# White House and EPA are attempting to block a contaminated water study from publication



## Xzi (May 15, 2018)

So yeah, this is pretty bad, especially if you live toward the East coast.  I'm worried the water in the US is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better, especially with the current buffoons in government and the EPA.



> *Political appointees at the White House and Environmental Protection Agency worked to block the publication of a federal study that found dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in water supplies*, according to a new report from Politico.
> 
> The study was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and showed that a specific class of toxic chemicals “has *contaminated water supplies near military bases, chemical plants and other sites from New York to Michigan to West Virginia,”* Politico reported.
> 
> The new study shows the chemicals, which have been linked to low birth weights, cancer, liver damage and thyroid problems, are dangerous at lower levels than previously understood. While previous EPA guidance warned against exposure at levels above 70 parts per trillion, the new HHS report said the chemical could be harmful for infants and breastfeeding mothers at just one-sixth of that level, Politico reported.



http://www.newsweek.com/worried-abo...mare-white-house-and-epa-aides-blocked-925501

The study still isn't scheduled to be published and may never be, though a little more pressure might be on after this story breaking.


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## Taleweaver (May 15, 2018)

Erm...I thought that wikileaks was just created for this sort of purpose. 

Granted...USA is busy being notorious for punishing whistleblowers (harder than the one doing actual illegal acts), but still: isn't it a bit daring to say that studies are actively being blocked?


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## DarthDub (May 15, 2018)

Water's a chemical. I learned so much today.


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## CallmeBerto (May 15, 2018)

From the article

"But instead of making the results of the study public, EPA emails obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request from the Union of Concerned Scientists show political appointees tried to stop publication of the study, citing a “public relations nightmare.”

Holy shit guys, FIX...YOUR>>>SHIT!


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## Xzi (May 15, 2018)

CallmeBerto said:


> From the article
> 
> "But instead of making the results of the study public, EPA emails obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request from the Union of Concerned Scientists show political appointees tried to stop publication of the study, citing a “public relations nightmare.”
> 
> Holy shit guys, FIX...YOUR>>>SHIT!


Unfortunately it's not at all surprising for this administration to care more about PR and TV ratings than American lives.


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## Glyptofane (May 15, 2018)

Xzi said:


> Unfortunately it's not at all surprising for this administration to care more about PR and TV ratings than American lives.


I seem to recall that the still not completely resolved Flint water crisis was completely a machination of Democratic governance which took the Obama administration something like two years to aknowledge.


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## Xzi (May 15, 2018)

Glyptofane said:


> I seem to recall that the still not completely resolved Flint water crisis was completely a machination of Democratic governance which took the Obama administration something like two years to aknowledge.


I don't know where you're getting your info, but Rick Snyder has been governor of Michigan since 2011, and he's a Republican.  The Flint water crisis was discovered in 2014, and Flint's Democrat mayor Karen Weaver wasn't elected until 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Weaver

The Obama administration had nothing to do with Flint obviously, the decision to switch water supplies and the ensuing cover-up were both local matters.  Democrats don't weaken the EPA and environmental protections, so they don't have to cover it up if everything goes to shit.  Now we've got up to three states with contaminated water and all we're gonna hear are "whataboutisms" from the Trump administration who can't seem to take responsibility for anything.  Assuming they acknowledge this at all.


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## Glyptofane (May 15, 2018)

Xzi said:


> I don't know where you're getting your info, but Rick Snyder has been governor of Michigan since 2011, and he's a Republican.  The Flint water crisis was discovered in 2014, and Flint's Democrat mayor Karen Weaver wasn't elected until 2015.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Weaver
> 
> The Obama administration had nothing to do with Flint obviously, the decision to switch water supplies and the ensuing cover-up were both local matters.  Democrats don't weaken the EPA and environmental protections, so they don't have to cover it up if everything goes to shit.  Now we've got up to three states with contaminated water and all we're gonna hear are "whataboutisms" from the Trump administration who can't seem to take responsibility for anything.  Assuming they acknowledge this at all.


Since Flint was bankrupt for years, emergency managers were appointed to supersede local elected officials. It was one of these along with the city council, not the governor, who decided to switch the water supply to the contaminated one. They were supposed to be working with the EPA, a federal agency, to ensure the safety of the water system, so it's not entirely a local issue.


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## emigre (May 15, 2018)

I think everyone in the world has accepted America has no responsible government until 2021. Good luck lads. You guys will really need it if he gets a second term.


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## Xzi (May 16, 2018)

Glyptofane said:


> Since Flint was bankrupt for years, emergency managers were appointed to supersede local elected officials. It was one of these along with the city council, not the governor, who decided to switch the water supply to the contaminated one. They were supposed to be working with the EPA, a federal agency, to ensure the safety of the water system, so it's not entirely a local issue.


City council answers to the mayor who answers to the governor.  The buck has to stop somewhere, and those individuals helped cover up the crisis, so it should probably stop at them.

This wasn't meant to be a political thread, more so current events, but realistically this shit simply doesn't happen under Dems.  They're the pro-environment party, it's just too bad we don't have more than one of those, considering we only have one environment.


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## The Catboy (May 16, 2018)

Glyptofane said:


> I seem to recall that the still not completely resolved Flint water crisis was completely a machination of Democratic governance which took the Obama administration something like two years to aknowledge.


That doesn't matter, Obama isn't in office anymore. What matters is that it's still an issue and not being resolved by the current administration. It's made worse by the fact that they are trying to hide issues from the public and denying issues.


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## Xzi (May 16, 2018)

Lilith Valentine said:


> That doesn't matter, Obama isn't in office anymore. What matters is that it's still an issue and not being resolved by the current administration. It's made worse by the fact that they are trying to hide issues from the public and denying issues.


Yeah I seriously doubt Obama would've made it four years, let alone eight, if he had tried to cover up a report like this simply for "PR reasons."  This one act is impeachable IMO, even ignoring everything else the Trump administration has done illegally/unethically.


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## The Catboy (May 16, 2018)

Xzi said:


> Yeah I seriously doubt Obama would've made it four years, let alone eight, if he had tried to cover up a report like this simply for "PR reasons."  This one act is impeachable IMO, even ignoring everything else the Trump administration has done illegally/unethically.


Well it more so a statement to just shoot down the oh so common "But Obama" or "But Clinton" style statements that have become all too common these days. People are far too willing to avoid the problem by literally diverting attention away from it and it's honestly not helping.
That and I am tired of hearing, "Well Flint happened in during the Obama administration," which is something no one is denying, but it's a really weird statement to make considering it's still an ongoing an issue. Starting during another administration doesn't give the current administration a free pass to just ignore the issue.


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## Xzi (May 22, 2018)

Bit of a follow-up, _'EPA bars AP, CNN from summit on contaminants.'_

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/05/22/us/politics/ap-us-pruitt-epa-the-latest.html


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## TotalInsanity4 (May 22, 2018)

Xzi said:


> Bit of a follow-up, _'EPA bars AP, CNN from summit on contaminants.'_
> 
> https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/05/22/us/politics/ap-us-pruitt-epa-the-latest.html


Because, you know, they just gotta keep fulfilling that "cartoon villain" role


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