EPA nominee once helped chemical industry, lobbyists

WASHINGTON – An AP review finds a trail of payments from the chemical industry, lobbyists and others to the man nominated to oversee chemical safety at the EPA.

Michael L. Dourson once had Dow Chemical, Koch Industries and Chevron among clients of his research group. The group produced work critical of studies that raised concerns about the safety of his clients’ products.

If confirmed, ethics experts said, Dourson’s past writings and the money paid to him and a non-profit he founded could represent potential conflicts of interest.

Dourson’s nomination as head of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention was to be considered by a Senate committee Wednesday, but was postponed when the Senate adjourned early for the week.