It is common knowledge that government agencies kick the can down the road and make strategic decisions affecting everyday Americans.
There are literally hundreds of agencies and government offices conducting studies which are created with the purpose of informing Americans on health and safety.
But many studies and reports are buried, sidetracked, or delayed for political motivations, and the latest report to be put on the back burner will shock American parents.
The EPA has been conducting scientific research for years on the dangers of environmental pollutants and their effects on our children.
These toxic substances may be found in playgrounds, daycare centers, and schools, so why hasn’t the report been released to the public?
NBC News reported:
A landmark Environmental Protection Agency report concluding that children exposed to toxic substances can develop learning disabilities, asthma and other health problems has been sidetracked indefinitely amid fierce opposition from the chemical industry.
America’s Children and the Environment, Third Edition, is a sobering analysis of the way in which pollutants build up in children’s developing bodies and the damage they can inflict.
The report is unpublished, but was posted on EPA’s website in draft form in March 2011, marked “Do not Quote or Cite.” The report, which is fiercely contested by the chemical industry, was referred to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where it still languishes.
For the first time since the ACE series began in 2000, the draft cites extensive research linking common chemical pollutants to brain damage and nervous system disorders in fetuses and children.
It also raises troubling questions about the degree to which children are exposed to hazardous chemicals in air, drinking water and food, as well exposures in their indoor environments – including schools and day-care centers – and through contaminated lands.
The unreleased report cites hundreds of studies on the correlation between pollutants and their effect on children’s development, including dangers to children in the womb and infants who breastfeed and pick up toxins in their mother’s milk.
Despite supposed government regulations to the contrary, contamination can be found in playground equipment and ground coverings, building materials, and the water supply.
Nothing in government moves unless it is pushed, so although these substances may be banned, agencies have dragged their feet in releasing information to parents or in implementing regulations to repair or replace areas of toxic contamination.
NBC News reported:
Among other findings, the report links numerous substances to ADHD, including certain widely available pesticides; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were banned in 1979 but are still present in products made before then and in the environment; certain polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants; and methyl mercury, a toxic metal that accumulates in larger fish, such as tuna. The draft also cites children’s exposure to lead, particularly from aging lead water pipes, as a continuing problem.
Among the other widespread contaminants linked to learning disabilities is perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel, fireworks and other industrial products, which has polluted water around the country. The Department of Defense, which wants to avoid paying to clean it up, is alarmed by research showing that the chemical interferes with thyroid function and otherwise damages the nervous system, according to R. Thomas Zoeller, a biology professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an expert on perchlorate.
Those who conducted the studies cited the 2016 elections as a reason for tabling the report.
Because the studies were conducted by Obama-era agencies, findings were held in order to prevent any political repercussions in electing another Democrat president.
So, why is this vital report still being tabled?
Many government agencies are still overrun with Obama appointees, and they know the reaction of the American people to the findings will be severe.
New agency appointees under President Trump are pushing to have the report released to prevent any further danger to our nation’s children, but for now, there is no determined release date.
NBC News concluded:
The Executive Order gives OMB up to 60 days to review such proposals — although it allows for extensions. In practice, OMB has missed numerous such deadlines. But the ACE report, which is not a proposed regulation, falls into a gray area.
“If it’s not a rule, I don’t know what it’s doing there,” Steinzor said. “And even if it were a rule, there would be a deadline and they’d be violating it.”
The report should be released now, she said, “because to protect children adequately we need all the information we can get… I guess I understand why there was great anxiety and paranoia before the election … (but) why would you not do it now? It’s sad that things have gotten so polarized that we’re afraid to release scientific information.”
For the time being, parents should do their own research and be vigilant about exposing their children to these substances, especially if they spend a great deal of time playing on older equipment or attend school or daycare in an older building.
In typical government fashion, it is up to us as parents to be an advocate for our children.