Trump's Pick To Lead EPA Chemicals Office Draws Criticism

Michael Dourson Photo: University of Cincinnati

President Donald Trump has nominated Michael Dourson this week to lead the chemicals and pesticides office at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The pick was praised by the American Chemistry Council — but it drew ire from environmentalists.

With the pressure on at the EPA to conduct more risk assessments under the new chemical laws passed last year, the ACC said Douron’s experience makes him a good fit for the role.  

Dourson has a long career in toxicology. He worked in several positions at the EPA from 1980 to 1995, directed a consulting firm called Toxicology Excellence For Risk Assessment and is a professor at the Risk Science Center at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dourson has also served on several editorial boards and government panels.

 “His knowledge, experience, and leadership will strengthen EPA’s processes for evaluating and incorporating high-quality science into regulatory decision making,” ACC stated.

Some environmental groups, however, have raised concerns about Dourson’s industry ties.

“Dr. Dourson has extensive, longstanding ties to the chemical industry (as well as earlier ties to the tobacco industry). He also has a history of failing to appropriately address his conflicts of interest,” Richard Denison, lead senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, wrote in a blog post.  

Denison also wrote that while Dourson worked for the Texas Department of Environmental Quality, he sought to undermine EPA air pollution regulations.

Adam Finkel, a former director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s health standards program told BuzzFeed that he worked with Dourson on a group charged with critiquing the National Academy of Sciences’ recommendations for calculating chemical risk. Ultimately Finkel left the group due to disagreements with the other members, including Dourson. Finkel says in particular Dourson argued that the EPA overestimates risk, which Finkel found worrisome.

In his spare time, Dourson is also a writer who has published several science-inspired Bible books.