by J cob Sullum
"a .e I with evidence tho t "" , weak. Inlt n-
ivtent and am iguou . th EP fine- ed <nme
Important pomt and gave the data a \ I rorou
mawagc to arnve at th concluvron that I ..
cause lung C:1oC r 0 begin wrth. the �:P"
u cd an unc mvcnuonal de miuon 01 tun Il­
eal igrufi .ancc In prev H U' rt 10-.. c rncnt-,
th 'p had alwa , u ed the tradrnonal <t.m­
dard. But In th ca e f E: . the a ien .)'
b ndoned the u ual defrmuon of 'tJII tu,al
,i m I' nee and called result I rnhcant II
the probabiht that II oc urred h chance wu
I () percent r le -a 'h. nge
that in c fe t d( uhle, the odd
Th
order m
ut ever i ued h
hat rmpre- Ion" upp mcd h the tact that
the EP put together a "polrc guide" tor
reducing workplace e povurc to . , wc!l
before It had olficrall decrdcd that l: . w av ..
haz ard. The fIr t dl aft 01 the nude wa­
rele.r-cd 10 June I 9). three and-a-half car
before th E-.PA relca-, xl the unul vervion 01
It, rt avve me nt Wrll rurn Reilly. then
adrmru trator 0 the P ,told 7 h Wall SIre('I
Iournul In Januar 1993 th .. t he dc la cd
releu e )1 th policy guide 10 II tmal I irrri
bccuu e he didn't want It to"l ik like we're
tr ing to torque the nencc "
RCIII had rea"" n to be !.:on
'crned :.t out that perccptllln
In 1an.h I 9 .... an pcrt
panel that he convened had
I ,ued J report l:alled
.0 S(tll/rellllS( Ihe fl"'''t�
reelih/e '( 1l'II(,('. Cu'd,hlt'
De( 1\/011 \ mong othcr
thtng" thc pJn'l l·OIH.:ludcd
that ..... PA 'llCllec I 01
UIlI!\cn 4ualtt . and the agen..: : poll":lc ,lnd
rc 'UIJtlllll' .Ire Ire4ucntl) peflcl\ed a I.. 10-
1n'.I tn 11 ' ,":Icntlltl. t u.nd,lllon" It .IU
tlOned that" 1I n'l! hould n \er he adJu..,tcd
to I.t poll..:). etlhcr lOll l'Iou,1 (lr unum
.., lOll I) "
R fin ... ed
• 01'11 k y poi nt,
to n Iud that
p I., IV
au, e. lun c(In 'er.
tudle, that
I'nl Kant 1111"
bet\\ecn T. and lung c, ncr.
nd acconllng lo the u ual
de tnltlon. non of them dId
In order to boJ..,t'r thc e\ Iden!.:e.
the E-PA
depart'd from It u",uJI rt,Io--a ,c"m nt pn e
dure h comhtnln' th re,ult from thc c II
tudle 10 a "meta-anal)",," hI te 'hnt4UC "
ppropriat onl ""hen th under! In' tudlc
are l:( mparahle 10 method and trllcture
E:.n,trom a , u 109 mctLl-anal I' for "'1lI0
Ie, ,uch tho e • Jmtn d h th � I:PA ..... not
part I 'ularl '" .antngful e crc"c:' II1'C th
tudle ar' apt t( dl I rIO the ""a th' ellne
moker . the typc, 0 lung lancer thc)'
Indud , the LOnh Undlll!! \art.lhlc th t.lIo-e
Int I a tount Jnd 0 on "It' JU. t Ir.lu 'ht \\llh
dJnger ''In.1Il C\ cnt. the re,ult of 'the I:Pt\'
m ta-anal I' I "gnllll.lnt onl) und 'r thc
w alo- definitIon adopt'd "pcclall f( r the
dut B th' l( mcntlonal tandJrd. the mct
anal " dt" not 'Uppolt th' dUlln that I r'
cau lung '.lIllCr l-urthcrmoft.·. had Ihe I" PA
Inlluded In It m't.1 .In,II 1'.1 lar 'e �
tud puhlt h'd III 19 _. thl' re lilt Illlght not
h .. vc h'en I Jntfll"'l1 eHn h� th' IC\I l'd
t,lIltlJn.l
h 'Dntrt\ an" cmplo cd h) th', 1 P .
\\hH.h a Jul I. Il)t)2 \(1111(( MIllie
'lrth d a' "1.lIh.) ..,1.IU..,tll "'Ilot .... ol ." Indl
ColtC th.1I thc a 'cn \- \\.t dl'll'lllllncd '11l Il'a h
tilt: lOn IU'lOn th.1I I I � �III I1lln '1110 l'r
moke
D c"'pll' the, and other \\urnlllg 'Ign .
th' '0\ crage h thc maJI r nc\\ paper
"".I Jcnerall' un, Cptl 'al 01 the
.1 'enl)' lonl'lu lon, Jnd dl,ml I\C 01 the
loh.IH.(l tndu tr)' lrtllll 111 The t),Pll.t! tor
01 'nl'd \\ Ith .lhe go\crntnent' d.llm..,. cl.IOo
raled lin thcm lor c\cral p.tra'raph . qll(ltc�i
antI mO"ln' all" 1,1, \\-ho .Igr I!d \\ Ith Ihe
1 PA .llld lh."lnh'd thc toh.lllO lI;du tr)·..,
r' p lIl"'C In it parJgr.lph or t .... o rhc tohallo
II1dll tn .., Ullllm'nt.., u,u.t11 alllllunted tn lIt
tk morl' Ih.ln dcnl.lI .• Ind no Illlkpcndcnt
,ourl:' \\crl' prmlded to h.ld th'm up .""..,
":Iln'ltlll'r \\cr' lelt \\ lIh the Il11pre' Ion th.lI.
.1 Ide lrom Indll tr Icpr' entJtl\c . no one
hao dOllht ahout thl' � P \ , po ilIOn 011 thc
h 'alth l'Il 'It, 01 1:-. r
But ,I
J,lIllI.lr) 2, . I I C)' Ill!" Illr II/I ( "111 \ 1l11\11/( \ \
/)1111\, till \\.1 llc.lIl) not true '�Ilmc Icn
II 1 .1111 pOltl) ,111.11),1 .... ho I) th ') lluldn"1
'11 DI \ � III "
care lc , about t hac o c nnpany pr fit or
C\-CII the nght-, of rnokcr-, are w rr' ing aloud
that the :P rcpon i-, pav Ing the wa for JU
tIl') mg new health ba-ed gm ernmcnt regula­
u 1I1 and pro 'ram, \\ uhout an real -ciencc
o behind them." he wrote he vtor quoted a
eric .of credible ourcc- mcluding epiderm­
olog"t, and ,tat"tl 'Ian. who qu vti ned th
qualu 01 th C\ rdcnce hnking ET to lung
cancer and took the P to ta " for rnarupu­
luung the data 10 rna e It c a . Fumento '11 d
a 199 .. aruclc from Tavie otogu Pal/lO/oS(,
in which han Fe mvte m.
an e prd rruo log i t at Yale
nncr It , rcp )rteo a c >111'
ment hy a leJdlng puhllc­
health rc,earcher "Ye" II',
r lIten clen 'c. hut It' In
a w Hth 'au,c It \\111 hclp
u, get rId 0 'Igarcttc,
and hecoille a 'moke-frcc
vuit. "actuall appear to vupp ut the _p .
dccl it n. The report .. c mclu.le-, that there"
. J small hut con I tent lev uric n in the rt k 0
lun cancer in non-vrnokcr due t pa- .... vc
m ik ing ." Thu . haprro Implied that th
revult I the ,IUd upported the claim that
, cuu e lung cuncc But the cntcnc e
from which h qu ted a tually ay thar :: iur
vtud and oth 1\ c onduc I d during the IW\(
decade wr:<: \( vmal] out convi-tent eleva
u n In the n k () lung can r." (Empha "
add .d.) In fact. th stud II It did nut find a
I rruficant a..,..,(··i
ation hct�e 'n [: and lun'
cancer That" ""h) th « hal
o co companle, argued that
It .... ould ha\ undermlll d
the PA' ca,e haplr('
al () ..,mu I)' quotcd the
re, 'ar hcr,' OpinIon that "th'
proltferatlol) II federal. WI
alld 10 al rcgulatlon that
mo In!_! III puhllc
pia e, \a.t!II-loundcd" Thl
edItorial!.: mill 'nt dt not <.:hangc thc .Ita
1.111 nth r tun' rOll cd ttll c douht h< ut
the argument, of the"P ',CrtIlC In th' July
22. 19 n ('II �(lI� 7,,11.('\. lor campi '. Phlltp
J. HIlt reporled th.1I Rcpre nt.ltl\C Thoma,
J Bille. Jr (R-VA, and Alc �1l 1111 n
(R- . ') .. uggc,tctl that the r.p
,\-cral ludIc. or 'meta anJI) I .' u cd a
I �er tandard 01 ..,latl..,tllJI pn of thJn 11 r­
mall} u cd In.1 'In' tlJn 'cr lIentllll.11I "
De pllC the IInpltlJtlon 01 the \\ortl '1I��t'\(
('d. thl I' nl t ,Ill .Irgu.lhle POIll!. Jlthou 'h th
r pnrt', dctra I<)r .lIld upp Irt 'r dl .1 'rce
ahout It Import.lI1le IIIIt al 0 ,t._tted that
"ah<lut ,0 ..,tudl'.., \\crc re\ll'\\cd. 01 ",hldl �4
ho\\ cd th.lt >l.:ondh.111 I IllO"l' \0..1 .1 n
JU t thc OPP()\ltl' \\ ,I true \nd h' h.td the
c ngrc III n ulI1l.:cdlng thc \cr) pOlllt thc)
\\ ere dl plltllH! "'r he hl"c t tud) thc tv. 0
1.1v. IllJ"cr ·1l11tCtl. f(lUlui 1.111 IIlJI pr< II th t
c ondh.md mo�c lau cd lJf\lcr .... Ith lCI-
taInt onl_ In tho e p opl uhject d to the
InO t III ( .. () tud h.1 C\ r foun "t.lt.
III tI proof that cUlIltihan 1110 C. 'Jll l' 1
Lan 'r \\Ith l ·rtJlnt lin f.1 t. II I IIllPO"'1
hie lor .In CPldCIlllliio 'Iltll lud\ Itl PIO\ Ille
u 'h proof)
Reporter .d n't
t ru. t th toba
'ompanl
But thev do tru t
the EPA.
OClet)
It· dlftl ult to llndeNJnd
\\h \-Irtuall� n) onc tollo't4ed l-umenw'
lead. c petlall), tnce .... mtlJr 4uc,lton about
thc r p rl \\cre rUI..,ed that 'ummc� tn con-
rc uln.ll hearing, and 111 .I t ha"() Indu tr
1<1\\ Ult 'hall'n Illg (h E:P , fIndIng
Durtng the car aft r umento pI ce
appeared. only onc t ry 10 a major nc\\ pa­
per dealt ""tlh the I."ue h ral ed rn a Ie,
th n pcrfunct ry way In a Jul _. 1993 artl­
d' .th )lit the tob. ceo Indu tr '.., la\\.,ult, Wall
SIrel'( jOlin/a/ report r Jerr)," BI h P mad
II deJr that lJlt' Iton Jhout t.llI,tl 'al I 'nllt­
l.tnll: ,lIld lonfoundlng \ JrtJolc JIC le'lti-
l11.1tC <lntl �ot e.1 II lI"l11l cd Ithough h
dId 'not 4l1ot .In 'nlll', 01 the report \\ ho
\\-erc n H •• Ifillated \v,lth the toha 'co Indu tr).
hc at Ie .. t ho\\cd th.lI· t' tl tluan dl agrc
ah IUt the 4ualtt 01 the rP . \\ rio-
. B lontra t. a June _".19 J tor� h\
111>1 \( �Irl('
