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Regulated Chemical Company

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What was the most interesting quote or passage in the chapter and why? I found the most interesting quote to be “waste handlers concluded that compliance doesn’t pay”. The unpleasant fact is that companies would rather risk being caught and pay a fine than to spend more money on safely disposing waste. Environmental officials need to make punishments stricter if they want companies to start following rules that protect human and environmental health. What is one new thing you learned from reading this chapter? I learned about how the people of Toms River and Greenpeace effectively shined a light on Ciba-Geigy’s harmful practices. When Ciba-Geigy was trying to sponsor an endangered-species coloring contest, an elementary school teacher by the …show more content…

The state officials cannot expect their rules and regulations to be taken seriously if they do not enforce their rules in the first place. Can we trust research conducted by or paid for by the regulated chemical companies? Why or Why not? I do not believe research done by the regulated chemical company is trustworthy. It is possible for a company to withhold the results of a study, or discontinue the study prior to completion in order to protect the image of the company. Dr. Wilhelm Hueper experienced this first hand while working for DuPont. Dr. Hueper was conducting an experiment with lab animals to see if they would produce tumors when exposed to ingredients used by DuPont, such as benzidine. While previous experiments by Yamagiwa and Kennaway showed that it takes more than a year for tumors to develop, Dr. Hueper’s experiment was forced to stop prior to the one year mark. This was probably because DuPont was worried the results may show the ingredients used in their dye production as being carcinogenic, and thus, would hurt their reputation. Eventually, Dr. Hueper was able to complete an experiment which concluded dogs would develop tumors in their bladders when exposed to dye chemicals. Unfortunately, Hueper was fired and not allowed to disclose his scientific findings in order to protect the company’s

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