MBD "Activist Report" for August, 1994

The following document by the secretive PR firm of Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin (MBD) was leaked to the public by a whistleblower and was published in the 2nd Quarter 1996 issue of PR Watch, the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Media & Democracy. It offers a revealing example of the extent to which the chlorine industry is engaged in surveillance activities against environmentalists. Read it and weep!

Memorandum to:
Clyde Greenert/Brad Lienhart
From: Jack Mongoven
Date: September 7, 1994
Re: MBD Activist Report for August

Attached is a brief report on anti-chlorine groups' activities in August along with our characterization of those activities. Recommendations regarding the individual activists were forwarded with the original detailed reports.

Also attached is a list of all the recommendations we provided [the Chlorine Chemistry Council] in August as to how best to counter the activists. The main recommendation--to mobilize science against the precautionary principle--still applies and dovetails with the long range objectives regarding sound risk assessment.

It is obvious that the battleground for chlorine will be women's issues--reproductive health and children--and organizations with important constituencies of women opinion leaders should have priority. . . .

It is important in all cases to stay ahead of the activists, e.g., get to the New Orleans media and opinion leaders before the Chemical Week Chlorine Conference and the same in each of the cities where [the Women's Economic and Development Organization] will hold conferences this fall.

Let me know if you need more, e.g., we maintain calendars of anti-chlorine events and could include same if you would like.

Summary of MBD Recommendations to CCC (Chlorine Chemistry Council) August 1994

Special efforts should be made for the [November 1994, New Orleans] ChemicalWeek conference on chlorine. KPR (Ketchum Public Relations) should work with journalists, especially those who will be covering the conference, and CCC should work with ChemicalWeek about the tactics Greenpeace and its allies employ to gather media attention. Mobilize the attendees and communicate (by written and verbal communication) the threat the radicals pose and how to deal with it.

Take advantage of the schisms [within] the Administration, i.e. within EPA and among EPA, USDA and FDA on the risk assessment section of the Dioxin Reassessment. CCC should quietly work with the industry coalitions to ensure that USDA and FDA are perceived to have the support of strong constituencies. . . .

Engage [Ketchum Public Relations] to reach out to editorial boards to highlight flaws in the risk assessment portion of the dioxin reassessment.

Engage a broad effort on risk assessment within the scientific community, even in groups which have taken positions against chlorine.

Accelerate the program to bring about agreed-upon risk assessment policy and the deployment of vehicles of sound science.

Take advantage of the opportunity . . . to highlight the need for some established criteria on risk assessment which will be widely accepted by scientists, industry, the people and governments.

Move quickly to take advantage of the visibility of the shortcomings of the current system by having scientists and Congressmen ready to call for the process on risk assessment CCC and [Chemical Manufacturers Association] would like to see put in place.

Schedule, through [Ketchum Public Relations], editorial board meetings in Dayton prior to Department of Health and Human Services Devra Lee Davis speech to a forum on breast cancer sponsored by Greenpeace and [the Women's Economic and Development Organization] to be held in Dayton, Ohio, in October.

Enlist legitimate scientists in the Dayton area who would be willing to ask pointed questions at the conference.

Continue existing CCC public relations and communications programs to counter activists' claims of the evils associated with dioxin as a weapon against chlorine chemistry.

Also, use the grassroots extremists charges against the role of science in shaping public policy as a call to arms within the professions whose credibility and relevancy are at stake.

. . . Urge the Vinyl Institute to begin immediately to build alliances on the PVC issue, beginning with those with an obvious economic stake, e.g., home builders, realtors, product manufacturers, hospitals and others who are immediately targeted.

Form an alliance on PVC issues with the Mid-States Oil and Gas Association which is concerned about expansion of the activist anti-PVC program in the Gulf of Mexico and is seeking allies in the chemical industry. . . .

Bring the state governors in on the issue of risk assessment by communicating the benefits to them from being able to rely on a national standard.

Establish third-party entities devoted to developing these standards in the near future.

Take steps to discredit the precautionary principle within the more moderate environmental groups as well as within the scientific and medical communities. . . .

It is especially important to begin a program directed to pediatric groups throughout the country and to counter activist claims of chlorine-related health problems in children. . . .

Prevent Medical Associations from Joining Anti-Chlorine Movement

Create panel of eminent physicians and invite them to review data regarding chlorine as a health risk and as a key chemical in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Publish panel's findings and distribute them widely to medical associations and publications.

Stimulate peer-reviewed articles for publication in the [Journal of the American Medical Association] on the role of chlorine chemistry in treating disease. . . .

Convince through carefully crafted meetings of industry representatives (in pharmaceuticals) with organizations devoted to specific illnesses, e.g., arthritis, cystic fibrosis, etc., that the cure for their specific disease may well come through chlorine chemistry and ask them to pass resolutions endorsing chlorine chemistry and communicate their resolutions to medical societies. . . .

NWF Says Chlorine is a Threat to Human Reproduction

One of the most significant recent developments in the anti-chlorine campaign is the National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) publication of Fertility on the Brink, which attributes fertility and reproductive problems to exposure to chlorine-based chemicals. The report depicts widespread and devastating effects on the reproductive, endocrine and immune systems of humans and animals as a result of exposure to an environment permeated with chlorine-based chemicals. The NWF uses the issue of fertility as a vehicle to play on the emotions of the public and its concern for future generations. . . .

The NWF is highly respected by mainstream environmentalists, conservationists, industry and government. That respect combined with the vast resources NWF controls, provide the NWF substantial influence on national policy decisions related to environmental and consservation matters.

The NWF printed 1,000 copies of Fertility on the Brink, which is almost depleted and a second printing is expected. . . . The publication of and demand for Fertility on the Brink may signal that the claims of destructive health problems attributable to toxic exposure has become more widely accepted by the public and will probably become a larger issue. . . .

Risk Assessment Based on the Needs of Children

Anti-chlorine activists are also using children and their need for protection to compel stricter regulation of toxic substances. This tactic is very effective because children-based appeals touch the public's protective nature for a vulnerable group and that makes it difficult to refute appeals based on its needs. The tactic also is effective in appealing to an additional segment of the public which has yet to be activated in the debate, particularly parents. . . .

The tone of the debate will focus on the needs of children and insist that all safeguards be taken to ensure their safety in development. For most substances, the tolerances of babies and children, which includes fetal development, are obviously much lower than in the general adult population. Thus, "environmental policies based on health standards that address the special needs of children" would reduce all exposure standards to the lowest possible levels. . . .

Dioxin and Risk Assessment . . .

Anti-chlorine groups will probably devise tactics which promote the adoption of the "precautionary principle." The principle, which shifts the burden of establishing a chemical's safety to industry, is unlikely to be adopted. The debate over the "precautionary principle" will elevate the dioxin issue to a more conspicuous level. . . .

This is a critical time for the future of risk assessment as a tool of analysis. The industry must identify the implications posed by the "precautionary principle" and assist the public in understanding the damage it inflicts on the role of science in modern development and production. . . .

Breast Cancer, Fertility and Reproductive Problems Caused by Pesticides . . .

Devra Lee Davis is expected to direct the Clinton Administration's policy governing breast cancer and we expect her to try to convert the breast cancer issue into a debate over the use of chlorine. As a member of the administration, Davis has unlimited access to the media while her position at the Health and Human Services (HHS) helps validate her "junk science." Davis is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at each of the upcoming . . . breast cancer conferences . . . sponsored by Women's Economic and Development Organization (WEDO). . . . Each conference is expected to emphasize a regional interest. . . . Topics include "Environment and Breast Cancer," "Organochlorines, Pesticides and Breast Cancer" and "Environmental Justice."