ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997 TAG: 9704110084
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
Liggett said it provided documents for court review to prove the entire industry engaged in fraud.
At least until 1969, cigarettes made by the Liggett Group Inc. contained hazardous substances, including pesticides, documents released Thursday show.
A set of seven internal documents, part of thousands of pages of company papers Liggett has offered as part of a settlement of 22 state lawsuits, were released in connection with court proceedings over whether the entire trove should be made public.
The documents include a long log of insecticides, fertilizers and additives that Liggett found in its products before 1969, including arsenic, DDT and Toxaphene (also known as Toxokil). The substances were found in a review of tests from 1940 to 1969 compiled in 1988 by the company to defend itself against prospective lawsuits.
A 1958 entry lists the insecticide Endrin, which it calls ``highly toxic.'' Federal guidelines cited in the log said that products for human consumption could not contain 1 part per million (ppm) of the insecticide; cigarettes tested showed 55 ppm in the tobacco and 10 in the smoke, the papers said. The Environmental Protection Agency later banned it.
Another entry noted that the pest control agent maleic hydrazide ``increases tar & nicotine contents'' in some tobacco.
The seven documents were released as part of a lawsuit filed by Florida against tobacco companies. Another 13 documents being reviewed by the court concern collaborative industry efforts. The other cigarette makers are fighting the release of those documents.
Liggett, which makes Chesterfields, Eves and Larks, provided documents for quick review because, it said, they were most likely to prove that the industry engaged in fraudulent activity.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB