In an article published on July 26, 2017 by The Intercept, journalist Sharon Lerner informed about a new online compilation of “rediscovered chemical industry and regulatory agency documents and correspondence stretching back to the 1920s” called the Poison Papers. The repository contains “over 20,000 documents obtained from federal agencies and chemical manufacturers via open records requests and public interest litigation.” The documents originate from regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as from various chemical manufacturers. According to Poison Papers, the collection reveals “the secret concerns of industry and regulators over the hazards of pesticides and other chemicals and their efforts to conceal those concerns.” Chemicals predominantly discussed include different herbicides and pesticides, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The Poison Papers database was established by The Bioscience Resource Project and The Center for Media and Democracy. It offers “a unique opportunity for researchers, the public and the media to discover much more about what was known about chemical toxicity, when, and by whom,” the website reads.

Read more

Sharon Lerner (July 26, 2017). “100,000 pages of chemical industry secrets gathered dust in an Oregon barn for decades — until now.The Intercept

Poison Papers

Center for Media and Democracy (July 27, 2017). “The poison papers: Secret concerns of industry and regulators on the hazards of pesticides and other chemicals.EcoWatch

Rebekah Wilce (July 28, 2017). “Poison papers reveal EPA collusion with chemical industry.EcoWatch

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