A longtime environmental health professor, Peter Thorne, told an Iowa Public Radio audience earlier this week that he learned from media reports he would be losing his key slot on a panel that advises the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thorne noted during an appearance on IPR’s “River to River” that he had faced the end of his term limit as chairman of the Science Advisory Board but had been nominated to continue. He learned from reporters that he and others in academia would be replaced by new members with ties to industry groups that are regulated by EPA. Thorne also noted that his name had disappeared from the EPA’s website. Thorne’s extensive public health research has included work on occupational health, including the role of agricultural pollution.