The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization applauds and thanks Dr. David Egilman for being an unwavering voice for truth, justice, and science. ~ Linda
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2012
Scientists to hold counter-conference to McGill’s one Sided Conference
Public invited to hear critical information regarding McGill’s asbestos research and “investigation malfeasance”
Attleboro, MA – Canadian and American researchers announced today that they will hold a conference on January 7, 2013 at 5:15 pm in the Gold Room at McGill University’s Faculty Club, to present critical information to the public regarding McGill’s ongoing refusal to address damning evidence of asbestos research improprieties and improper conduct by former Chair of McGill’s Epidemiology Department, Dr. Corbett McDonald.
“McGill has refused all requests for an independent inquiry into complaints on this matter,” said Dr. David Egilman, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Brown University, US, and author of Exposing the “Myth” of ABC, “Anything But Chrysotile”: A Critique of the Canadian Asbestos Mining Industry and McGill University Chrysotile Studies. “Instead, after an inadequate and self-serving internal investigation, McGill presented a report that contained biased, inaccurate and misleading information and dismissed the complaints.
“This is a shameful cover-up, that shows a continuing sad lack of integrity on the part of McGill on the asbestos issue,” said Egilman, who will present evidence of research malfeasance that McGill has deliberately ignored.
In February 2010, more than thirty scientists from around the world asked McGill to carry out an independent and transparent investigation of the allegation that the Quebec asbestos industry had improper influence over the epidemiological research carried out by Prof. J. C. McDonald and his unit at McGill; that the research is flawed, lacks transparency and contains manipulated data; that requests for the study data to be released have been refused; that the research minimized the threat to health posed by chrysotile asbestos; and that Prof. McDonald and others at times denied that the asbestos industry was funding the research.
In addition to McGill’s refusal to allow an independent investigation of this complaint, McGill is holding a Seminar on January 7, 2013 at which Dr. Bruce Case of McGill’s Department of Epidemiology and a former colleague of Prof. McDonald will apparently present still another defense of McGill’s asbestos research. Dr. Case claims to possess the missing data related to this research, but refuses to make the data public.
A number of scientists have written to McGill, noting that: “Many have expressed great dissatisfaction with how the asbestos research issues have been handled at McGill and continue to hope for full transparency”. The scientists expressed a number of concerns regarding McGill’s asbestos seminar and asked that McGill allow the other side of the issue to be heard at McGill.
Along with Dr. Egilman, Dr. Fernand Turcotte, Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, will make a presentation on the situation in Quebec regarding the risk to health posed by asbestos. His presentation is entitled Amiante et risques pour la santé: la situation du Québec telle qu’établie par l’Institut National de la Santé Publique.
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Note: Dr. Egilman has testified in lawsuits at the request of people who have been injured by exposure to asbestos and asbestos product manufacturing companies.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Dr. David Egilman, 508-472-2809; degilman@brown.edu
The asbestos documentary, “Fatal Deception”, examines if the Canadian federal government is relying on junk science to justify its support for re-opening asbestos mines in Quebec.