Document NEwdMKO2qQJkxb7LJLqVOr7Vg

Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin, Inc. 1100 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone (202) 429-1800 Fax (202) 429-8655 MEMORANDUM TO: Clyde Greenert/Brad Lienhart FROM: Jack Mongovei DATE: September 7 RE: MBD Activist Report for August Attached is a brief report on anti-chlorine groups' activities in August along with our characterization of thos activities. Recommendations regarding the individual activiti were forwarded with the original detailed reports. s Also attached is a list of all the recommendations we provided CCC 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. On an industry level the dioxin reassessment has temporarily put paper bleaching and incineration at the forefront and provides a great deal of impetus to the anti-PVC campaign. Alliance building of those with a stake in PVC and other chlorinated plastics should be the immediate priority there. 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 WEDO 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. CTL014259 Summary of MBD Recommendations to CCC August 1994 CCC should notify ChemicalWeek of Greenpeace Chicago's plans to disrupt the November ChemicalWeek conference on chlorine -in New Orleans so it can take precautions and notify the local police. Expect Greenpeace to use banner-drops on buildings and other TVoriented high-profile activities. Special efforts should be made for the ChemicalWeek conference on chlorine. KPR 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 with 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. s'ii S'*,*-* 'o'l Work with GMA and FMI to mobilize their members and suppliers to provide support for the FDA position on the risk assessment section of the Dioxin Reassessment. Work with the major pesticide producers who are members of CCC (e.g., DuPont) or CMA and NACA to support the USDA on the Dioxin Reassessment. Encourage KPR 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. MBD 2 Take advantage of the opportunity provided by the split within the administration 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 CMA would like to see put in place. Schedule, through KPR, 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 WEDO 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. i> 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. Accelerated and expand work already started with the ACS and science teachers to include other disciplines. KPR should have articles on this subject published in the wide range of publications which reach these professionals. The CCC communications group should schedule speaking engagements before scientific groups and attempt to establish inter-disciplinary committees to focus on and study the role of science in public policy with a view to remedying it. 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 , 0 MBD CTL014261 3 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. Step up efforts to communicate to existing allies, such as the mayors and the American Association of Towns and Townships, of the use to which the dioxin reassessment will be put to promote a ban on incineration. Materials refuting the need to eliminate incineration should be distributed widely to all groups. Re: The EPA's incineration emission regulations. Stay in close contact with the appropriate parties at the office issuing the regulations and have a response prepared for whatever dioxin levels are permitted. 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. Increase efforts to encourage the medical community to embrace and promote good science in public policy and for responsible members of the community to reach out to respectable groups (such as CEHN) on real science concerning health issues. Review and intensify efforts recommended in the initial strategy documents concerning efforts in the scientific, medical and academic communities, especially the establishment of a credible scientific vehicle to deal with major issues of environmental science and public policy. Develop and implement a strategy to reach the architectural and construction industries before anti-chlorine activists gain a strong foothold in those communities. Pay particular attention to MBD CTL014262 4 plumbers, electricians, siding installers, floor and wall finishers, and others who use PVC and other chlorine-chemistry products. 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. In addition to the above recommendations we reiterated, in response to the questions raised at the August 19 meeting regarding keeping the medical community from joining the anti-chlorine movement, our recommendations from March 31, 1994 as follows. 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 JAMA on the role of chlorine chemistry in treating disease. Convince pharmaceutical companies to write letters to physicians spelling out the importance of chlorine in prescription medicines and have them passed out by detail men. Prepare and have published articles in publications aimed at the medical community discussing the future of pharmacology if corporations are unwilling or afraid to invest in chlorine chemistry research and development. Have each company with pharmaceutical operations identify products they produce containing chlorine or requiring chlorine in their manufacture and have each detail man equipped with such a list for discussion with doctors. MBD CTL014263 5 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 those resolutions to medical societies. If it is possible to identify potential prominent allies in the organization before the meetings that would be preferred. Participate in medical and nursing conventions with booths and materials explaining the role of chlorine chemistry in medicine and medical devices and making the participants familiar with the ubiquity of chlorine based products in their professional lives. CTL014264 MBD MBD Issue Research and Analysis Activists and Chlorine in August Throughout the month of August the focus of the anti-chlorine campaign was on dioxin, no doubt in anticipation of the release of the EPA dioxin reassessment. At the same time, the campaign touched virtually every facet of the chlorine industry, focusing on paper bleaching during the campaign against Time magazine, on pesticides through the Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN), chlorine based plastics throughout the Second Annual Citizens Conference on Dioxin in St. Louis and all other uses of chlorine through the National Wildlife Federation's report Fertility on the Brink. Throughout August Greenpeace has been trying to raise funds specifically to devote to the anti-chlorine campaign. We do not know yet how successful it has been but we would expect major efforts based on the dioxin reassessment release. The chlorine debate has included three significant developments within the past month: 1) the National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) publication of Fertility on the Brink: the Legacy of the Chemical Age, 2) the initiation of a strategy designed to exploit pediatric-related issues and consequently draw support for new guidelines governing the standards of toxins--namely the "precautionary principle", and 3) the issuance of proposed municipal incinerator emission regulations which would wipe out dioxin emission ninety-nine per cent. NWF Says Chlorine is a Threat to Human Reproduction One of the most significant recent developments in the anti-chlorine campaign is the NWF's 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 vehicle to play on the emotions of the public and its concern for future generations. CTL014265 Mongoven, Biscoe & Duchin, Inc. Suite 300 1100 Connecticut Avenue Washington, D.C. 20036 202/429-1800 2 The release of this extensive report illustrates a significant change taking place within the NWF. The NWF is generally considered a mainstream environmental group. It has the largest membership of all environmental groups--5.8 million--and with an annual budget of more than $90 million, it is among the wealthiest of such groups. Its membership consists of the traditional hunters and fishermen but since the 1980's it has attracted more liberal activists who are being drawn to the organization by the more activist and more radical agendas pursued by the presiding President Jay Hair. Hair is leading the NWF into a new territory by addressing a broader range of issues, among them human fertility issues, which have not previously been within the scope of this "wildlife" organization's concerns. 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 conservation matters. The NWF printed 1,000 copies of Fertility on the Brink, which is almost depleted and a second printing is expected. In addition to representing a radical departure for the NWF, 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. Fertility and its inherent link to the future of mankind is used by activists to convey an urgent message that the threats posed by toxic chemicals demand prompt and extreme action. The report claims that bioaccumulation creates transgenerational problems which ultimately endanger the survival of humanity. As part of the anti-chlorine strategy, activists are using the threat to children to illustrate that Immediate and extreme safeguards have to be taken to regulate the use of toxins in order to safeguard humanity. Second Citizen's Conference on Dioxin The Second Citizen's Conference on Dioxin and the Times Beach Reunion converged in St. Louis, Missouri on July 29-31, and concentrated on incineration issues. Anti-chlorine activists predicted that the soon to be released EPA Dioxin Reassessment Report would indicate that dioxins are more dangerous than previously believed. From this assertion activists CTL014266 MBD 3 called for a ban on incineration which Ellen Cornett, editor of Waste Not, described as "waste to dioxin facilities." Conference participants passed a general resolution demanding the termination of all incineration and the phase out of all chlorinated organic compounds for industrial use and production. Speakers stressed the necessity of eliminating "dioxin-like substances" and thereby expanded the cluster of toxins that the "precautionary principle" would regulate-- numerous organochlorines, not solely dioxin. Anti-chlorine activists criticized the EPA's risk assessment policies and asserted that no risk was acceptable. Charlie Cray, the leader of the Greenpeace campaign against PVC, listed several companies and plants operating near the Gulf of Mexico that produce PVC and charged that this area would be the future site of increased anti-chlorine activist operations. Cray further instructed activists to build PVC-allies with health professionals, firefighters, architects, developers, construction workers and multi-chemical sensitive persons, particularly at the grassroots level. Several activists recounted afflictions from toxic exposure suffered by children. The speculative transgenerational effects caused by bioaccumulation of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds were cited as unacceptable to developing fetuses, infants and human reproductive development. The "precautionary principle" was advanced as a solution to alleviate any hazards posed to these groups. 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. This tactic also is effective in appealing to an additional segment of the public which has yet to activated in the debate, particularly parents. By characterizing children as the biggest losers of toxic exposure, the activists have secured an approach that will attract more mainstream support for their anti-chemical, anti-chlorine agendas. At a press conference held on August 22, the Children's Environmental Health Network (CEHN) released Preventing Child Exposures to Environmental Hazards to cultivate support for their children's agenda and simultaneously insist that risk assessment processes CTL014267 MBD 4 and policies be based on children instead of on adults. Although CEHN does not specifically identify chlorine, its speakers made specific references to the hazards of pesticide use. The CEHN approach, which is just taking shape, is illustrative of the nature of the debate concerning children will take during the next several months. 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. Although CEHN is relatively unknown, the symposium on pediatric environmental health held in Washington, D.C. on March 18-19, on which its report is based, was well-attended. Environmental activists, representatives from the EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders all attended in strong numbers. Because CEHN is widely connected in the health industry, it is being embraced by activist groups which view it as a vehicle to reach larger, more moderate groups, especially the medical community and particularly those in pediatrics. At the same time, CEHN has adopted proposals by anti-chlorine groups to secure a national health policy based on the needs of children. CNN and other national television networks covered the recent press conference when the report was released. Architect/Builders Targeted on PVC Architects and builders are dependent on the use of chlorine-based materials, particularly PVC, in most of the products required for construction. Environmental Building News, (EBN) "a newsletter on environmentally sustainable design and construction," addressed the issue of PVC and vinyl and the hazards created by chlorinated chemistry. A press release by EBN describes an article "Should We Phase Out PVC?" as providing, "a much-needed factual foundation for the ongoing debate about PVC". The article advises the reader to "keep an eye on the PVC debate" and adds that "Newer, safer materials will almost certainly be developed by industries that are increasingly aware of environmental concerns." Industry must ensure that accurate information is being distributed and that chlorine chemistry issues are being discussed intelligently. CTL014268 MBD 5 Municipal Incineration Air Emission Standards The proposed air emission standards signed by the EPA on September 1, provide new justification for activists to propose the elimination of chlorine-based plastic production and usage. The proposed regulations on municipal waste incinerator emission standards, which would take effect a year from now, require a 99% reduction in toxic emissions, including dioxin. The public has sixty days to comment on the proposed standards. In August it was indicated that the dioxin report and the incinerator air emission standards were being conducted separately. The recommendations made by the dioxin report were not expected to influence the standards set for incineration air quality emissions. The municipal incineration air emission standards will require an enormous overhaul of the inputs and outputs of industry and consequently will require a revision on production structures. Upcoming Activity of Interest to CCC Dioxin and Risk Assessment Once the dioxin report is released in September, expect a flurry of activity initiated by Greenpeace but carried out by many other anti chlorine groups. If the chapter on reassessment is not revised, 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. With proper support from interest groups, this debate will spark modification of current guidelines governing the use, production and emissions associated with chlorine chemistry. Peter deFur of EDF has been especially vocal on the "precautionary principle" and will try to scuttle risk assessment when determining policies connected with chlorine chemistry. At the EPA's CTL014269 MBD 6 request, deFur and his associate Ellen Silbergeld reviewed the risk assessment chapter of the Dioxin Reassessment report. 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 modem development and production. It is likely that the EPA will recommend revising existing standards to conform with some of the findings of the Dioxin Reassessment report. Although anti-chlorine activists will want to have the results enforced in new legislation or regulation, dissent by OSHA and FDA over the risk assessment chapter make such action unlikely for the immediate future. Tactics employed by activists could include protests at pulp and paper factories and/or incineration facilities, sensational actions focusing on Time, Inc as well as campaigns directed at members, of Congress who sit on strategic committees. Anti-chlorine groups previously quiet on the issue of dioxin will assert the validity of the report's findings and use it to empower their own agendas. Breast cancer, Fertility and Reproductive Problems Caused by Pesticides Efforts to link chlorine compounds and breast cancer will increase in the next few months. 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 WEDO breast cancer conferences. ~ Over the next three months, attention will focus on the breast cancer conference series being sponsored by Women's Economic and Development Organization (WEDO). Four conferences are scheduled: Albuquerque, New Mexico (October 14-15); Dayton, Ohio (October 2223); Boston, Massachusetts (October 28-29); and Ottawa, Canada (November 18-19). Each conference is expected to emphasize a regional interest. These conferences maintain WEDO's pivotal role on the issue of breast-cancer and reinforce its ability to guide the course of the breast cancer agenda. CTL014270 MBD 7 In Dayton the forum will presumably concern runoff from pesticide use. Topics scheduled for Dayton include "Overview of Scientific Research Linking Breast Cancer and the Environment" and "Links between Breast Cancer and Chlorine, Radiation and Pesticides." The conference in Boston includes a day of testimony about breast cancer held at the State House before politicians from federal, regional and state governments. Activists and sympathetic scientists are also scheduled to testify. Speakers in Boston will probably stress industrial pollution and its association with breast cancer. They will emphasize the need to pass legislation placing more stringent standards on toxic chemicals. Topics include "Environment and Breast Cancer," "Organochlorines, Pesticides and Breast Cancer" and "Environmental Justice." The Albuquerque conference includes round-tables on "Chemicals and cancers", "Politics of Cancer" and "Risk Assessment and Public Health". In New Mexico, environmental justice and the relation chlorine chemistry has to it will be of primary concern, especially as regards solvents in the semi-conductor industry. Ottawa's forum will place premium interest on the Great Lakes and water quality. Anti-chlorine activists will likely focus on carcinogenic estrogen mimicking caused by pesticide use. This issue will be linked to breast feeding and subsequently open the door to the effect of chlorine on children and its corresponding impact on the reproductive and developmental systems. American Public Health Association (APHA) will hold a five-day conference in Washington, D.C. from October 30-November 3. Forums include "New EPA Drinking Water Rules: What Public Health Officials Need to Know;" "the Politics of Breast Cancer;" "Environmental Exposures Affecting the Health of Children: Problems and Solutions;" "Crossroads and Dilemmas in Environmental Health Policy;" "Hazards to Agricultural Workers; " "Protecting Public Health through Modem Waste Management;" "Pesticides and Public Health;" and "Environmental Justice." Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has been very active over the past few months and can be expected to continue its efforts on chlorine CTL014271 MBD 8 issues, particularly dioxin and sanitation issues. Peter deFur and Ellen Silbergeld, considered two of the leading anti-chlorine activists, were requested by the EPA to review the risk assessment chapter of the Dioxin Reassessment report. It can be assumed that deFur will insist on the adoption of the "precautionary principle" and continue to focus his efforts on dioxin and its effects. Attention should be paid to EDF's role in the debate over children's exposure to toxins. Richard Wiles, author of Washed, Peeled--Contaminated, guides the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in its goal to eliminate the use of pesticides. EWG is viewed as a moderate group and thus has received substantial mainstream support. It is most active in attacking pesticides and will lead a strong crusade to reauthorize the Farm Bill in 1995. EWG will continue to use children as a tool to obtain support for its agenda, as well as to justify its radical appeal to ban uses of chlorine chemistry. Arnold Schecter recently edited Dioxins and Health a book due out in October or November. The book is a compilation of essays/studies describing the hazards of dioxin, PCB's and dibenzofurans. Tactics Expected to be Employed by Activists Anti-chlorine activists have gained and will continue to gain substantial press as evidenced by the publication of chlorine chemistryrelated reports in mainstream and trade magazines. Activists have maintained drives to convert new recruits in the health and scientific fields. Industry should proceed with providing potentially affected communities with articles explaining the role of chlorine in production and use of products. The CCC should continue to focus on particular business sectors affected by chlorine issues while also increasing its efforts in fields open to attack from anti-chlorine activists. Sectors susceptible to aggressive drives include the public health community, architecture and building industries, farmers, utility arenas, vinyl and plastic unions, fke fighters, sanitation trades and educators. At the dioxin conference at the end of July, Greenpeace specifically pledged to target these assaults at the local level. Anti-chlorine activists will direct their attention to activating support at the local level. Greenpeace recently urged activists to target the mid-level businesses that use chlorine-based products that ultimately create the demand for chlorine products. CTL014272 MBD