Journal-Sentinel: Inquiry into chemical industry's role widens

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published April 3, 2008

A congressional committee is broadening the scope of its investigation to include how much influence the chemical industry has exerted on the federal government in considering the safety of certain consumer products. In a letter to the group, Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, questioned the American Chemistry Council's role in dismissing a key scientist from an Environmental Protection Agency panel charged with reviewing the safety of a chemical found in flame retardants. The congressmen also asked for information about the trade group's role in funding the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, which publishes the scientific journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. "Americans rely on sound science to ensure the safety of everyday products," Stupak said in a news release. "If that science has been compromised by industry, then the health and safety of the public is in danger." In January, Dingell and Stupak launched an inquiry into the use of a chemical known as bisphenol A, which is found in many children's and infant products. The trade group has two weeks to respond to the committee.