPA work, funded by the American Chemistry Council’s North American Flame Retardant Alliance, contradicted the best available science on reproductive toxicity and developmental harms, the report claims.
Sarah Vogel of the Environmental Defense Fund said Dourson's appointment “is the definition of a conflict of interest,” citing his career taking money from tobacco and chemical companies to undermine public health protections.
Consultant Robinan Gentry chairs the board. Gentry works for Ramboll, an industry-aligned group that regularly attacks chemical regulations.
The EPA stated that some issues raised could be viewed as general scientific expertise gained through prior employment, grants, or consulting, and that past industry work does not disqualify someone under federal law.
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Olson disputed the agency's stance, saying, “The fox is not guarding the hen house – the fox owns the hen house, and is able to control any theoretical oversight of EPA science.”
