In response to the findings of the report, Allies: The ACLU and the Tobacco Industry, Public Citizen Health Research Group and the Coalition on Smoking OR Health, comprised of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association have publicly denounced this source of financial support for the ACLU because of the "carnage caused by the tobacco industry."
The study, authored by former Washington Post reporter Morton Mintz, reveals that between 1987 and 1992, the ACLU Foundation received $500,000 from Philip Morris Companies, the owner of the largest cigarette producer in the United States. Mintz points out that the ACLU is an active supporter of the tobacco industry's efforts to halt legislation that would place restrictions on cigarette advertising and questions the ACLU's decision to keep this relationship with the tobacco industry a secret from its members.
The report suggests that the ACLU's support of the tobacco industry surpasses protection of free speech because the organization has joined the industry in casting doubt on studies that suggest cigarette advertising entices the public, especially youth, to begin smoking.
The ACLU denies that the grants from the tobacco industry affect its ability to be objective about the dangers of cigarette smoke. The organization cites the organization's absolutist stance on the First Amendment and says that it will not refuse money from any source, regardless of the practices advocated by that source.
The growers contend that the fungicide, Benlate DF, contained sulfonylurea (SUs), a powerful weed-killer also manufactured by DuPont. DuPont maintains that although both SUs and the main ingredient in Benlate are manufactured at the same site in Belle, West Virginia, no cross-contamination incidents could have occurred because the company takes numerous safety precautions to prevent accidents of that nature.
DuPont recalled Benlate in March 1992 in response to complaints from more than 2,100 U.S. growers that the chemical had ruined their crops and land and by November had paid more than $510 million in damages. DuPont abruptly stopped payments in November, however, when it claimed that its own tests showed Benlate could not have caused the damage. As a result, over 400 lawsuits were filed against the company in 21 states. The July suit, involving growers from Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan and Alabama, is the first to come to trial.
Much of the evidence being used to prosecute DuPont in the trial, which began July 6, comes from the company's own internal documents which the growers allege show DuPont's knowledge of the cross-contamination involving Benlate.
The plaintiffs further claim that the company's failure to notify affected growers or federal pesticide regulators of the contamination constitutes fraud. DuPont responds that the information in the documents being used against the company is often taken out of context and that company representatives did not knowingly try to conceal the contamination from the growers.
A Federal District Court Judge in Columbus, Georgia fined DuPont a $1 million contingent fee prior to the onset of the trial for destroying documents that may have been used as evidence by the plaintiffs.
The report, Nuclear Lemons, identifies the worst nuclear reactors in the United States based on 11 safety, performance and economic criteria. The report is based solely on government and industry documents.
The report charges that "many of the containments in GE-designed reactors are virtually certain to fail in the event of a severe accident." The report says that a 1987 Nuclear Regulatory Commission document on GE Mark I and Mark III containments says that "data indicate that early containment failure (during a severe accident) cannot be ruled out with high confidence for any of the plants."
A GE statement says that the company's reactors are "safe, as proven by their successful 30-year operating record in many nations around the world." The GE statement also criticizes Public Citizen: "The group making these allegations opposes nuclear power and their statement needs to be taken in that context. They hold an annual press conference and in the past have made misleading allegations. We have no intention of debating them on an allegation-by-allegation basis."
Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook contends that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should close down these unsafe facilities. "Just as a car that is a lemon is taken off the road, these nuclear lemons should be shut down before they melt down."n
- M. Sindy Felin and Holley Knaus