EPA Finds Unreliable USGS Studies “Sufficient for their Intended Uses”

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has denied the Pavement Coatings Technology Council’s (PCTC) Request for Correction (RFC) of information nearly two years after PCTC submitted an appeal under the EPA’s Information Quality Guidelines (IQGs). The group asked EPA to correct information on its web site and in a “fact sheet” based on US Geological Survey (USGS) studies demonstrated to be unreliable.

In one such study, the method used to identify refined coal tar-based pavement sealant (RTS) as a source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban sediments could not be reproduced. A summary of post-publication peer reviews (PPPRs) and attempts to replicate the study is available on the PPPR web site, PubPeer.com.

In its refusal, “EPA determined the USGS studies cited in the CADDIS webpage and stormwater BMP fact sheet to be sufficient for the intended use. EPA also declines to modify the EPA…webpage or the stormwater…fact sheet to include references to the PCTC-sponsored studies which question the validity of findings by the USGS and others that coal tar sealcoat is a significant source of PAHs in the environment."