In October 2021, a team of EPA scientists completed a two-year study of water quality in Harlan, Crestwood, and Millfield counties. Their findings were unambiguous: industrial runoff from three chemical facilities had contaminated groundwater, and cancer rates in the affected areas were 2.3 times the national average.
The study was never published. Instead, according to internal emails obtained by The Public Record through a Freedom of Information Act request, the scientists were told to "revise the methodology" and "reconsider the causal framing." When they refused, the project was reassigned.
The Suppressed Findings
The emails, 214 pages in total, document a sustained effort by senior EPA officials to prevent the study's findings from reaching the public. The effort began within days of the study's completion and involved officials at the regional and national level.
From: Regional Director Hammond. To: Study Team. Subject: Harlan County Report — HOLD. "Do not finalize or distribute. The methodology requires additional review before any findings can be characterized as causal. Please revise to reflect uncertainty in the causal chain."
"They didn't dispute our data. They disputed our conclusions. And when we wouldn't change them, they took the study away from us."
— EPA scientist, speaking on condition of anonymity