At the end of 1995 the Congressional Subcommittee on Energy & Environment held a public hearing on "Scientific Integrity and Federal Policies and Mandates: Case Study 1 - EPA's Dioxin Reassessment." Prior to the hearings, Peter Montague (1995) of the Environmental Research Foundation, claimed: "It is widely understood in Washington that this hearing is going to be a 'witch hunt' aimed at punishing the EPA for reaching conclusions that the paper industry and other industrial poisoners don't like." The Citizen's Clearing House pointed out that in 1993/1994 24 out of the 28 members of the House Subcommittee which was holding the hearings had received money from the Political Action Committees representing the forest and paper industries, the chemical industry and waste management industries.

Prior to the hearing environmentalists, including the Citizen's Clearinghouse, complained that the witnesses who would give evidence at the hearing were "hand-picked by the Republican majority to downplay the health risks from dioxin." They asked why scientists who argued that dioxin was dangerous, such as Linda Birnbaum, who was principal author of the concluding chapter, were not being allowed to testify whilst industry experts were invited to do so. A group of 46 scientists also wrote a joint letter to the committee stating:

The subcommittee's current list of non-governmental witnesses is composed exclusively of individuals whose scientific integrity is compromised by the funding of their work; by dioxin-polluting industries such as incinerator, chemical, and pulp and paper corporations"

Whilst the final outcome of the dioxin battle remains to be seen, it is clear from this account that corporations have engaged in a concerted and lengthy public relations campaign to portray dioxin as relatively safe. They have been able to do this through their use of third parties to put their case as well as through direct lobbying and public relations tactics. These efforts have often been concealed from the public which must rely on the media for their information.

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References:

Environ Dioxin Risk Characterization Expert Panel, 1995, 'EPA Assessment Not Justified', Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 31A-32A.

Gibbs, Lois Marie and The Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste, 1995, Dying from Dioxin (Boston, MA: South End Press).

Montague, Peter, 1995, Dioxin Inquisition, Rachel's Hazardous Waste News, No. 457.