EPA scientists said they believed even 15 ppm was too low, but the Formaldehyde Institute used 3 ppm and got what it wanted. The Formaldehyde Institute did not issue a press release about these unwanted findings. Formaldehyde was thus seemingly exonerated. Thus NCI had no way to judge the accuracy or the reliability of the data being handed them by the Institute, and no way to check what assumptions and judgments had been made in gathering the data. It was a clear demonstration of the raw power of the corporation over a federal agency's science.
Corporations assert their influence over academia as well.
In the field of weed science, for example, there are few independent scientists. The federal government has 75 weed scientists on staff and the nation's universities have 180. The chemical corporations have 1400. Furthermore, most of the university scientists are not independent researchers. Rather than seeking less- dangerous alternatives, the vast majority conduct studies that promote the continued use of dangerous chemicals.