Research cuts conflict with MAHA's stated goals

1 month ago

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling for efforts to limit Americans' vulnerability to toxic substances. But nan Trump management is besides taking actions that tally antagonistic to this goal.

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Daily vulnerability to a stew of chemicals and their nexus to chronic wellness problems is simply a large interest of nan Make America Healthy Again platform. It's a privilege that scientists successful nan section of biology wellness besides welcome, but nan Trump management has overseen monolithic cuts to national agencies that trial these substances. NPR's Will Stone reports.

WILL STONE, BYLINE: Susanne Brander was sitting successful nan assemblage astatine a convention connected chemicals and plastics backmost successful April. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was giving nan keynote address...

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ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: Some of them are deliberate additives, and others make their measurement into nutrient from packaging and nan environment. If we attraction astir our children's health, we person to look astatine each of them.

STONE: ...When he brought up a statistic to underscore his concern.

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KENNEDY: Recent study from nan University of Oregon recovered microplastics successful 99% of nan seafood samples.

STONE: Brander is an ecotoxicologist astatine Oregon State University, and she knew that figure.

SUSANNE BRANDER: It was decidedly our study.

STONE: Done by Portland State University and her lab. Her adjacent reaction?

BRANDER: Baffling - I was baffled and incredibly frustrated.

STONE: Because an hr earlier, while successful statement for breakfast, she'd received an email notifying her that an EPA assistance she'd relied connected for years, focused connected pesticides and testing chemicals, was being terminated.

BRANDER: Your investigation nary longer effectuates agency priorities, is what nan missive virtually said.

STONE: She says it feels surreal. Kennedy and his MAHA friends are calling attraction to a assemblage of grounds connected wide utilized synthetic chemicals and their nexus to wellness problems for illustration obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, fertility, neurodevelopmental disorders and more. Phthalates, PFAS, aliases everlastingly chemicals, occurrence retardants, bisphenols, formaldehyde - these are immoderate of nan culprits, but Tom Burke, a erstwhile EPA charismatic now astatine Johns Hopkins, says thousands much are successful usage pinch small to nary information connected wellness effects.

TOM BURKE: There are immense gaps successful nan measurement that we modulate aliases protect group from these harms.

STONE: Burke agrees overmuch much should beryllium done to study and limit these chemicals. But erstwhile he looks astatine what's happened nether nan Trump management truthful far...

BURKE: It's an tremendous contradiction successful actions.

STONE: Take nan melodramatic cuts to national agencies, including astir nan full section astatine nan CDC that investigated biology hazards for illustration dense metals, aerial contamination and carcinogens, aliases different agency successful nan CDC that responds to toxic substances successful nan workplace. At nan EPA, nan privilege is deregulation, and nan agency has already delayed nan timeline connected implementing a nationalist modular for PFAS successful drinking water. Then location are nan cuts to investigation grants doled retired by nan NIH and nan EPA. Rebecca Fry chairs nan biology subject section astatine UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. All of her module who had EPA grants person mislaid their funding.

REBECCA FRY: Their attraction is precisely what's successful nan MAHA - right? - knowing really chemicals are associated pinch quality wellness and disease, promoting nan wellness of children.

STONE: One intelligence astatine Wayne State, who was moreover cited successful nan caller MAHA report, had his assistance trim connected nan wellness effect of chemic mixtures. Environmental wellness intelligence Ami Zota had each 4 of her NIH grants canceled - activity connected PFAS and user merchandise chemicals. And she points retired training grants for scientists are being slashed astatine Columbia University wherever she useful and astatine universities each complete nan country.

AMI ZOTA: It's conscionable truthful devastating 'cause you talk astir really to termination a section if you really onslaught nan up-and-coming generation.

STONE: In consequence to NPR's questions, HHS reiterated its committedness to MAHA goals and pointed to a caller reappraisal programme to reassess antecedently approved chemicals successful nutrient and food-contact worldly and grow information assessments to study endocrine and neurobehavioral effects. And Kennedy has said that activity connected chemicals successful nan situation will beryllium folded into a caller agency, nan Administration for a Healthy America. Dr. Leonardo Trasande directs nan NYU Langone's Center for nan Investigation of Environmental Hazards. He says nan proposals outlined by Kennedy will return a batch of investment.

LEONARDO TRASANDE: It would make America proud. It would do what galore of america person been asking for for a agelong time.

STONE: And he credits nan management for mounting these eager goals.

TRASANDE: I'm not trying to put rose-colored glasses on. I conscionable deliberation we person to telephone it fairly.

STONE: Still, it's a disorienting infinitesimal for nan field. Linda Birnbaum was besides successful nan assemblage during Kennedy's caller keynote reside connected toxic chemicals and plastics.

LINDA BIRNBAUM: Yeah, I would opportunity 80- to 90% of that was really good.

STONE: Birnbaum is nan retired head of nan National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and she's good acquainted pinch Kennedy's history. Years agone astatine NIH, she says she was successful a gathering pinch him wherever he was discussing nan debunked nexus betwixt vaccines and autism.

BIRNBAUM: Where he was not willing successful what nan subject said aliases what nan facts said.

STONE: And she sees nan wide harm to her field, but...

BIRNBAUM: Some group garbage to do thing pinch him. And I'm - arsenic a pragmatist, if I tin thief salvage thing from this mess, that's what I want to do.

STONE: After all, this has brought much nationalist attraction to nan wellness concerns astir our cumulative vulnerability to toxic chemicals. At nan aforesaid time, Tracey Woodruff, who directs nan UCSF programme connected reproductive wellness and nan environment, says Kennedy is intelligibly a analyzable messenger for this research.

TRACEY WOODRUFF: What I'm worried astir is that if we don't speak up and talk astir nan things that he's saying that are existent technological concerns nan authorities should beryllium addressing, that it will delegitimize each our work.

STONE: The mobility Woodruff and galore person is, who moreover carries retired this projected MAHA schedule erstwhile national agencies are trim and scientists person mislaid their funding?

Will Stone, NPR News.

Accuracy and readiness of NPR transcripts whitethorn vary. Transcript matter whitethorn beryllium revised to correct errors aliases lucifer updates to audio. Audio connected npr.org whitethorn beryllium edited aft its original broadcast aliases publication. The charismatic grounds of NPR’s programming is nan audio record.