Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
An increasingly common tactic in modern bare-knuckle politics is to divert attention away from your own weakness or vulnerability by loudly – and falsely – accusing your opponent of having that very defect you possess but won’t admit to.
That Rovian tactic was on display last week, with the American Chemistry Council (ACC) as the accuser, and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) as its “opponent.” Mind you, NTP is the nation’s leading authoritative body on cancer-causing chemicals.
The precipitating event? NTP’s long-overdue release of its 12th Report on Carcinogens (RoC). Among other additions NTP made since its last report was published way back in 2005, it had the audacity – according to ACC – to:
- upgrade its classification of formaldehyde to “Known to be a human carcinogen,” from its earlier classification (dating back to 1981) as “Reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” and
- for the first time include styrene on its list of chemicals linked to cancer, classifying it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
The accusation hurled at NTP was this gem from ACC President and CEO, Cal Dooley:
“We are extremely concerned that politics may have hijacked the scientific process and believe this report by HHS is an egregious contradiction to what the President said early in his administration, ‘…That science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my administration…’.”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black (per the “second, subtler interpretation” of that phrase).
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