In the News

Linda Birnbaum, former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article regarding EPA’s proposed drinking water standards for certain PFAS. Linda was quoted in a related Smithsonian Magazine article.

Bob Sussman, counsel for Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and  former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article regarding the attacks made by industry to weaken EPA’s efforts to regulate asbestos.

Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article about EPA’s proposed PFAS drinking water standards and the need for class-based regulation of these chemicals.

EPN Deputy DIrector Michelle Roos was quoted and EPN was mentioned in this article discussing President Biden’s FY 2024 budget request.

Margo Oge, former Director, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, wrote this op-ed about the high cost that lobbying by regulated industries to weaken, delay, or rollback rules has on public health, safety, and the environment.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, wrote an op-ed urging EPA and state governments to take action on creating advisories and monitoring requirements for PFAS contamination.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization, and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed about railway safety and the need for stronger regulations to protect railway-adjacent communities.

Dave Coursen, former Attorney, EPA Office of General Counsel, and Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, were quoted in this article regarding staffing levels at EPA and the need for more hires to meet current challenges and demands.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, co-authored this op-ed honoring the legacy of former Representative Donald McEachin, a congressional leader in the environmental justice movement.

Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about the need for long-term testing for possible contamination of air and water sources in the areas surrounding the East Palestine train derailment site.

Bill Muno, former Superfund Director, EPA Region 5, and Mathy Stanislaus, former Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management, were quoted in this article regarding the cleanup and disposal of contaminated soil and groundwater from East Palestine.

Bill Muno, former Director, EPA Region 5 Superfund Program, was quoted in this article regarding the transport of hazardous waste between states as they are moved to designated waste management sites.

– Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article about EPA’s handling of the train derailment in East Palestine. Judith was also quoted in a related article in E&E News discussing Administrator Regan’s role in the wake of the train disaster.

Linda Birnbaum, former EPA scientist and former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, and Bob Sussman, former EPA Deputy Administrator and counsel for a North Carolina coalition of environmental groups, were quoted in this article regarding the frustration North Carolina communities are feeling over EPA Administrator Regan’s handling of PFAS contamination in his home state.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was quoted in this article discussing the long-term work federal, state, and local officials need to do to restore trust in communities, particularly those impacted by hazardous chemical disasters.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, wrote this op-ed suggesting that the hazardous nature of the East Palestine train derailment was due to our over-reliance on plastics production.

Bob Sussman, counsel for Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and former EPA Deputy Administrator, was quoted in this article discussing industry’s persistent pushback against TSCA regulation of asbestos and other harmful chemicals.

Jim Woolford, former Director, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), was quoted in this article discussing OLEM’s recent implementation of an environmental justice action plan intended to strengthen emergency response requirements for communities with environmental justice concerns.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, wrote this op-ed about how train disasters like the one in East Palestine, Ohio, usually impact black, brown, and low-income communities the most.

Stan Meiburg, former EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and former Regional Administrator, EPA Regions 4 and 6, was interviewed about the agency’s response to the East Palestine train disaster and what authorities should focus on in order to prevent accidents in the future. Stan also discussed the train derailment on CNN.

Linda Birnbaum, former EPA scientist and former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article regarding how pervasive PFAS are once they enter the human body.

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2, was quoted in this article discussing a need for greater transparency from federal agencies responding to the train derailment in Ohio.

Mustafa Santiago Ali, Senior Vice President for Environmental Justice, National Wildlife Federation, former EPA Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization and former EPA Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice, was interviewed in this news segment about the train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, and the sacrifice zones that frequently surround freight train railways.

Linda Birnbaum, former EPA scientist and former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was quoted in this article discussing why using a class-based approach would be better for TSCA chemical reviews and how chemical regulators could follow the FDA’s requirement for establishing a product’s safety before it is used by the public.