The U.S. federal government's partial shutdown is threatening critical environmental protections for Americans. Things like pollution monitoring, chemical inspections, and disaster response operations could grind to a halt because nearly 90% of the staff at the Environmental Protection Agency is facing furloughs. 

In an exclusive interview with CGTN, a senior advisor at the Environmental Protection Network, a nonprofit organization founded by former EPA employees, warned that without the EPA on the job, toxic emissions and water contamination could go unchecked, putting millions of Americans at risk.

CGTN’s Ediz Tiyansan reports.

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