Wheeler Dealer?

The US Environmental Protection Agency (something of a misnomer in recent years) has instigated a last major roll-back with its new 'transparency' rules (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/05/trump-epa-pollution-rule-scientific-studies). EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, has stated that the agency will now require the release of raw (rather than anonymized) data from Public Health studies. These studies have been used to determine the danger of air pollutants (they are the basis of many clean air protections), toxic or carcinogenic chemicals released by industrial processes et cetera. A major concern, for academics carrying out large Public Health studies, is that the change will remove medical confidentiality, making it more difficult to recruit people into studies. The change seems likely to make it easier for polluters to pollute.