Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
A former statistician for the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has accused the agency of "suppressing scientific research" and "silencing the life-saving research happening in its buildings." Robin Ingle says the CPSC has repeatedly bowed to pressures from industry and failed to place tighter restrictions on dangerous products. As an example, she points to delays in publication of reports showing a rise in deaths from All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), while CPSC's general counsel, a former attorney for the ATV industry, tried to force staff to change the language in the report. "I loved working at CPSC," Ingle writes. "It broke my heart to leave. When I did so at the end of 2006, it was of my own accord. If I'd thought that staying there to crunch numbers could have saved a single person's life, I would have stayed."
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