Overview
- Bloomberg reported that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed the CDC’s NIOSH in late summer to study potential harms to fishing businesses from offshore wind development.
- One focus identified for the research is electromagnetic fields from subsea power cables, with the Surgeon General’s office involved and NIOSH Director John Howard consulted.
- An HHS spokesperson confirmed to multiple outlets that work on the study is paused because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
- The effort aligns with an administration-wide review that has delayed or scrutinized major East Coast projects, including a stop-and-resume sequence for Ørsted’s Revolution Wind and a temporary freeze on Equinor’s Empire Wind.
- Fishing advocates and industry critics welcomed the reported probe, and NOAA previously told reporters that some Biden-era offshore wind approvals did not receive adequate environmental review.