A ‘CONSCIENCE CLAUSE’ FOR WHISTLEBLOWING SCIENTISTS?
Geoff Hunt
The real brains behind the highly damaging activities of corporations and unaccountable government departments are often the unseen and unheard scientists, researchers and technicians working in laboratories and backrooms. For the most part they are silent; focussed on unravelling their tiny segment of physical reality. They have rarely considered the wider ethical and political context of their work. The sense of social responsibility of this worldwide army of scientists has always been rather low. But are things changing?
In the 1980’s scientist-whistleblowers were very rare and reprisals were severe. To take one case from that period: Hans Ulrich Hertel, a food scientist, spoke out about his laboratory findings on the dangers of microwave ovens. Microwave manufacturers tried to silence him in court when they did not like this statement of his: “Food cooked or defrosted in a microwave oven causes changes in the blood indicative of a developing pathological process as is also found in a carcinoma [cancer].” Regardless of the fact that Hertel’s statement was based on serious scientific work, and urgently requires further investigation, he was convicted under draconian Swiss unfair competition laws. A co-researcher, Bernard Blanc felt so intimidated by the manufacturers’ threats, even fearing for the safety of his family, that he publicly dissociated himself from the research. Applications from researchers to examine the effects of human health of micro-waved food have been turned down by funders.
This year, the number of dissident scientists seems to have increased. To give a few examples: Ian Ramshaw, a virus researcher at Australian National University, has spoken out about U.S.A. government funded genetic engineering of a deadly mouse-pox virus. Ramshaw knows what he is talking about, since he was a member of a different team that had quite accidentally discovered how to make the mouse-pox more deadly. Ramshaw now says, “I have great concern about doing this in a pox virus that can cross species.”
Another scientific researcher, D.A. Henderson, has criticised a US Army research team’s efforts to create a new strain of smallpox that infects monkeys. Although Henderson has a lot of influence, since he is the one who led the smallpox eradication team, the US military-academic alliance are reluctant to listen to him.
Marek Zakrzewsky, a former employee of drug company Purdue Pharma of Connecticut, USA, is claiming that concerns he raised with the company about its painkiller ‘OxyContin’ were ignored. Many patients are now addicted to the drug, and lawsuits are being filed. Zakrzewsky says he had warned the company of the addictive potential.
Nikki Tinsley, an inspector with the US Environmental Protection Agency, has revealed that the White House pressured the agency to make unfounded but reassuring statements about the safety of the New York air following the World Trade Centre destruction. In fact, the ruins of the WTC released poisonous gases for at least six weeks.
Freedom to Care has been concerned about protecting whistleblowing scientists since its foundation. It defended Leeds whistleblowing biochemist, Dr Chris Chapman, for several years. In December 1997, FtC announced in The Whistle that, together with Whistleblowers Australia, it had framed an amendment to the Convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This amendment, drafted by FtC patron John Hendy QC, prohibits discriminatory behaviour against employees for raising public concerns. The amendment is to be found on this website at ILO Convention.
Now the call for such an amendment has been taken up by other NGOs, with special reference to scientists and researchers. FtC founder, Prof. Geoff Hunt, represented FtC at a ‘Conscience Clause Conference’ at the ILO building, Geneva on 25-26th September 2003. The Association for the Promotion of Scientific Accountable Behaviour, and The Science and Conscience Foundation, organised the conference to bring together whistleblowers, NGOs, unions and others to explore the rationale and strategy for making such an international clause a reality. FtC will continue to support this initiative. Among the whistleblowers present was Dr Arpad Pusztai, whose research on potatoes raised concerns about the safety of genetically modified foods. Dr Pusztai shared many experiences with Geoff, and has agreed to speak at a future FtC meeting.
Details of the Conscience Clause campaign are to
be found at: http://www.apsab.span.ch/clc
References: See ‘The Ecologist’, Nov. 2003; New Scientist,
1st Nov 2003.
GH 6th November 2003 This article is also in The Whistle, No. 22 (Nov 2003).