Scientific advancements on toxic algal blooms, “forever chemicals” and Superfund cleanups are at risk as the Trump administration moves to shut down an EPA research laboratory in Minnesota, agency scientists said Monday.
EPA’s Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division is one of 12 labs facing an uncertain future under Administrator Lee Zeldin’s reorganization plan for the agency, three staffers and an EPA union leader told the Duluth City Council at a public meeting.
The lab on the shores of Lake Superior falls under the agency’s Office of Research and Development, whose 1,500 employees have been urged to apply for a limited number of jobs in other EPA offices and fear their positions could soon be eliminated.
The Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division plays a crucial role in evaluating how toxic chemicals and microplastics affect human health and studies algal blooms that can threaten drinking water supplies, said the staffers, one of whom fought back tears as he described his colleagues, mentors and friends.
