02.17.08
Big Business and their PR firms
As an example of Big Business and the distortion of facts:
A company with a controversial history of defending the image of potentially damaging chemicals has aroused the interest of a US congressional committee.
The House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce is investigating the safety of bisphenol A. Because of its chemical similarity to the hormone oestrogen, bisphenol A has been linked with gender-bending and carcinogenic effects in humans and wildlife.
The committee is in the process of contacting the Weinberg Group to establish whether or not it has been asked to defend bisphenol A.
Based in Washington DC, Weinberg has previously helped defend the image of chemicals such as Agent Orange, which was used as a herbicide and defoliant in the Vietnam war.
In a letter dated 5 February, the congressional committee asked the group for copies of any emails, publications and records relating to work on bisphenol A. It contacted Weinberg after reading a risk assessment of bisphenol A by an academic who consults for the group. Weinberg declined to comment on the matter when contacted by New Scientist.
