Employees, senator decry accelerated closure of Las Vegas EPA lab
A Las Vegas lab of the Environmental Protection Agency is closing in September, leaving workers scrambling and Nevada’s Democratic senator seeking answers.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is asking the EPA to justify the expedited move, saying in a letter that she wants answers by Friday. It’s unclear what her next step is if the office fails to respond.
“Several of my constituents now have many life-changing decisions to make in a short time frame that not only affects them but their families, other professional commitments, as well as the outcome of their ongoing research efforts,” Cortez Masto said in the letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “I urge you to give them the full support of your agency and help provide them with certainty and specificity.”
The lab researches environmental health risks from chemicals and other substances. The agency told staff on Feb. 6 that the Las Vegas office of the National Exposure Research Laboratory would close Sept. 30 in compliance with an Obama-era directive to reduce space leased by the EPA.
Officials originally intended to consolidate the research lab offices by 2020. Researcher Ann Pitchford, the local National Association of Government Employees union representative and president, said eight EPA chemists were notified last year that their office would