WARNING: This site deals only with the corporate corruption of science, and makes no inference about the motives or activities of individuals involved.
    There are many reasons why individuals become embroiled in corporate corruption activities - from political zealotry to over-enthusiastic activism; from gullibility to greed.
    Please read the OVERVIEW carefully, and make up your own mind.

OPINION ONLY

The consultation work that Carlos Hilado did with the tobacco industry poses a problem to researchers on the corruption of science because his early activities clearly sit on a cusp ... between providing the tobacco companies with genuine services and information about the dangers of cigarette-caused fires and advising on how to improve their products ... while, perhaps, helping them with their disinformation campaigns.

His editor-in-chief status at a half-dozen or so major fire-safety magazines, and his Conference Director roles at various international conferences, would have been highly attractive to the industry. But there is no evidence in the archives that they ever distorted these avenues of technical information. Nor does he appear to have become a witness on behalf of the industry at many legislative hearings.

His reported offers to help them find witnesses, and his reported offer to move into the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) testing business may be a case of Shook Hardy & Bacon offering more than they could deliver ... or it may just show extreme arrogance on his part. Of course, it may also be construed as something more sinister since the ETS/IAQ/ventilation and air-testing business was totally corrupted by the tobacco business at this time.

The reason why he needed to be paid such large sums via the secret Special Account #4, administered under the direction of the Committee of Counsel (all lawyers) is the most serious concern. It's generally an indication of unethical, if not illegal, activity.

But such a determination, in this case, is not evident to all members of the advisory committee for this web-site.

Some key documents

1954: BS in chemical engineering in Manila, Philippines

1956–75: With Union Carbide Corporation, in West Virginia

1970–82: Editor-in-chief of "Journal of Fire and Flamability"

1973 Oct: The tobacco industry is concerned now about the fire-safety of their products. However they are also anxious to prove that it is not smoldering cigarettes which are the problem, but rather intoxicated users of matches and lighters.

The risk of accidental fires resulting from matches and lighters may be more significant than generally believed since such a high number of fires associated with smoking materials involve persons who are intoxicated.

    Also, flammability tests have indicated that ignition by matches and lighters may be a considerably more significant problem than cigarettes in fire scenarios involving bedding materials and mattresses. (Hilado, Carlos J,, "Fire Studies of Bedding Materials," J Fire & Flammability (4): 235-277, October, 1973.)

1974–82: Editor-in-chief of Journal of Combustion Toxicology and Journal of Fire Retardant Chemistry and Journal of Consumer Product Flammability

1974: DSc in applied sciences, Manila Philippines [His C/V dates don't make sense]

1975 Feb: Article in the Charleston W-VA Gazette

During the 1970s, a young Philippine-born chemist, Carlos Hilado, worked for Union Carbide in South Charleston and, in his spare time, edited a national scientific journal on chemical flammability. In February 1975, he published a report by NASA researchers warning that plastic interiors of airliners could burn rapidly, spewing toxic funies that could kill passengers.

    Alarm over plastic fires, in aircraft grew. Deaths in some crashes were attributed to toxic smoke. The FAA banned smoking in jetliner restrooms, but few other changes resulted. Airlines said the cost of refitting interiors would be ruinous.

    Thursday night, all the warnings came true, horribly. Twenty-three passengers died within a minute as deadly smoke filled the interior of an Air Canada DC-9 in an emergency landing at Cincinnati. Carbon monoxide poisoning was given as the.cause.

1977–82: Editor-in-chief Journal of Thermal Insulation and Journal of Elastomers and Plastics

1979: President of both Product Safety Corporation and Carlhaven Corporation (both Sunnydale, California)

1983 /E: A one-page document "Special Projects (H)" includes:

1. Dr John H Heller (Project rejected for support April 1975)
2. Dr Richard J Hickey
3. Dr Carlos Hildo
4. Dr Charles H Hine
5. Dr Duncan Hutcheon

[Special Project payments were a way of circumventing the Scientific Advisory Board procedures. They were also a way to fund projects rejected by the outside scientists on the SAB, but desired by the corporate lawyers. All of five listed above received Special Account #4 payments]

1983 Jun 29: A letter from Pat Sirridge at Shook Hardy & Bacon to the Committee of Counsel

Dr Carlos Hilado is a consulting toxicologist who we have worked with in the area of fire safety and state regulatory matters. We are recommending that he be retained as an industry consultant for one year at an amount of $48,000 ($4,000 per month) to be paid from Special Fund 4.

    Dr. Hilado's primary areas of expertise are combustion research and inhalational toxicology (see enclosed curriculum vitae) and he is a consultant for Brown & Williamson. Not only has he been enormously helpful in analyzing all aspects of the "fire-safe cigarette" issue, but he has located a number of highly qualified experts who also have been helpful.

    Recently, Dr Hilado has become interested in the indoor air quality issue, especially as it relates to California. His familiarity with and knowledge of the regulatory process coupled with his extensive contacts with scientific/technical people make Dr Hilado well situated to help us on the nonsmoker issue. Given the fact that California is the scene of a great deal of antismoking legislative and regulatory activity, we believe that Dr Hilado can be instrumental in helping the industry avoid unjustified regulation and restriction.

    One direct application of Dr Hilado's scientific experience would be the identification of potential witnesses in the field of indoor air quality. We believe that Dr. Hilado would be an important industry resource and recommend that a Special Fund 4 consultancy be approved.

[The question is why they were setting up an untraceable, secret funding system for him. Other handnotes at this time mention his potential value as a witness for BOCA (Building Officials and Code Admin) and ASHRAE (IAQ standards org) hearings — so they may have believed he could become a general IAQ/toxicology expert willing to support them in many ways.]

1983 Jul 6: /E These are replies to the SH&B suggestion of retaining him on a high annal payment:

• An unsigned letter from the Liggett Group to SHB rejects payment for any association with Dr Carlos Hilado.

  Please be advised that we do not desire to participate in retaining Dr Carlos Hilado as a consulting toxicologist.

  
  
  
• Ernest Pepples at B&W, however, accepts him without qualification
  
  
• RJ Reynolds, in an internal note, is against this contract; saying that he is already available via his association with B&W, and that $4,000 per month is a bit "hefty". On his use in the IAQ arena they say ...

  "With respect to potential ASHRAE involvement, we question his "qualifications" and, in any event, if all we would need him for is to identify potential witnesses, we could do this on an hourly consulting basis as opposed to a retainer.
  
      Bottom line — we see no particular benefit to RJR in retaining Dr Hilado and, conversely, if you don't have a burning desire to support this proposal, we see no problem."

1983 Aug 31: Lawyers Jacob Medinger & Finnegan [who handled Special Project #4 payments] note payment during six months (Feb to Aug) of $5,257 to Dr Carlos Hilado. This appears to have been paid before he was formally on the Special Account #4 payment system.

1983 Sep: Special Account #4 Consultancies record the payments via Shook Hardy (and Jacob Medinger). He is on a 'continuing consultancy' of $40,000 for 1 year, beginning September 1983.

1984 Oct 2: Special Account #4 audit on August 31 1984 shows unspecified payments to Hilado of $12,000

1987 Jan 27: The monthly Shook Hardy & Bacon billing now shows Hilado being paid via CarlHaven Corporation.

12/23/05 Carlhaven Corporation—consultation fee $3,000.00

1989 Aug: The monthly bill from Robert Northrip at Shook Hardy & Bacon to Brown & Williamson now pays him via Product Safety Corporation.

03/2S/B9 Product Safety Corporation — consulting services of Dr. Carlos J. Hilado, D/89 (toxicology} $3,000

Page 19

1990 Feb 20: The monthly SH&B billing shows that they are back to paying him personally:

01/04/90 Carlos J. Hilado — consultation fee $6,000.00 (Toxicology)

1994: - 2000 His activities in this period appear to be mainly to do with the flamability of furnishing materials, and flame retardants.

2000 July 24: -27 International Conference on Fire Safety at Columbus Ohio. He is Conference Director, now listed as being at the Product Safety Corporation, Sissonville, West Virginia.

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