Chemical Industry Wages War on Environment & Health

A news release from the Environmental Working Group reveals that "the chemical industry plans to conduct a covert campaign attacking the growing movement in California for more chemical safety testing, with tactics including the creation of phony front groups and spying on activists, according to an internal American Chemistry Council (ACC) memo. ... It recommends to ACC members that they pay $120,000 a year to Nichols-Dezenhall, a Washington-based firm that hires former FBI and CIA agents, to conduct 'selective intelligence gathering ... about the plans, motivations and allies of opposition activists... Focus on the PP [Precautionary Principle] movement leadership in the U.S., and in particular, California.' The memo says Nichols-Dezenhall would also 'create an independent PP watchdog group to act as an information clearinghouse and criticize the PP in public and media forums... The group could be structured as a tax-exempt organization.'" The EWG release spawned articles in the San Francisco Chroncile and the Oakland Tribune.