{"id":6858,"date":"2017-09-14T09:18:10","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T14:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/?p=6858"},"modified":"2017-10-04T08:30:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-04T13:30:14","slug":"shifting-the-burden-for-toxics-with-a-sneaky-website-one-more-reason-dourson-shouldnt-lead-epa-toxics-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2017\/09\/14\/shifting-the-burden-for-toxics-with-a-sneaky-website-one-more-reason-dourson-shouldnt-lead-epa-toxics-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Shifting the burden for toxics with a sneaky website: one more reason Dourson shouldn\u2019t lead EPA toxics office"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/blog_author\/jack-pratt\">Jack Pratt<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0Chemicals Campaign Director<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>[Use <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/tag\/dourson\/\">this link <\/a>to see all of our posts on Dourson.]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. Here are links to our recent blog posts documenting why we are deeply concerned about his nomination:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2017\/07\/18\/edf-has-deep-concerns-over-nomination-of-industry-consultant-to-lead-toxics-program-at-epa\/\">EDF has deep concerns over nomination of industry consultant to lead toxics program at EPA<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2017\/07\/24\/epa-toxics-nominee-has-been-paid-by-dozens-of-companies-to-work-on-dozens-of-chemicals\/\">EPA toxics nominee has been paid by dozens of companies to work on dozens of chemicals<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2017\/08\/09\/doursons-go-to-journal-for-publishing-his-industry-funded-papers-is-well-also-industry-funded\/\">Dourson\u2019s go-to journal for publishing his industry-funded papers is, well, also industry-funded<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2017\/08\/11\/toxicologists-endorsing-doursons-nomination-are-birds-of-a-feather\/\">Toxicologists endorsing Dourson\u2019s nomination are birds of a feather<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2017\/09\/06\/report-widespread-exposure-to-a-risky-chemical-blessed-by-the-trump-administrations-nominee-to-head-epas-toxics-office\/\">Report: Widespread exposure to a risky chemical \u201cblessed\u201d by the Trump Administration\u2019s nominee to head EPA\u2019s toxics office<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Starting with work he did for the <a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/news\/20141219\/one-stop-science-shop-has-become-favorite-industry%E2%80%94and-texas\">tobacco industry<\/a>, Dourson has made a career downplaying concerns about chemicals, from harmful pesticides to cancer-causing solvents, paid for that work by the same companies that make or use those chemicals.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his work as a toxicologist-for-hire, Dourson and his firm, TERA, have provided more public-facing services.\u00a0 One of these, done with funding from the American Chemistry Council, was the \u201cKids+Chemicalsafety\u201d website, now defunct, but still available online at the<a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131111101555\/http:\/www.kidschemicalsafety.org\/\"> Internet Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>We wrote two earlier blog posts on that site, which can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2012\/12\/19\/chemicals-r-us-new-acc-sponsored-website-says-chemicals-are-safe-and-fun-for-kids\/\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2012\/12\/21\/teras-kidschemical-safety-website-on-non-profits-objectivity-and-independence\/\">here<\/a>.\u00a0 Several points from those posts are worth revisiting, given that Dourson may now be in the position of speaking from a government post, rather than a private one.<\/p>\n<p>As we pointed out when the website first appeared, the site <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20121211124807\/http:\/www.kidschemicalsafety.org\/\">presented itself<\/a> as a neutral source of information: \u201cKids + Chemicals is your best source of balanced, scientifically accurate chemical health information. We will alert you to the latest chemical-related health concerns, but also let you know when you can relax.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the site provided thinly disguised chemical industry spin about the safety of chemicals that sought to shift the burden of protection onto parents and consumers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131024022856\/http:\/kidschemicalsafety.org\/topics\/toys\/\">One page on toxic chemicals in toys<\/a> noted: \u201c[I]t is important to consider not just the chemical levels in the toy, but also whether they can cause an exposure above a safe level.\u201d\u00a0 The page urges parents to read the label on a toy (ignoring the fact that such labels on toys rarely if ever disclose chemical composition) and suggesting that concerned parents ensure that children keep the toys out of their mouths and wash their hands after playing with them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6861\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6861\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6861\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2017\/09\/kids-chemical-safety-logo-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2017\/09\/kids-chemical-safety-logo-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2017\/09\/kids-chemical-safety-logo-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2017\/09\/kids-chemical-safety-logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2017\/09\/kids-chemical-safety-logo-20x20.jpg 20w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/11\/files\/2017\/09\/kids-chemical-safety-logo.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6861\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The logo for the kids chemical safety website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For parents wondering just what is a \u201csafe level,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131024023550\/http:\/kidschemicalsafety.org\/topics\/safe\/\">another page<\/a> offers old industry sops about risk assessment:\u00a0 \u201cAll chemicals are toxic at some level. \u2026 For example, ingesting dihydrogen monoxide can cause harm to people at high exposure levels, but few people would want to ban di-hydrogen (H2) mono-oxide (O) \u2013 also known as &#8216;water.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131114165151\/http:\/kidschemicalsafety.org\/topics\/asthma\/\">page on asthma<\/a> listed many contributing risk factors:\u00a0 \u201cpet fur and dander, dust, cigarette smoke, mold, and pollen\u201d and notes that \u201cother common pollutants found in the air can also cause asthma, such as ozone and car exhaust.\u201d As to chemicals in your home?\u00a0 The page goes as far as to cite some peer-reviewed studies claiming a link \u2013 but quickly dismisses them, stating \u201cmost studies cannot link one individual chemical or product to the increase in wheezing or asthma-like symptoms,\u201d despite vociferously arguing <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20121223091144\/http:\/kidschemicalsafety.org:80\/topics\/peer\/\">elsewhere on the site <\/a>that only peer-reviewed studies of chemicals should be deemed credible.<\/p>\n<p>An <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20141220183949\/http:\/kidschemicalsafety.org:80\/health\/flameretardants\/\">entry on flame retardant chemicals<\/a> noted: \u201cUntil further information on toxicity from exposures to specific flame retardant chemicals is available, parents will need to make the decision on how best to protect their children by balancing the known risk of injury or death due to fire with the potential risk of adverse health effects from exposure to these chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As we pointed out in those <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/2012\/12\/21\/teras-kidschemical-safety-website-on-non-profits-objectivity-and-independence\/\">earlier posts<\/a>, the biggest problem with the website is its sneakiness. \u00a0EDF\u2019s Richard Denison noted: \u201cI would have no beef with TERA\u2019s website if it described itself as what it is:\u00a0 a source of information that reflects its own or the industry\u2019s positions and perspective, and is intended to provide a counterpoint to what parents or consumers may be hearing from others, EDF included.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That gets to the heart of our concerns about Dourson\u2019s nomination to run the toxics office at EPA. After decades of living with a dysfunctional law, we desperately need a credible chemicals program at EPA\u2014one that the public and the business community alike can trust to make difficult calls on chemical safety. By nominating someone who has deliberately muddied the waters on chemical safety issues, President Trump is doing just the opposite. Confirming Dourson would further undermine the toxics program at EPA and signal an abandonment of the progress just made through TSCA reform last year.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Current EPA political appointees already include a number of industry insiders.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.edfaction.org\/sites\/edactionfund.org\/files\/trumps-epa-polluters-all-star-team.pdf\"><strong><u>Click here to see brief thumbnails on individuals who have already been installed.<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jack Pratt\u00a0is\u00a0Chemicals Campaign Director [Use this link to see all of our posts on Dourson.] With Congress back from recess, it is slated to take up the nomination of Michael Dourson to run the toxics office at EPA. Here are links to our recent blog posts documenting why we are deeply concerned about his nomination: &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39717,"featured_media":6861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,56096,114108],"tags":[91812,5021,56107,5017],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-6858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy","category-omboira","category-tsca","tag-dourson","tag-chemical-industry-tactics","tag-lautenberg-act","tag-risk-assessment"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39717"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6858"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}