Swati Rayasam, a public health scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's San Francisco office, was put on administrative leave as part of a broader Trump administration move to dismantle environmental justice programs, despite laws requiring protection of vulnerable populations from chemical risks.
Sean Reilly and Ellie Borst report for E&E News.
In short:
- The Trump administration has placed numerous EPA staffers, including Swati Rayasam, on administrative leave due to their roles in environmental justice or diversity work, citing an executive order to end such initiatives.
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is closing the Office of Environmental Justice and reassigning at least 100 staffers to help speed up chemical safety reviews delayed under the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act.
- A complaint filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel alleges these actions violate federal workforce protections, with the investigation now uncertain due to leadership changes under President Trump.
Key quote:
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
— Swati Rayasam, environmental protection specialist
Why this matters:
Chemical safety regulation is one of the EPA’s core responsibilities, and the stakes are high for people living near polluting facilities. Environmental justice programs were designed to ensure those most likely to be exposed—often communities of color and low-income neighborhoods—are protected in regulatory decisions. Dismantling these efforts undercuts science-based safeguards built into the law, such as the Toxic Substances Control Act’s mandates to consider “susceptible subpopulations.” Without staff dedicated to identifying and flagging environmental disparities, risk evaluations for dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde may ignore those most at risk. This move also leaves critical EPA positions unstaffed, at a time when the agency is overwhelmed by chemical reviews that directly impact air and water quality.
Read more: EPA freezes environmental justice grants as Zeldin defends budget cuts before Congress
