By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2008

LETTER
Publication Date: July 22, 2008

This letter first appeared in the Dallas Morning News on July 22, 2008:

Re: "Toying With Safety -- Chemical should be banned, for children's sake," Wednesday Editorials:

Your editorial urging Congress to ban phthalates in toys (despite the fact that they present no health hazard) implied that the only dissenters to the proposed ban are ExxonMobil and the "industry-funded American Council on Science and Health." This characterization of ACSH is inaccurate.

I founded ACSH, now directed by over 400 physicians and scientists, in 1978 with grants from two private foundations. ACSH has a diversified funding base including foundations, individuals, and unrestricted corporate grants. How much funding need an organization receive to be labeled as "industry-funded" (i.e. non-credible)? One percent? Ten percent? Does The Dallas Morning News regard itself as "industry-funded" as a result of its paid advertisements?

The troubling premise of your editorial is this: Either you toe the party line -- that rubber duckies pose a health hazard -- or you are, by definition, speaking on behalf of "industry." This dichotomy obscures the reality that there are scientists who deplore hyperbole about the risks of chemicals, and they speak out, not in defense of "industry," but on behalf of the consumers who are tired of being terrified about bogus risks and paying higher costs to reformulate products that were safe in the first place.


--Elizabeth Whelan, president, American Council on Science and Health, New York