E.P.A. Quietly Shut Down Its Office of CHILDREN'S Health

It's the quiet things Trump and Republican "leadership" are doing without headlines, while no one is watching, that can be the most evil.  That's what we try to post about here in addition to the major news.  Here's one that I doubt any one of you reading this head about back in September 2018.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday [9/26/18] placed the head of its Office of Children’s Health Protection on administrative leave, an unusual move that appeared to reflect an effort to minimize the role of the office.

Dr. Ruth Etzel, a pediatrician and epidemiologist who has been a leader in children’s environmental health for 30 years, joined the E.P.A. in 2015 after having served as a senior officer for environmental health research at the World Health Organization.  She was.... asked to hand over her badge, keys and cellphone... not facing disciplinary action and would continue to receive pay and benefits. No explanation was offered to the staff....

Smart Dissent had never heard of the Office of Children’s Health Protection so we're sharing some information we've research about it.

Created by President Clinton in 1997, it advises the E.P.A. leadership on the specific health and environmental-protection needs of children, which often leads to tougher or more stringent regulatory standards than those that might be required for adults.... because children can be more vulnerable to pollutants or chemicals because their bodies are still developing and... their behaviors, such as crawling or putting things in their mouths, potentially expose them to chemicals or other harmful substances.

As a result, the findings of the office often lead to a push for stronger regulations on industrial pollutants such mercury and pesticides, which are linked to nerve damage in children, and smog, which is linked to increased rates of childhood asthma.

The office is small, with a budget of about $2 million and 15 full-time employees in Washington and 10 regional children’s health coordinators, some of whom have other responsibilities in addition to children’s health.

Christine Todd Whitman, who headed the E.P.A. under President George W. Bush.....described the children’s health office at the E.P.A. as “critical to the health of the future.”  The American Academy of Pediatrics called for Dr. Etzel’s reinstatement and for the office to continue its mission “unimpeded.” Slowing or interrupting the office’s work “sends a dangerous message that children’s needs are not valued."

Now it's clear what happened here.  This office within the EPA works to improve our children's health via stopping giant corporations from polluting our world.  Republicans would rather allow them to pollute as they wish and make as much as as they want because they've been paid-off by those firms.  Hence, shut down the division.  Truly incredible.

Dr. Etzel’s dismissal was one of several recent developments that have slowed the work of her department, the Office of Children’s Health Protection. 

Public health experts said that, since the start of the Trump administration, they had seen.... E.P.A. reduced the size of other offices with mandates that sometimes clash with Trump’s anti-regulatory agenda, such as the Office of Environmental Justice, which is charged in part with protecting poor and minority populations from the health effects of pollution.

This office was working on various important projects to FIGHT FOR AND HELP OUR CHILDREN.  Republicans SHUT IT DOWN.

As the Trump administration has pushed to weaken or roll back regulations on various pollutants, the E.P.A. children’s office work has been sidelined.... a proposal outlining a strategy for reducing childhood lead exposure, which had been in development for more than a year with the involvement of 17 federal agencies.

The children’s health office has also repeatedly objected to a proposal by senior E.P.A. officials to weaken a set of chemical safety standards for children put in place under the Obama administration.  The standard bars farm workers under the age of 18 from applying the most toxic pesticides to fruits and vegetables.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/climate/epa-etzel-children-health-program.html

https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-childrens-health-protection-ochp