Thread by @reveal

2 / @Reveal has looked into the decision and found a close relationship between the Trump administration and pesticide manufacturers.

3/ Pesticide companies sent the EPA a letter asking to delay the reviews.

documentcloud.org/documents/4568…

4/ One manufacturer, Dow Chemical, has spent $800,000 lobbying against the pesticide reviews and donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.

Its CEO, Andrew Liveris, used to head Trump’s manufacturing council.

5/ Trump has appointed several other former Dow higher-ups to prominent positions.

6/ In November, EPA indefinitely delayed the reviews.

7 / The EPA told @reveal it wasn’t sure when these reviews would begin again.

In the meantime, if or when the EPA begins the reviews again, its science will be more industry-friendly.

8 / The EPA said it would convene a “working group” with industry representatives to alter how the reviews were conducted and reshape the data and science.

documentcloud.org/documents/4568…

9 / Government officials taught pesticide companies how to comment on reviews. Manufacturers, in turn, schooled government on what data to use.

documentcloud.org/documents/4568…

10 / The first pesticides slated for review are malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos. They work by inhibiting the nervous system.

11 / These 3 pesticides alone could be damaging more than 1,800 endangered or threatened species, according to government scientists under the Obama administration.

12 / Here are some of the protected species that could be at risk from the 3 pesticides, according to past government reviews:

13 / Coho salmon

Credit: Bureau of Land Management

14 / Southern Resident Orca Whale

15/ Gray wolf

Credit: Gary Kramer/USFWS

16 / Grizzly bear

17/ Pesticide manufacturers have not returned repeated requests for comment.