"Science Consultant Pushes Back Against Unlikely Opponents"

"Dr. Dennis Paustenbach, the head of the scientific consulting firm ChemRisk, has long been a leading expert for companies under legal fire for environmental practices or product safety. He and his firm have also drawn the scrutiny of investigative journalists.

In 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported on a controversial role ChemRisk played during the case that became the basis for the movie “Erin Brockovich.” Seven years later, The Chicago Tribune raised questions about a study by Dr. Paustenbach on the safety of flame retardants. And a 2013 article by the Center for Public Integrity examined his efforts to roll back a proposal concerning workplace safety.

Dr. Paustenbach has insisted that ChemRisk’s work is scientifically sound and ethical, adding that plaintiffs’ lawyers have been behind the attacks on its credibility. And until recently, the company had never sued any publications or writers for defamation.

But the firm is now locked in a legal fight with some unlikely and defiant opponents: two environmental activists who published an unpaid article in The Huffington Post about ChemRisk’s work related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill."

Barry Meier reports for the New York Times October 11, 2015.