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Inappropriate influence by industry on EHP news article.

Article Excerpt
We are disturbed at the recent revelation that, before its publication, an EHP Science Selection article on the toxic rocket fuel additive perchlorate (Rennet 2002) was substantially revised by a paid consultant to the perchlorate industry to downplay adverse health effects (Danelski 2004). EHP contracted freelance journalist Rebecca Renner to write the Science Selection piece to accompany publication of a research article by Greer et al. (2002). The Greer study was partially funded by the Perchlorate Study Group (PSG), a self-described alliance of perchlorate users and manufacturers, including the military contractors Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet, and Kerr-McGee. It seems apparent that the PSG had a significant financial interest in continued perchlorate use. The study included two authors affiliated with Intertox, Inc., a consulting firm contracted by the PSG. Greer et al. (2002) reported on the effects of perchlorate ingestion by 37 healthy adults over a 2-week period, concluding that



Assuming that the drinking water supply is the only significant source of exposure ... , a perchlorate concentration of 180-220 ppb (and possibly much higher) should be of no health concern in iodine-sufficient populations.

The original article by Renner reported that the Greer study results disagreed with a draft toxicologic review released by the U.S. Environmental Protection...