A January 6, 2005 editorial from the board of the New York Sun denounced New York governor George Pataki for ignoring the state's fiscal problems and focusing on non-issues like banning "toxic" cleaning products from state buildings. The piece quoted ACSH's Jeff Stier:
Nontoxic cleaning products? We've got nothing against birds, but Mr. Pataki makes himself appear unserious when he goes down this road. For one thing, there's no good evidence of which we are aware that the chemicals that have been used to clean the state offices are toxic. By suggesting they are, Mr. Pataki opens the state up to nonsense lawsuits by anyone who ever set foot in a state office. "It's ridiculous," said Jeff Stier, associate director of the American Council on Science and Health, whose funders include some chemical firms. "This is driven by an ideology, a fear of chemicals that's not grounded in science."
