Pruitt Toxics Cover-Up Will Hurt Families, Mothers Most

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Politico reported that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's top aide met with chemical industry representatives just after news broke about the agency suppressing a study on health effects of two common chemicals-- perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOS and PFOA are persistent chemicals and cannot be easily broken-down in environments--causing significant pollution to build up in soil, water and on lands.

In lab tests, the chemicals were linked with concerning developmental, reproductive, and neuroendocrine issues, along with other physiological problems in animals. Several concerns that the chemicals have reached homes, military bases and tainted drinking water have been noted.

In response, A. Tianna Scozzaro, Director of Sierra Club’s Gender, Equity and Environment Program released the following statement:

“Scott Pruitt is working with industry to scale back life-saving protections in a way and capacity we’ve never seen before. He’s not just disrupting the functions in Washington, DC-- his rollbacks are harming the health of families.

“The decisions that come from these secret meetings will disproportionately be a danger to children and mothers. If we can’t trust Pruitt to release information about our drinking water, we can’t trust him to lead a federal agency meant to protect Americans’ health and environments.

“With Pruitt covering up these household dangers and his aides doing the work for him, he’s once again showing he is unfit to serve as leader of the Environmental Protection Agency. He must immediately resign as administrator.”