A Chicago Tribune investigation has uncovered a long-term campaign by officials in the tobacco industry and later the chemical industry to promote fears of fire -- and create a market for flame retardant products.

As part of the campaign, groups manipulated the science surrounding the purported benefits of the chemicals, created a consumer watchdog organization to front their interests and organized a group of leading fire officials to push their message, according to the investigation.

The two largest manufacturers of the flame retardants, Chemtura Corp. and Albemarle Corp., contend that their chemicals are safe. John Gustavsen, a Chemtura spokesman, said his company vehemently disagrees with the investigation's findings.

"Flame retardants provide an essential tool to enable manufacturers of products to meet the fire safety codes and standards necessary to protect life and property in a modern world," Gustavsen said in a written statement.

Speaking before lawmakers across the country, David Heimbach, a burn expert and star witness for flame retardant makers, told powerful stories that supported the use of the chemicals. His descriptions of the painful deaths of children as a result of fires made the long-term health concerns of the flame retardants voiced by other doctors and environmentalists seem inconsequential. However, the Tribune investigation found that the stories he told lawmakers were false.

Heimbach told Tribune reporters that he was well-meaning, and he said he was not in the pocket of the chemical companies.

The amount of flame retardant chemicals in the average American home is measured in ounces and pounds -- not parts per million. For example, a large couch alone can have up to 2 pounds in its foam cushions.

Even so, scientists at the Consumer Product Safety Commission have found the retardants in furniture are ineffective and may carry some unnecessary health risks.

In a real fire, the furniture upholstery usually burns first. By the time the flames hit the foam, they are too strong for the retardants. But a California burn test has furniture makers exposing only the furniture's raw foam -- without the upholstery -- to what is essentially an open flame (Callahan/Roe, Chicago Tribune, May 6). -- WW