The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed Transparency Rule Threatens Health
Authors: Renee N. Salas, Francine Laden, Wendy B. Jacobs, Ashish K. Jha
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Ideas and Opinions5 February 2019The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed Transparency Rule Threatens HealthRenee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS, Francine Laden, ScD, Wendy B. Jacobs, JD, and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPHRenee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MSMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Harvard Global Health Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts (R.N.S.)Search for more papers by this author, Francine Laden, ScDHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (F.L.)Search for more papers by this author, Wendy B. Jacobs, JDHarvard Law School, Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Cambridge, Massachusetts (W.B.J.)Search for more papers by this author, and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPHHarvard Global Health Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (A.K.J.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-2673 Annals Author Insight Video - Renee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS; Wendy B. Jacobs, JD; and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH In this video, Renee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS; Wendy B. Jacobs, JD; and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, offer additional insight into the article, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed TransparencyRule Threatens Health" SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule titled Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science in April 2018 (1). Although it may sound valuable, this rule would in fact wreak havoc on the ability of government agencies to protect U.S. residents from environmental harms to human health. If finalized and adopted, it would make ensuring that we have clean air, unpolluted water, and protection from environmental toxins far more difficult.The harm stems from the meaning of transparency in this rule (1). A scientific study under this rule would be considered transparent only if the data were made “publicly ...References1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science. Fed Regist. 2018;83:18768-74. Google Scholar2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Particulate Matter (Final Report, Dec 2009). Report No: EPA/600/R-08/139F. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; December 2009. Google Scholar3. Ioannidis JPA. All science should inform policy and regulation [Editorial]. PLoS Med. 2018;15:e1002576. [PMID: 29723196] doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002576 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Taichman DB, Sahni P, Pinborg A, Peiperl L, Laine C, James A, et al. Data sharing statements for clinical trials: a requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:63-5. [PMID: 28586790]. doi:10.7326/M17-1028 LinkGoogle Scholar5. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Policy for data management and data sharing. 2018. Accessed at www.pcori.org/about-us/governance/policy-data-management-and-data-sharing on 17 November 2018. Google Scholar6. Daniel H, Bornstein SS, Kane GC; Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. Addressing social determinants to improve patient care and promote health equity: an American College of Physicians position paper. Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:577-8. [PMID: 29677265]. doi:10.7326/M17-2441 LinkGoogle Scholar7. Laine C, Taichman DB. Alternative facts have no place in science [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166:905-6. [PMID: 28418504]. doi:10.7326/M17-0878 LinkGoogle Scholar8. Berg J, Campbell P, Kiermer V, Raikhel N, Sweet D. Joint statement on EPA proposed rule and public availability of data [Letter]. Science. 2018;360:1. [PMID: 29712878] doi:10.1126/science.aau0116 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Jacobs WB. Comment on the Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule: Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science. 28 August 2018. Accessed at www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2018-0259-6951 on 17 November 2018. Google Scholar10. Cutler D, Dominici F. A breath of bad air: cost of the Trump environmental agenda may lead to 80 000 extra deaths per decade. JAMA. 2018;319:2261-2. [PMID: 29896617] doi:10.1001/jama.2018.7351 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Harvard Global Health Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts (R.N.S.)Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (F.L.)Harvard Law School, Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Cambridge, Massachusetts (W.B.J.)Harvard Global Health Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (A.K.J.)Grant Support: By the Burke Global Health Fellowship at the Harvard Global Health Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Diversity and Inclusion Clinician–Teacher Development Award, and Rappaport Institute (Dr. Salas); the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (P50 3P50MD010428 or RD83615601) and National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01 ES028033, R01 ES027969, and R24ES028521) (Dr. Laden); and The John A. Hartford Foundation (20170065), The Commonwealth Fund (20160620, 20181326, and 20171084), Stanford University (61664202-126906), and National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (1R21MD011701-01) (Dr. Jha).Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-2673.Corresponding Author: Renee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Zero Emerson Place, Suite 3B, Boston, MA 02115; e-mail, [email protected]harvard.edu.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Salas: Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Zero Emerson Place, Suite 3B, Boston, MA 02115.Dr. Laden: Landmark Center 4W, Room 404G, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215.Ms. Jacobs: 6 Everett Street, Suite 4119, Cambridge, MA 02138.Dr. Jha: 42 Church Street, Second Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138.Author Contributions: Conception and design: R.N. Salas, F. Laden, W.B. Jacobs, A.K. Jha.Drafting of the article: R.N. Salas, F. Laden, W.B. Jacobs.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: R.N. Salas, F. Laden, W.B. Jacobs.Final approval of the article: R.N. Salas, F. Laden, W.B. Jacobs, A.K. Jha.Administrative, technical, or logistic support: R.N. Salas.This article was published at Annals.org on 29 January 2019. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Annals Author Insight Video - Renee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS; Wendy B. Jacobs, JD; and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH In this video, Renee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS; Wendy B. Jacobs, JD; and Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, offer additional insight into the article, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed TransparencyRule Threatens Health" FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byInformation 5 February 2019Volume 170, Issue 3Page: 197-198KeywordsEmergency medicineEnvironmental healthGlobal healthHealth disparitiesHealth information technologyHospital medicinePrevention, policy, and public healthReproducibilityScientistsToxins ePublished: 29 January 2019 Issue Published: 5 February 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...