Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office • Hacker News Board

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#11

Post by kingsloi » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:35 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #6

topspin wrote: post #5

Why are the various 'manager' names carefully avoided in this sort of reporting? Many other names, including the whistleblowers, are prominently offered. What rule is the Intercept complying with that has them bleep out (thus we known these names are known) the name of a manager in the audio and assiduously omit any manager names in the writing? Names would reveal relationships. Doubtless these managers are former or…

But if you steal a tin of catfood your name will be in the newspapers for the whole world to read and google three decades later.

Same thing applies for dumping ammonia and cyanide in say Lake Michigan, you or I would get charged with water supply terrorism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_terrorism, but do it as part of the steel process and it's a magical loop hole

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#12

Post by voisin » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:37 PM UTC

kingsloi wrote: post #3

My little girl was born with really rare heart disease and a genetic condition, a boy a few streets behind us developed a really rare cancer. - https://kingsley.sh/posts/2021/staggering-cost-of-surviving-... - https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/us/ben-watkins-masterchef/ind... This comes a year or so after a ArcelorMittal spilled ammonia and cyanide into Lake Michigan, and didn't sound the alarm for a few days. My wife a…

I am sorry to hear about the personal impact to your family.

I think things like the air quality sensor you run are the actual solution here. In the absence of government officials doing their job properly, it is up to individuals to do it for themselves.

I wonder if there would be an open source solution for water quality testing and air quality testing, and if enough could be built by citizen hackers to create a distributed screen and alert system for pollutants.

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#13

Post by voisin » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:39 PM UTC

tru3_power wrote: post #7

I don’t understand what’s in it for the people pushing for these approvals. Are they getting kickbacks?

There is intense pressure to please big corporate interests. I see it in my field often. I have no idea where it comes from. I think maybe fear of the power big corporates have? Fear that their higher ups won’t protect them?

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#14

Post by gumby » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:40 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #6

topspin wrote: post #5

Why are the various 'manager' names carefully avoided in this sort of reporting? Many other names, including the whistleblowers, are prominently offered. What rule is the Intercept complying with that has them bleep out (thus we known these names are known) the name of a manager in the audio and assiduously omit any manager names in the writing? Names would reveal relationships. Doubtless these managers are former or…

But if you steal a tin of catfood your name will be in the newspapers for the whole world to read and google three decades later.

Typically only once you’ve been arrested.

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#15

Post by gumby » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:42 PM UTC

topspin wrote: post #5

Why are the various 'manager' names carefully avoided in this sort of reporting? Many other names, including the whistleblowers, are prominently offered. What rule is the Intercept complying with that has them bleep out (thus we known these names are known) the name of a manager in the audio and assiduously omit any manager names in the writing? Names would reveal relationships. Doubtless these managers are former or…

> Why are the various 'manager' names carefully avoided in this sort of reporting? Many other names, including the whistleblowers, are prominently offered.

I assume that the whistleblowers quoted spoke directly with the reporter while the managers did not.

Usually a paper will say “we asked the manager for comment but they did not respond”. Who knows if the Intercept even did that?

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#16

Post by kingsloi » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:43 PM UTC

voisin wrote: post #12

kingsloi wrote: post #3

My little girl was born with really rare heart disease and a genetic condition, a boy a few streets behind us developed a really rare cancer. - https://kingsley.sh/posts/2021/staggering-cost-of-surviving-... - https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/us/ben-watkins-masterchef/ind... This comes a year or so after a ArcelorMittal spilled ammonia and cyanide into Lake Michigan, and didn't sound the alarm for a few days. My wife a…

I am sorry to hear about the personal impact to your family. I think things like the air quality sensor you run are the actual solution here. In the absence of government officials doing their job properly, it is up to individuals to do it for themselves. I wonder if there would be an open source solution for water quality testing and air quality testing, and if enough could be built by citizen hackers to create a di…

Thank you, I appreciate it. I can only bring awareness to it, one man vs mega polluters is an impossible fight.

I live a stone's throw from the Lake Michigan shoreline, and would happily go out there daily to get a water sample, before my normal 9-5. If anyone is interested in hacking something together.

The air sensor I run is open source, for anyone interested.

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#17

Post by wbl » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:43 PM UTC

voisin wrote: post #9

topspin wrote: post #5

Why are the various 'manager' names carefully avoided in this sort of reporting? Many other names, including the whistleblowers, are prominently offered. What rule is the Intercept complying with that has them bleep out (thus we known these names are known) the name of a manager in the audio and assiduously omit any manager names in the writing? Names would reveal relationships. Doubtless these managers are former or…

Probably trying to avoid libel since nothing has been proven in court.

Truth is an absolute defense to libel in the US. Furthermore because this is the sort of reporting on a matter of public concern that society benefits from the standard gets tighter: it's not enough to show something was false, you have to show the publication should have known or acted maliciously in publishing. Incredibly high bar.

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#18

Post by cogman10 » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:48 PM UTC

This is, frankly, the legacy of the Trump administration. This story of blatant corruption to favor businesses was common throughout the federal government.

The Trump admin went out of it's way to both install the worst of the worst and to push out as many competent federal employees as possible.

Prime examples of Trump swamp creatures include such hits as Ajit Pai, Scott Pruitt (Who likely started the policies of the article), and Louis DeJoy.

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#19

Post by michaelmrose » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:48 PM UTC

voxic11 wrote: post #4

sschueller wrote: post #2

It won't be a vaccine that makes you sterile. It will be one of the chemicals that end up everywhere because of corruption at the only agency that would protect us. This is also why those people for a unregulated free market are insane. Sure the company pedaling the dangerous chemical will eventual go out of business. But how many people will die and suffer and does anyone think that the people responsible will still…

New chemicals save lives as well, they may be safer than existing alternatives or enable safer processes to be used or they may enable some new technology that saves lives (there is almost unlimited potential here, few areas of technological advancement are as wide impacting as improvements to materials). It sounds like you are advocating for the precautionary principle, but what do you think about the counterargumen…

>by blocking technological improvements before actually investigating their risk

How is not doing this not an obvious recipe for doom. The only ridiculous thing here is you have stated this as a binary instead of a continuum.

Re: Whistleblowers expose corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office

#20

Post by briefcomment » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 9:50 PM UTC

voisin wrote: post #12

kingsloi wrote: post #3

My little girl was born with really rare heart disease and a genetic condition, a boy a few streets behind us developed a really rare cancer. - https://kingsley.sh/posts/2021/staggering-cost-of-surviving-... - https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/18/us/ben-watkins-masterchef/ind... This comes a year or so after a ArcelorMittal spilled ammonia and cyanide into Lake Michigan, and didn't sound the alarm for a few days. My wife a…

I am sorry to hear about the personal impact to your family. I think things like the air quality sensor you run are the actual solution here. In the absence of government officials doing their job properly, it is up to individuals to do it for themselves. I wonder if there would be an open source solution for water quality testing and air quality testing, and if enough could be built by citizen hackers to create a di…

I like PurpleAir's crowdsourced air quality map[1]. Their sensors are one of the few that get down to the .3 micrometer level.

[1]https://www.purpleair.com/map