Calvin  M.  Dooley,  President  and  Chief  Executive  Officer   American  Chemistry  Council   700  Second  Street,  NE   Washington,  DC  20002     June  4,  2012     Dear  Mr.  Dooley,     As  current  and  former  state  legislators  from  across  the  nation,  we  each  have   sponsored  or  worked  directly  on  the  regulation  of  flame  retardants  out  of  concern   for  public  health  in  our  respective  states.         After  reading  the  recent  four-­‐part  Chicago  Tribune  investigative  series,  “Playing   With  Fire,”  in  which  the  deeply  unethical  and  longstanding  practices  of  three   different  chemical  companies  (Albemarle,  Chemtura,  and  ICL  Industries)  were   revealed,  we  are  writing  to  urge  you  to  expel  these  unethical  manufacturers  from   your  industry  trade  group.  The  deception  practiced  by  these  companies—and   revealed  by  the  Chicago  Tribune—is  completely  unacceptable  in  our  state   legislatures.  Some  of  the  most  egregious  practices,  like  lying  about  the  death  of  an   infant  girl,  are  abhorrent  by  any  measure.       We  understand  that  the  ACC  has  specific  tenets  as  an  organization,  including  “to  lead   in  ethical  ways  that  increasingly  benefit  society,  the  economy  and  the  environment.”   In  addition,  your  principles  specifically  include  “communicating  forthrightly  with   governments  and  communities  about  chemical  risks.”     In  each  of  our  states,  we  have  had  specific  and  disturbing  dealings  with  the  flame   retardant  chemical  industry  that  violate  basic  ethical  behaviors  and  certainly  would   not  be  considered  honest  or  “forthright  communication  with  government.”         The  worst  industry  tactics  outlined  in  the  Chicago  Tribune  series—which  we  each   saw  some  of  firsthand  in  our  states—included:  deliberately  misrepresenting  the   science  around  flame  retardant  chemicals  relating  to  both  their  effectiveness  and   their  health  risks;  employing  an  expert  witness  who  repeatedly  invoked  a  phony   story  of  a  child  dying  in  a  fire  in  order  to  justify  flame  retardant  mandates;  creating   a  front  group  called  “Citizens  for  Fire  Safety”  to  counter  the  opposition  to  flame   retardants  among  firefighters  and  health  organizations;  and  using  racial  profiling  to   mislead  community  leaders  about  the  impacts  of  toxic  flame  retardant  chemicals.     During  the  legislative  debates  on  the  flame  retardant  bills  in  our  states,  many  of  us   as  legislators  were  faced  with  public  attacks  from  the  industry  front  group  “Citizens   for  Fire  Safety,”  including  significant  paid  television  and  newspaper  ads.  The   message  of  those  campaigns  was  that  legislators  were  going  to  cause  fires  and   threaten  children.  In  some  states,  specific  attacks  were  sent  directly  to  the   constituents  of  legislators  who  championed  these  bills.  In  nearly  all  of  our  debates   on  this  issue,  our  efforts  to  regulate  certain  fire  retardants  were  supported  by  the   International  Association  of  Fire  Fighters,  the  State  Fire  Chiefs  organization  in  each   state,  and  other  fire  safety  professionals.  And  yet  the  industry  continued  its  sham   campaign.     Since  we  championed  these  bills,  some  of  these  same  flame  retardant  companies   have  come  forth  and  begun  a  voluntary  phase-­‐out  of  some  of  the  products  we   sought  to  regulate.  While  we  applaud  these  actions,  it  only  makes  the  deceptive   behavior  we  saw  with  our  own  eyes—and  that  the  Tribune  series  revealed  to  the   world—all  the  more  disturbing.    And  we  are  especially  concerned  that  the  industry   has  covered  up  the  hazards  of  the  replacement  chemicals  rather  than  investing  in   truly  safer  alternatives.     We  urge  immediate  action  on  the  part  of  the  ACC  to  live  up  to  its  own  mission  and   address  these  behaviors.     Sincerely,     Delegate  James  Hubbard   Maryland  House  of  Delegates   Assistant  Majority  Leader           Honorable  Hannah  Pingree   Former  Speaker  of  the  Maine  House   &  Safer  Chemicals,  Healthy  Families       Senator  Jackie  Dingfelder,  Oregon  Senate   Environment  &  Natural  Resources  Chair       Senator  Sandra  L.  Pappas     Minnesota  Senate           Assemblyman  Robert  Sweeney   Chair,  Environmental  Conservation   Committee,  New  York  Assembly               Speaker  of  the  House  Shap  Smith   Vermont  House  of  Representatives         Representative  Mary  Lou  Dickerson     Washington  House     State  Representative  Ross  Hunter   Washington  House     Representative  Paul  Holvey     Oregon  House     Senator  John  Marty,  Minnesota  Senate     Senator  Sharon  Nelson     Washington  State  Senate     Chair,  Environment  Committee       Representative  Karen  Clark   Minnesota  House         Representative  Diana  Urban     Connecticut  House   Representative  Mark  Meadows,     Michigan  House   Senator  Rebekah  Warren,     Michigan  Senate   Honorable  Deb  Kennedy,     Former  Michigan  State  Representative     Former  Chair  of  House  Committee  on  the   Great  Lakes  &  the  Environment         Senator  Mark  Hass,  Oregon  Senate     Representative  Sharon  Treat   Maine  House           Senator  Phil  Bartlett,  Maine  Senate       Representative  Carolyn  Tomei     Oregon  House         Senator  Mark  Leno   California  Senate     Chair  of  the  Senate  Budget  &  Fiscal   Review  Committee