Inside the ‘campaign of harassment’ to suppress anti-plastic health warnings

Several environmental scientists have accused plastic industry lobbyists of using a campaign of intimidation and verbal abuse to discredit their work, with one submitting a formal harassment complaint to the UN.

This week UN member states are meeting in Busan, South Korea, as part of the final round of negotiations for the Global Plastic Treaty, a legally binding international agreement that will aim to reduce plastic pollution worldwide.

In a joint investigation, i and SourceMaterial have spoken to several academics who claim to have been left feeling “unsafe” and “harassed” by alleged aggressive industry lobbying.

The researchers say they have been subjected to verbal attacks at conferences, online abuse and being filmed and photographed at industry events. Some say the harassment has made them afraid of publishing research on certain topics.

Many are worried the lobbying means the treaty will do little to address the serious health concerns linked to some plastics, including infertility and cancer.

Representatives from the plastic industry strongly deny the claims said say they “value collaboration with independent scientists” and that they listen to and engage with all relevant stakeholders.

The UN said it has strict protocols around preventing harassment at its events.

One researcher, whose work focuses on the environmental effects of microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals, submitted a formal complaint to the UN following the previous round of negotiations in Ottawa, Canada in April.

In the letter to the UN, seen by i, ecotoxicologist Professor Bethanie Carney Almroth claims she was “verbally harassed, yelled at, and subjected to unfounded accusations” by an executive from a US plastic packaging company.

She said the executive accused her of “fear-mongering and citing misinformation with regards to BPA”, a chemical used in products such as plastic containers and refillable drinks bottles, which studies have linked to obesity, diabetes and infertility.

A spokesperson for the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) Secretariat said the complaint from Professor Carney Almroth “was handled with due process, and appropriate measures taken”.

It is understood the executive later wrote an apology to Professor Almroth over his behaviour.

Professor Almroth said the incident was part of a pattern of “harassment campaigns” by “industry actors”.

In a follow-up letter to the UN, she said the issue of “conflicts of interest and harassment of scientists” is “getting worse, progressively at each [Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee] meeting”.

She claimed to have been subjected to verbal attacks at conferences, emails to scientific journals asking to have her work retracted and social media abuse.

What is the Global Plastics Treaty?

In March 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to start negotiations on an international treaty to tackle plastic pollution. 

The idea is to create a legally binding agreement to set out rules for the production, use and disposal of plastics. 

Scientists and environmentalists have argued for a treaty on plastics, similar to the Paris Agreement that sets out legally binding targets countries must meet on climate change. 

There have been five official negotiating sessions, the final of which began in Busan, South Korea on Monday. 

One of the sticking points is whether the treaty should focus solely on the waste management of plastics – i.e. recycling – or whether it should look more widely at the production of plastic.

Countries have also disagreed on whether the treaty should bring in tighter regulations around the use of chemicals and microplastics.

Norway and Rwanda are leading a group of 60 “high-ambition” nations who want plastic pollution tackled over its full life cycle. 

However countries with large fossil-fuel industries, such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran, have shunned calls for reductions in plastic production.

Professor Almroth accused industry lobbyists of “following the big tobacco playbook” to “undermine science”.

“I’ve had to intervene between industry men, and it’s always been men, yelling at students, who are younger, often female, but shouting down at them. This is aggressive behaviour, intimidating,” she said.

“I’ve also been filmed, photographed, recorded. Some of the scientists have become very stressed and can’t go on the record because they’re afraid.”

Other scientists who spoke to i and SourceMaterial said they did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, but shared similar concerns about industry influence over research.

“There’s multiple ways it plays out, from personal attacks to professional attacks, and that’s become quite the sad standard now,” one scientist said.

They added: “It’s called manufacturing doubt. They keep the appearance that the science is not very clear, because they know the most effective strategy to delay policy decisions is when they can say ‘oh we don’t have the science yet and we need to have more research.”

Another scientist described attending a scientific conference on plastics earlier this year to present their research. They expected the event was only going to be attended by scientists, but was shocked to find “representatives from countries with fossil fuel ties” attending sessions.

She said one of these representatives was “openly saying… there was no problem with plastic in the environment or human health” while another representative was “openly videoing everything”.

“I can tell you, it really scared me. It made me very anxious and sometimes even unsafe. I have seen one of my colleagues be shouted at. I now have a major fear of publishing anything,” she added.

Professor Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist based at Oregon State University, told i she has not personally felt harassed at the UN conferences, but said “there is this feeling that industry gets to set the standards for toxicity testing and it really seems like it should be the other way around”.

Plastics Europe, a trade association representing plastic manufacturers, said: “We value collaboration with independent scientists, to learn from the outcome of their work and contribute with our scientific expertise.”

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), said: “At Cefic, our goal is to maintain a high level of protection for people and environment in Europe and beyond.

“We rely on science to guide our actions, and we need to listen to and engage with all relevant stakeholders.”

A UN spokesperson added: “The Code of Conduct to prevent harassment, including sexual harassment, at UN System events, applies to all UN meetings and is available on the INC website. We also regularly remind participants of this code. Any complaints should be reported to UN Department for Safety and Security or to the INC Secretariat, who will follow-up on any reported case.”

What is the problem with plastics?

Plastic has become a symbol of our throwaway culture and is used in products from water bottles to crisp packets. Less than 10 per cent of the plastic we produce is recycled, with the rest ending up in our oceans or shipped to other countries, where it is burned. 

But dealing with plastic waste is only one part of the problem; scientists’ concerns regarding plastics are multi-faceted and complex.  

Thousands of chemicals are used to produce plastics, including endocrine disruptors and PFAS “forever chemicals” that pose a threat to human health. Humans can be exposed to toxic chemicals, for example by eating food that has been in contact with certain packaging. 

Studies have linked the chemicals used in plastics to infertility, cancer, development issues in children and obesity.

Another more emerging area of concern is microplastics, which is the name given to tiny particles that often break off from larger plastic products. Humans inhale or digest microplastics through the food they eat and the air they breathe. 

While much is still unknown about the full health impacts of microplastics, studies have linked them to inflammation and organ damage.