EPA Forgot to Shield Nursing Mothers in Pesticide Experiments

[lovuian]

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0623-09.htm

WASHINGTON - June 23 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today filed a proposed rule to prevent nursing mothers from being used in tests using pesticides. Today’s action reflects growing pressures on EPA to tighten the ethical loopholes in the industry-sponsored drive to switch from reliance on animal to human testing, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

“The fact that EPA overlooked the dangers posed by exposing nursing mothers to pesticides does not inspire confidence in the agency’s public health perspective,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization has been venting concerns raised by EPA’s own scientists about the agency’s human subjects testing plans and activities. “By this move, EPA gives backhanded acknowledgement that human experimentation puts its subjects at risk.”

In a Federal Register notice published today, EPA proposed to bar certain types of research in which nursing mothers are intentionally dosed with pesticides. The proposed rule, however, does not prohibit –

Corporations using nursing mothers, pregnant women or infants in chemical experiments that do not involve pesticides;
Women who are in their childbearing years and may soon be nursing from undergoing pesticide testing; and
Payments to parents who claim that they would otherwise expose their own children to pesticides, as in the controversial but now cancelled CHEERS study in Florida in which parents were to be paid $970 and given a free camcorder if they regularly sprayed pesticides in the room primarily occupied by their infant (under age 3) children for two years.
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This makes me sick
:argh: This is just true evil...

[pooja]

1. How sick.

[melnjones]

2. What is WRONG with these people?!? nt

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Here's your sign.... this is La, this is a brand new housing

development, there is a playground array in the backyard... and 20 feet from that is a canefield to be crop dusted with airplanes..... ever notice how many agriculturalists have donated land for schools in and around their rather large plots of land??? What better way to drive your property value through the roof.... pray for the children who will be exposed to the chemicals used for sugar cane production. The EPA really needs to wake the *uck up.

[lovuian]

4. It makes you wonder that this poisoning is done deliberately

because its poisoning...

[pnwmom]

6. I'm guessing that the companies are pushing this because,

as the article says, the government requires higher doses with animals (to see what the effects are). The companies are hoping with the lower doses that they're limited to with humans, short-term side effects won't show up.

Also, they'd probably like to have the animal rights activists out of their hair.

[pnwmom]

5. Animal rights activists say it is unethical to test using animals.

But chemicals have to be tested.

Personally, I'd rather they go back to using mostly animals but I know there are many here who would disagree with me.

[bobbieinok]

7. aren't women supposed to view themselves as 'pre-pregnant' +

take all precautions?????

but corporations and govt don't have to follow this 'guideline/rule'?????

(was the 'pre-pregnant' story in the WP a few weeks ago?????

[lovuian]

8. Evidentally Not

the government pays mothers to be test subjects...