In response to the Jan. 24 article about "a green, grass-roots group emerging to support the radioactive and hazardous waste firm Envirocare of Utah," I have a question to ask: who is their public relations firm?

 In the late 1980s, Dow Corning Corp. faced mounting lawsuits regarding their manufacturing of silicon breast implants. After years of private lawsuits in which successful plaintiffs were silenced by gag orders imposed in court, sick women started appearing on television in December 1990, claiming unscrupulous corporations were knowingly making money from implants that made women ill. As the FDA prepared to hold hearings on the breast implant controversy -- and faced with losses between $50 million and $500 million -- Dow Corning Corp. got busy. It hired the world's largest public relations firm: Burson Marsteller. This P.R. firm has expertise in developing the phony grass-roots organizations that professionals call "astroturf": industry-generated "citizens" groups that can be relied upon to lobby government and speak eloquently to media.

 According to P.R. Watch (first quarter/1996), Burson Marsteller's strategy for Dow Corning involved identifying patients who could be trained as spokespeople. These women (including celebrities) would be trained and testimony written for them to deliver before congressional committees. The public relations goal was to get "women angry about having the right to make their own decision about implants taken away from them." I am surprised that women haven't come forward demanding the right to lose weight on the diet drug Phen-fen, regardless of the damage to their hearts.

 Envirocare of Utah now needs the approval of regulators, the Legislature and the governor in order for it to accept "hotter" radioactive waste. It is no coincidence that it has created an "astroturf" group to show support for an endeavor it is apt to profit greatly by.

HAZEL ROEHRIG
Salt Lake City