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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

The forever chemical PFNA is so hazardous that the EPA struck an agreement with 8 companies to phase it out nearly two decades ago.

Now an EPA report on its harms sits in limbo, and the Trump administration won’t say when it will be released.

By @fastlerner.bsky.social

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the ...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

José Sepúlveda @josesepulveda.bsky.social · 1d

My latest video for @propublica.org.

ProPublica @propublica.org · 7d

📽️ Listen to our reporter Eli Hager, who spoke with former acting commissioner Leland Dudek for 15 hours and interviewed dozens of Social Security insiders, explain the untold saga of what happened when DOGE stormed Social Security.

Read more: https://propub.li/3KUBsIL

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

Alexander C. Kaufman @alexckaufman.bsky.social · 1d

Losing the biggest solar project, but gaining the biggest offshore wind farm wasn’t in my Trump 2.0 bingo cards six months ago but here we are

Clare Fieseler, PhD @fieseler.bsky.social · 2d

In the Trump era, how did Virginia pull off building America's largest offshore wind farm without a hiccup?

Republicans, the military, data centers, a mind-blowing bargain, and a "starter" wind farm made it happen...🧵

www.canarymedia.com/articles/off...

America’s biggest offshore wind farm will be online in six months

Dominion Energy’s 2.6 GW project off Virginia’s coast is progressing fast. The utility has a new, more definitive target to plug into the grid: March 2026.

www.canarymedia.com

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

publichealthwatch.org/2025/10/09/t...

A Community Burdened by Chemical Waste Is Demanding Cancer Data. Texas Health Officials Won’t Give It to Them. - Public Health Watch

Last year, state epidemiologists studied an industrialized region east of Houston. They reported finding high rates of cancer, but refused to release key geographic details — a decision some experts s...

publichealthwatch.org

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

Known for their scientific rigor, IRIS reports are used around the world to protect health.

But IRIS is also a target of industry. Project 2025 called for its elimination.

And this year, Republicans introduced a bill that would stop EPA from using IRIS reports

www.propublica.org/article/legi...

Industry-Backed Legislation Would Bar the Use of Science Behind Hundreds of Environmental Protections

Two bills in Congress would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from using hundreds of chemical assessments completed by its IRIS program in environmental regulations or enforcement.

www.propublica.org

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

The EPA won't say how it plans to assess toxic chemicals without it. They also won't confirm that it is going away.

The press office told me "it is inaccurate to say that IRIS no longer exists” but did not respond a to follow-up question about whether it’s accurate to say that IRIS does exist

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

This story is about the report that hasn't been published - but it's also about IRIS, the part of EPA that wrote it and has been assessing the toxicity of chemicals for decades.

Of 55 scientists who worked on recent IRIS report, only 8 remain in their posts.

www.propublica.org/article/epa-...

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the ...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

Melody Joy Kramer, MLIS @mkramer.bsky.social · 4d

A nice write up in @usa.streetsblog.org!

usa.streetsblog.org/2025/10/08/t...

This Newsroom Is Looking For Its Next Big Tip on the Train — Streetsblog USA

Investigative journalists at ProPublica are betting that the next big tipster is riding the rails right now — and reaching out to find them.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

Lisa Song @lisalsong.bsky.social · 3d

"PFNA is so hazardous that the EPA struck an agreement with eight companies to phase it out nearly two decades ago."

And yet, the report is stuck in limbo, still not released to the public.

Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

NEW An EPA report found that PFNA, a chemical in the drinking water of some 26M people, interferes with development and likely causes liver problems & male reproductive harms. The report was done in April, scientists told me. But the agency hasn't released it

www.propublica.org/article/epa-...

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the ...

www.propublica.org

5 120 270

Reposted by Sharon Lerner

Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

NEW An EPA report found that PFNA, a chemical in the drinking water of some 26M people, interferes with development and likely causes liver problems & male reproductive harms. The report was done in April, scientists told me. But the agency hasn't released it

www.propublica.org/article/epa-...

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the ...

www.propublica.org

15 310 520

Reposted by Sharon Lerner

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 2d

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

“Environmental regulations are, in my view, largely terrible,” said Musk

www.propublica.org/article/elon...

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Accused of Nearly 800 Environmental Violations on Las Vegas Project

Nevada could’ve fined the company more than $3 million, but regulators are seeking a reduced penalty of $242,800, citing an “extraordinary number of violations.”

www.propublica.org

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

a few of you have brought up autism here.. and actually there IS a link between PFNA and autism

PFNA "showed the strongest and most consistent association" with autism-related traits

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and childhood autism-related outcomes

Epidemiological evidence linking prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with altered neurodevelopment is inconclusive, and few large studies have focused on autism-related out...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

NEW: 19-year-old Jorge Ruiz, a Mexican immigrant in Alabama on an H-2B visa, was convicted of murder after a fatal car crash.

He was initially sentenced to the maximum possible punishment, longer than what prosecutors had requested: 99 years.

How a Fatal Car Crash Tested Alabama’s Justice System

A 19-year-old was arrested and charged with reckless murder after a fatal car crash in Alabama. His lawyers have come to believe that one factor changed the course of the case, starting in the first moments after the crash.

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

NEW: PFNA can be found in drinking water systems that serve about 26 million people.

The EPA’s toxicity report on the forever chemical has sat in limbo for months, raising concerns that the Trump administration might change it or not release it at all.

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

The report was completed in mid-April, scientists familiar with the document told ProPublica, but the Trump administration has yet to release it.

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

Texas AG Ken Paxton hired a former staffer to work on a recent case. As a state employee, her labor would have cost taxpayers $641.

As a private attorney, Paxton allowed her to bill $3,780 an hour, so that day of work cost taxpayers $24,570.

(Published July with @texastribune.org)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Is Outsourcing More of His Office’s Work to Costly Private Lawyers

Despite having an office of hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton is frequently opting for private lawyers — many to whom he has personal or political ties — to argue on behalf of Texas. One attorney cost...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Sharon Lerner

ProPublica @propublica.org · 3d

NEW: Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek told state agencies to take “any and all steps necessary” to expedite solar and wind permits before federal green energy tax credits expire next year.

The order prioritizes high-priority projects to begin by July 2026.

With @opb.org

Oregon Fast-Tracks Renewable Energy Projects as Trump Bill Ends Tax Incentives

Gov. Tina Kotek ordered the move, which follows reporting by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica that highlighted impediments green energy advocates blame for the state’s poor ranking when it co...

www.propublica.org

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

PFAS are also associated with female reproductive problems, such as endometriosis, ovarian dysfunction and tumors and dramatic decreases in fertility

www.niehs.nih.gov/research/sup...

PFAS Exposure Linked to Reduced Fertility in Women

Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may reduce fertility in women by as much as 40%, researchers from the NIEHS-funded Environmental Health Sciences Core Center at Mount Sinai found...

www.niehs.nih.gov

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 2d

And about those likely repro effects, which the report based on animal evidence: There's a lot of science tying PFAS to repro fx:

they've been tied to smaller testes and reduction in the number and mobility of sperm pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

theintercept.com/2018/11/30/p...

PFOA and PFOS Cause Lower Sperm Counts and Smaller Penises, Study Finds

There’s a new reason to be concerned about PFOA and PFOs, toxic chemicals used in nonstick pans, waterproof products, and firefighting foam.

theintercept.com

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

one other reason to worry about this chemical: the report found it likely causes damage to the liver and to male reproductive systems, including reductions in testosterone levels, sperm production and the size of reproductive organs

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

The EPA told me it would release the report when it was finalized.

But according to an internal document I reviewed and scientists I spoke with, it was already completed and ready for posting

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

EPA is now reconsidering a PFNA drinking water limit, which some see as possible reason to hold the report

“If you’re trying to roll back drinking water standards, you probably don’t want to release information that makes the case for why those standards are necessary” @dminovi.bsky.social told me

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

The report would help EPA and states set health-protective levels for drinking water and cleanup of toxic sites.

PFNA is in the PFAS family, and the report remains in limbo while local governments and companies face off in court about who will pay to clean these chemicals up

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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 3d

NEW An EPA report found that PFNA, a chemical in the drinking water of some 26M people, interferes with development and likely causes liver problems & male reproductive harms. The report was done in April, scientists told me. But the agency hasn't released it

www.propublica.org/article/epa-...

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the ...

www.propublica.org

15 310 520

Reposted by Sharon Lerner

Sam Nelson @samnelson752.bsky.social · 16d

Support the workers in @propublicaguild.org who do this great work: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

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