EPA is looking to fill 11 of its 20 spots on its Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals, a group of independent experts who give advice on the agency’s risk evaluations.
Among the 29 candidates under consideration are a toxicologist for billionaire Elon Musk’s automobile company Tesla, a contractor working on NASA’s Mars mission and a controversial figure from President Donald Trump’s first term, according to a list published earlier this month.
Candidate Michael Dourson, who leads the nonprofit Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, was Trump’s first pick to lead EPA’s chemical safety office in 2017 but backed out amid public pressure and growing skepticism from senators over a history of understating risks from chemicals.
It’s not Dourson’s first attempt to become a member of one of EPA’s groups of independent advisers; he was a nominee for the agency’s Science Advisory Board in 2021, as well.
