EPA ties with chemical industry probed

WASHINGTON, April 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress is investigating relations between the chemical industry and scientists hired by the EPA to check chemical safety levels, officials said.

Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, are heading the investigation. They have called for papers belonging to the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Chemistry Council in order to review the jobs of experts on the agency's panels now and in the past, The Washington Post reported Friday.

"Americans count on sound science to ensure that consumer products are safe. If industry has undue influence over this science, then the public's health is endangered," a Dingell spokesman said.

Dingell and Stupak are seeking to learn the amount of money the chemistry council paid experts, attorneys, consultants and a scientific publication.