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colleague, Dr. Sarah Janssen, here for more details). ACC is reported in a
news response saying that there is no evidence that the levels found in the
furniture would cause health problems, and the chemicals provide valuable
escape time from house fires although this claim was proved false by
government studies of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Defending cancer-causing chemicals is standard operating procedure
for the ACC, acting on behalf of some of the biggest chemical companies
in the world including Dow, DuPont, BASF and Exxon. Some of the
ACC's recent cancer-promoting activities include the following:
ACC efforts to derail the congressionally mandate Report on
Carcinogens issued biennially by the National Institutes of Health have
been reported In an op/ed by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof
titled, “The Cancer Lobby”. (NYT, October 2012)
This past spring the Chicago Tribune reported that large chemical
manufacturers including ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical and BASF Corp.
were blocking EPA from listing their toxic products as “chemicals of
concern,” going so far as to tell the White House rules office in closeddoor
meetings that “the chemicals they make are safe” despite increasing
scientific evidence to the contrary. (Chicago Tribune, Chemical industry
lobbyists keep stronger oversight plan at bay. May 2012)
And, in a five-part investigative expose titled, “Chemical companies,
Big Tobacco and the toxic products in your home”, the Chicago Tribune
pulled the curtain back on dishonest and manipulative tactics of the
chemical industry to defend the continued use of toxic flame retardants in
household furniture and other consumer products. Their tactics include
generating false scientific data and setting up phony consumer groups to
misrepresent information to the public and regulators. (Chicago Tribune
May 2012)
The ACC is currently opposing a new LEED Green Building ratings
proposal that would give builders credits for not using materials that
contain chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects and other harmful
environmental and health impacts. (See my blog here).
See more of ACC’s pro-cancer activities documented in the blog of
my colleague, Daniel Rosenberg here.