Retired Environmental Protection Agency employees rallied outside the Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center in Clifton Tuesday to support the agency and current workers.
The Trump administration has shifted EPA priorities and moved to shrink the agency, citing workforce efficiency and effectiveness.
Earlier this year, the EPA fired hundreds of probationary workers and made plans to cut the Office of Research and Development, which employs hundreds in Cincinnati.
Retired lab director Tim Oppelt stood with a sign that said, “save EPA jobs,” which passing cars honked at.
“We love this place, and we really respect and honor what kind of work goes on here and how important it is,” Oppelt said. “So, we're here to support the people that are here. We're here to support the American public. ... It's pretty clear there won't be much environmental protection going on for the next four years.”
He says the Cincinnati EPA laboratory is the second biggest in the country. If the Trump administration moves ahead with proposed cuts, Oppelt says essential research on toxins, water, and hazardous waste cleanup would be halted.
Others lined the sidewalks on Martin Luther King Drive alongside Oppelt.
Cindy Sonich-Mullin had a 43-year career at the agency, starting as a student intern and ending as director of EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory. She showed up to thank EPA scientists and researchers.
“In this building right in front of me are the most dedicated, intelligent researchers and innovators that I've ever seen in my life,” Sonich-Mullin said.
She worries that if the federal government enacts proposed cuts, hundreds would lose their jobs, and the agency won’t be able to carry out its mission to protect human health and the environment.
“EPA science saves lives,” Sonich-Mullin said. “I mean, you can look at the statistics, it's been clear that since EPA was formed, asthma rates have gone down, drinking water has improved — which means that it's extended lives. So, without EPA science, lives are going to be affected. People are going to be affected.”
Organizers held the demonstration on Earth Day.
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