Amazon Defense Coalition: Chevron Board Member Armacost Tied to Conflict of Interest over Cancer Study in Ecuador`s Amazon

Disclosure Follows Investigation by New York Attorney General into Shareholder
Complaints
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
A highly-criticized study financed by Chevron to "prove" that the dumping of
billions of gallons of toxic waste into Ecuador`s rainforest did not cause
cancer failed to disclose that the study was conducted by a company tied to a
member of Chevron`s Board of Directors, say representatives of the Amazon
Defense Coalition.

Samuel Armacost, a member of Chevron`s Board of Directors since the early 1980s,
is the largest individual shareholder in Exponent Inc., a pro-industry
scientific consulting firm that was paid by Chevron to perform the study of
cancer rates in Ecuador`s Amazon region where Texaco (now Chevron) was the
exclusive operator of an oil concession from 1964 to 1990. Chevron faces a $27
billion liability in a long-running trial over pollution stemming from Texaco`s
operations, including roughly $9 billion to compensate the region for 1,401
cancer deaths tied to pollution, according to an independent court expert in
Ecuador.

The disclosure comes after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo opened a probe
of Chevron on allegations the company has misled shareholders about the Ecuador
liability, according to news reports. Chevron management`s handling of the
Ecuador issue is expected to be a major topic at Chevron`s annual meeting on May
27, where a shareholder resolution on Ecuador will be voted on.

The Chevron-financed cancer study -- entitled "Cancer Mortality and Oil
Production in the Amazon Region of Ecuador, 1990-2005" -- purported to find that
cancer rates in the highly contaminated 1,700 sq. mile area where Texaco
operated were consistent with cancer rates in the rest of the country, and even
lower than cancer rates in Quito, the nation`s capital. Critics quickly noted
that the study was flawed in that it used death certificates to measure cancer
in an isolated area of rainforest where the vast majority of deaths never get
recorded, and where most sick people never see a doctor.

By basing the study on mortality rates which are incomplete, Chevron was able to
undercount the number of cancer deaths and thereby "conclude" that cancer rates
had not increased. The Chevron study contradicts numerous other studies of the
region, all done independently and published in peer-reviewed journals, that
have concluded cancer rates had increased in the area by a significant factor
due to oil contamination.

"Chevron`s cancer study in Ecuador is an example of a industry-biased study
conducted to further the interests of Chevron rather than to better understand
the health problems faced by the people," said Douglas Beltman, a former EPA
scientist who consults with several Amazon communities suing Chevron for
clean-up.

"By failing to disclose the ties of the authors to Chevron`s Board of Directors,
the peer review process was undermined because the article could not be tested
for bias by the reviewers," said Andrew Woods, an American advisor to the Amazon
communities who is familiar with Chevron`s scientific studies.

The Chevron study, whose lead author is Exponent consultant and UCLA adjunct
professor Michael Kelsh, was published in the International Archives of
Occupational and Environmental Health in July 2008. The article has a small
notation at the end saying the work was financed by Chevron but it does not
reveal the ties to Armacost or the Chevron Board.

Exponent advertises itself as offering a service to companies that produces
"science" that generally downplays the risks of exposure to chemicals, thereby
enabling industry to better fight government regulations designed to protect the
public from the health effects of pollution. Kelsh is known as a pro-industry
scientist and is listed prominently on Exponent`s website.

Armacost is one of the largest individual shareholders of Chevron and the
largest individual shareholder of Exponent. He owns approximately $3.1 million
in Chevron stock and approximately $4 million in Exponent stock, according to
public records. He is member of the Board of Directors of both companies.

About the Amazon Defense Coalition

The Amazon Defense Coalition represents dozens of rainforest communities and
five indigenous groups that inhabit Ecuador`s Northern Amazon region. The
mission of the Coalition is to protect the environment and secure social justice
through grass roots organizing, political advocacy, and litigation.

for Amazon Defense Coalition
Karen Hinton, 703-798-3109
Karen@hintoncommunications.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009