[jinx]

Originally Posted by Cloud

Scary. Has quotes from opposing viewpoints:

"We are in an epidemic of environmentally mediated disease among American children today," he said. "Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and developmental disorders have exponentially increased, and it can't be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we're being exposed to."


Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, a public health advocacy group, disagrees.


"My concern about this trend about measuring chemicals in the blood is it's leading people to believe that the mere ability to detect chemicals is the same as proving a hazard, that if you have this chemical, you are at risk of a disease, and that is false," she said. Whelan contends that trace levels of industrial chemicals in our bodies do not necessarily pose health risks.

American Council on Science and Health

Notwithstanding this desire to make ACSH appear independent, Driver added that "Dr. Whelan would be happy to hear from" MCA members who "are interested in the work of the council and know of possible sources of funds."


Shortly after its founding, ACSH abandoned even the appearance of independent funding. In a 1997 interview, Whelan explained that she was already being called a "paid liar for industry," so she figured she might as well go ahead and take industry money without restrictions.

"It suggests that Dr. Whelan may be using different scientific standards to judge claims about cigarettes smoking than about products manufactured by companies that would appear to have a vested interest in furthering views such as those expressed by Dr. Whelan. As you may be aware, it has been suggested in the press and elsewhere that her views about certain products are open to question because of the sources of funding for her organization," the briefing note stated.