Chemical Industry Front Group Outed [1]
Submitted by Bob Burton [2] on
A freshly-minted front group [3], which proclaimed that it promoted "balanced chemical safety reform that protects public health, innovation, and economic growth,” has been outed.
Richard Denison, a scientist with Environmental Defense [4], noted that "nowhere does the website reveal who runs or is behind it" but some of the members of the coalition included the Chemical Industry Council of California, the Louisiana Propane Gas Association and the Virginia Biotechnology Association. The group's website was registered in early August by DDC Advocacy [5], a Virginia-based PR firm. After Denison wrote of the coalition in a blog post, the American Chemistry Council [6] appeared as a member of the coalition too. In a comment on Denison's blog, Joe Householder [7], who identified himself as the Executive Director of the coalition, stated that the coalition "has yet to formally launch." However, Householder did not respond to Denison's question as to "who is paying DDC Advocacy to set up and run the website and organize the coalition?"