🧪EPA eliminates ORD and fires 1,200 scientists under reorganization
Environment
Health Care & Public Health
Public Policy
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced July 19, 2025, elimination of the Office of Research and Development, terminating up to 1,155 scientists including chemists, biologists, and toxicologists. The office closure ends five decades of research that prevented an estimated 200,000 premature deaths annually. Total EPA staffing drops 23% from 16,155 to 12,448 employees, following Trump executive orders and Project 2025 recommendations calling ORD "bloated" and "politically driven."
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Why This Matters
1,155 scientists who tracked 84 new industrial chemicals yearly face termination
Without EPA chemists analyzing emerging contaminants like PFAS, communities won't discover factory poisoning until cancer clusters appear decades later.
10 million homes with lead pipes lose federal monitoring as research teams disband
EPA lead researchers prevented the next Flint crisis—now no early warning system protects children's brain development from contaminated water.
100,000 pediatric asthma cases annually will go unpreventable
EPA studies identified pollution sources reducing childhood breathing disorders—elimination means no tracking of what kids inhale near highways and factories.
$748.8 million in "savings" destroys decades of institutional knowledge
Zeldin claims efficiency while firing scientists whose expertise takes decades to rebuild, leaving corporate polluters with zero federal oversight.
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Detailed Content
1
Categorize these effects of eliminating EPA's research office.
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Public Policy
3
EPA research prevented _____ premature deaths annually for _____ decades before Zeldin eliminated the _____ scientists responsible.
Fill in Blanks
Health Care & Public Health
4
Match each EPA research area to the health crisis that results from eliminating it.
Matching
Health Care & Public Health
5
Who is the current EPA Administrator implementing the research office closure?
Multiple Choice
Environment
6
What percentage of EPA staff is being cut under Zeldin's plan?
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Public Policy
8
According to the topic, how many homes with lead pipes lose federal monitoring?
Multiple Choice
Health Care & Public Health
9
When did Zeldin eliminate the Office of Research and Development?
Multiple Choice
Environment
10
How many employees signed the "declaration of dissent" before being put on administrative leave?
Multiple Choice
Ethics & Government Accountability
11
What conservative blueprint guides Zeldin's EPA transformation?
Multiple Choice
Public Policy
12
What was Zeldin's previous political position before becoming EPA Administrator?
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Government
13
What is the most urgent action citizens can take to protect public health after EPA cuts?
Multiple Choice
Civic Action
14
How should communities respond to losing federal environmental oversight?
Scenario
Environment
15
The Office of Research and Development studied drinking water safety and cancer-causing chemicals.
True/False
Health Care & Public Health
16
EPA studies prevented 100,000 pediatric asthma cases annually by identifying pollution sources.
True/False
Health Care & Public Health
17
The topic recommends calling your governor to fund independent state environmental labs.
True/False
Civic Action
18
Zeldin's cuts represent the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.
True/False
Environment