that Duval County was chosen because they knew that many families in the area were using large amounts of pesticides to control roaches and pests. The EPA also received $2 million of the proposed 9 million budget for the CHEERS study from the American Chemistry Council, a lobbying group representing 135 chemical companies in exchange for measuring levels of common household chemicals such as flame, retardants, and ingredients in plastic products along with pesticides. The CHEERS project was terminated in 2005 after it became a political matter. Thereafter, the U.S. Congress also passed a law that bans EPA from funding intentional exposure research that involves children and pregnant or nursing women. References EPA page on CHEERS Editorial criticizing CHEERS Urban Legends on CHEERS Further reading Lessons Learned From the Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study Protecting Kids from Environmental Exposure 2004 in the United States Duval County, Florida United States Environmental Protection Agency Environmental research