The Chemical industry is arming up, hiring PR firms and old hands from the tobacco industry to fight anticipated Congressional action on toxics. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been turning in some excellent investigative reporting on this issue:
“The industry has launched an unprecedented public relations blitz that uses many of the same tactics – and people – the tobacco industry used in its decades-long fight against regulation. This time, the industry’s arsenal includes state-of-the-art technology. Their modern-day Trojan horses: blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and YouTube.” Read full article.
The chemical industry flexed its muscle in California, squashing a bill to keep toxic fire retardants out of furniture. The Sacramento News Review estimates the chemical companies spent between $6 million and $9 million on lobbyists and efforts to derail the bill, A.B. 706. This is just a fraction of what we can expect when leaders in Congress introduce legislation to reform our national system for regulating toxic chemicals. Read the story: chemical industry extinguishes efforts to curb toxic fire retardants.