EPA has suspended a pesticide experiment; would have exposed 60 babies to the ha

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Fri, 12 Nov 2004 20:04:44 -0500

Subject:[sSRI-Research] EPA has suspended a pesticide experiment;

would have exposed 60 babies to the hazards of pesticides

 

ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION

Promoting Openness and Full Disclosure

www.ahrp.org

 

FYI

 

Good News!!

 

We are gratified to inform you that the EPA has

suspended a pesticide experiment in which would have

exposed 60 babies to the hazards of pesticides-rather

than educating the public about the hazards pesticides

pose for children.

 

The purpose of the cynically named experiment, CHEERS,

was to study how children absorb poisonous chemicals.

 

The EPA alloted $7 million of taxpayer money and

accepted an additional $2 million from the American

Chemical Council.

 

A similarly unethical experiment which was

co-sponsored by the EPA exposed young children to lead

poison-without any effort to prevent harm. In a

landmak decision, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled

that exposing children to any risk above minimal risk

in non-therapeutic experiments was unethical and

violated fundamental moral principles. The Court

ademonished the research community for approving such

research to be conducted on helpless children. Check

the AHRP website for a link to the court decision and

to AHRP's amicus curiae brief in support of the Court.

 

See also, See AHRP Infomail, Nov. 3 at: www.ahrp.org

<http://www.ahrp.org/

 

(we are in the process of upgrading /updating our

website, so if you don't find it, try again)

 

We applaud Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post for

her coverage bringing public attention to the

experiment.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10728-2004Oct29.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62569-2004Oct25?language=printer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

 

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

212-595-8974

veracare

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37931-2004Nov9

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37931-2004Nov9.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37931-2004Nov9.html

 

EPA Suspends Study on Kids And Pesticides

 

By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Page A06

 

The Environmental Protection Agency has suspended a

controversial study aimed at exploring how infants and

toddlers absorb pesticides and other household

chemicals, officials said yesterday.

 

Several rank-and-file EPA scientists had questioned

the ethics of the two-year experiment, which would

have given the families of 60 children in Duval

County, Fla., $970 each as well as a camcorder and

children's clothing in exchange for having the

children participate. The critics said low-income

Floridians might continue to use pesticides -- which

have been linked to neurological damage in children --

in their homes to qualify for the project.

 

Environmentalists had also criticized the study

because the industry-funded American Chemistry Council

had agreed to pay $2 million of the project's

approximately $9 million cost.

 

EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said officials had

asked a group of independent experts to reexamine the

study design, which has already been reviewed by

several independent panels of academics, officials of

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and

representatives of the Duval County Health Department.

The new panel is set to give the EPA its assessment

next spring.

 

" Since the study was announced last month, many have

raised concerns, including scientists within EPA. We

want to be responsive to those concerns, " Bergman

said.

 

Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for

Environmental Responsibility, said, " Regardless of the

number of reviews, paying poor parents to dose their

babies with commercial poisons to measure their

exposure is just plain wrong. "

 

Administration and industry officials said it was

important to pursue the study to give regulators

better information on how harmful chemicals get into

children's bodies.

 

At the American Chemistry Council, spokeswoman Marcia

Lawson said the group " continues to strongly support

the study because of the great importance of

increasing understanding of the exposures of young

children to pesticides and other chemicals they

naturally encounter in their daily lives. "

 

C 2004 The Washington Post Company