EPA plans to limit scientific research used in writing public health regulations

[Islander]

Paul LeBlanc
November 11, 2019

The Environment Protection Agency plans to limit the scientific research that the government can use to form public health regulations, The New York Times reported Monday.
A draft of the EPA's proposal obtained by the Times would require scientists to disclose their raw data, including confidential medical records, in order for the agency to consider a study's conclusions. The move would complicate the enactment of new clean air and water regulations, which are largely rooted in academic studies that rely on confidentiality agreements because of personal health disclosures.
The draft proposal obtained by the Times expands on a previous version championed by then-Administrator Scott Pruitt... the new plan would apply retroactively, halting the further use of studies already cited by the EPA that don't comply with the new proposal, according to a separate EPA memo viewed by the Times.

Keep reading: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/11/polit...7cbcb-94005133

[Mr. Wizard]

I believe the EPA will find that requiring scientists to disclose confidential medical records runs afoul of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), which makes such disclosures illegal.

[Islander]

I'm divided on which is more worrisome, the invasion of privacy or the limits set on scientific research. Why fix what ain't broke?