EPA officials retaliated against 3 scientists, watchdog says

The instances detailed in the reports from the EPA’s inspector general pertain to situations where the employees who were victims of alleged retaliation thought chemicals should be considered more toxic while top officials sought to consider them safer. 

In one such case, EPA scientist Sarah Gallagher says she thought the agency should consider the chemical as toxic to fetal development while another official wanted to classify it as a lower-priority body weight issue. 

In another case documented in a report finding retaliation against scientist Martin Phillips, a senior science advisor allegedly changed an assessment in a way that removed “reproductive toxicity” as a concern from safety information that goes to people who work with the chemical.