By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: November 16, 2012

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

OKLAHOMA CITY – In early October, we alerted Red Dirt Report readers how U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Tulsa), a ranking (and outgoing) member on the Committee on Environment and Public Works learned that the Environmental Protection Agency was conducting dangerous experiments on human subjects, subjecting them to “toxic or lethal levels of small particles.”

The subjects, some of whom are in poor health to begin with, were, as we noted in our story “Inhofe seeks hearings addressing the EPA’s monstrous ‘illegal human experiments’” seen as expendable.

Of course these experiments bring up all sorts of legal and ethical questions. And the fact that they are taking place at all and conducted at a leading university in such a cavalier manner is shocking in itself.

The American Tradition Institute Environmental Law Center took interest in the disturbing case and is suing the EPA, as we noted. The court document and lawsuit is: The American Tradition Institute Environmental Law Center v. United States Environmental Protection Agency and Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator.

Inhofe, meanwhile, wrote to his committee’s chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and requested that hearings about this issue be conducted in coming weeks.

Wrote Inhofe: “(The EPA) may be held criminally liable for its conduct.”

Since the lawsuit was filed and Red Dirt Report released its story, the EPA’s Office of Inspector General has taking interest as well, and in a memo dated October 22, 2012 (and just posted on the EPA website, curiously enough), they “plan to begin an evaluation of the (EPA’s) Research on Human Subjects.”

This assignment, the OIG notes, is in response to Inhofe’s questions and request to have hearings during this fall’s lame-duck session, before he goes off the committee. They want to know if the EPA research followed laws, regulations, policies, procedures and guidance when exposing human "guinea pigs" to reportedly high levels of diesel exhaust - levels that had the plaintiffs making comparisons to deadly Nazi medical experiments.

Specifically, the OIG wants to delve into projects XCON, KINGCON, and OMEGACON and “any related studies exposing 41 human subjects to diesel exhaust emissions or concentrated air particles from 2010 to 2011” and determine whether the EPA obtained the following:

1.      1. (S)ufficient approval to expose subjects to specific levels of diesel exhaust emissions or concentrated airborne particles.

2.     2.  (Received) adequate informed consent from human study subjects before exposing them to diesel exhaust emissions or concentrated airborne particles.

3.      3. (And) whether the EPA adequately addressed any adverse events that may have occurred during or after the tests were conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

We are hoping to hear more from Sen. Inhofe about this issue and the Environment and Public Works Committee’s planned hearings on the matter. When we do, we will be sure to report our findings here at Red Dirt Report.

Copyright 2012 Red Dirt Report