Children’s Health Research Program Cancelled by EPA

On May 13, 2019, Nature reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to eliminate funding for the Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Program. A joint initiative of EPA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the program supports thirteen research centers, which “explore ways to reduce children’s health risks from environmental factors.” EPA has provided funding for the centers since 1998, but recently announced that it would cease doing so, from July 2019. NIEHS has indicated that it cannot afford to replace the EPA funding, meaning that some centers may have to close or significantly curtail their operations.