Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
Every day in my email I get the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC’s) “SmartBrief,” a digest of the day’s news related to the chemical industry. Here’s its self-description:
Designed specifically for American chemistry professionals, ACC SmartBrief is a FREE, daily e-mail news briefing. It provides the latest news and information on the American chemistry industry.
As I noted in my last blog post, all this week the Chicago Tribune has been running one of the biggest stories relating to the chemical industry published in a long, long time. Titled “Playing with Fire,” it documents in meticulous detail the campaign of deception that producers of chemical flame retardants have foisted on the American public for decades.
One might expect, therefore, that ACC’s SmartBrief this week would be directing its readers – who sign up to keep up with what they need to know that affects the chemical industry – to the Tribune’s series. One would be wrong. Nary a mention of this blockbuster story managed to find its way into SmartBrief this week.
It appears that only certain news relevant to SmartBrief’s audience of American chemistry professionals is deemed essential enough to make the cut over at ACC. SmartBrief readers might need to look elsewhere if they want to know what’s really affecting their industry.
In fact, the only response to be found anywhere on ACC’s website to this week’s major news is this highly oblique press release posted there yesterday. It makes no mention of the Tribune series, but does affirm the industry’s commitment to safety as a general matter. And it includes this tidbit:
ACC always strives to conduct its advocacy work in an open and transparent manner.
Oh really?