Overview

• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin executed Supreme Court–cleared plans to dissolve the Office of Research and Development and reassign or lay off about 1,115 scientific staff
• The reorganization redirects researchers into the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions and program offices in a bid to emulate early 1980s staffing levels
• ORD-affiliated laboratories will remain open under the new structure even as employees report little clarity on reassignment details and job security
• Experts warn that embedding scientists directly in policy units risks politicizing research and weakening the EPA’s capacity to set robust air, water and chemical safety standards
• Eliminating ORD jeopardizes U.S. stewardship of global tools like ToxCast and Ecotox and threatens partnerships with European agencies on non-animal testing and chemical risk assessment