Document k9998oVEb65VBOx0d4br57YNq

Draft response Thank you for your interest in the Shanghai Health Study. A consortium of companies-BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell Chemical--is contributing to an independent study in Shanghai that aims to better understand the health risks from exposure to benzene. Sponsors are providing the funding for this study, but do not have any influence on the protocols or data results. The sponsor companies have a strong commitment to health, safety and product stewardship and believe understanding the potential health effects of the products that we manufacture is important. The study was designed by independent scientists. It is wholly independent of the sponsoring companies. It is run by Fudan University in Shanghai, the University of Colorado Health Services Centre and Applied Health Sciences, an independent research firm in San Francisco. The research is being overseen by scientific and ethics review panels composed of 14 world-renowned, independent experts in the field. The independent investigators conducting the study have full control over all interpretations and conclusions that may be drawn from the data when the study is completed. Upon completion, the findings of the study will be peer-reviewed and published by the researchers in scientific journals. I would also like to draw your attention to [citation], the proceedings of a conference held in Munich in October 2004 that includes two (?) articles on the Shanghai Health Study. SH ELL-MCCLU RG-059877