To the relief of health advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency has called a halt to its controversial Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study, a program that would test the effects of pesticides on infants and babies in low-income households. The study, partly funded by the American Chemistry Council trade group, offered $970, a camcorder, a bib and a T-shirt to parents with infants or babies routinely exposed to pesticides in return for completing the two-year testing program. Despite mounting public criticism, agency officials cancelled the study only after Democratic senators voiced objections to EPA acting administrator Stephen L. Johnson during his confirmation hearing. In addition to worrying about his own confirmation, Johnson also shared concerns about the appropriateness of the human testing, according to an EPA spokesman.
"This study, as designed, essentially encouraged parents to expose their children to dangerous pesticides. Its cancellation is a welcomed though belated victory," said Erik Olson, an attorney in NRDC's health program. "What's truly incredible, though, is that this study was just the tip of the iceberg. The EPA has been quietly considering literally dozens of chemical industry-funded experiments using humans as guinea pigs to study the effects of pesticides on people. We have to put an end to this unethical and unscientific outrage."
© 2005 Natural Resources Defense Council
1 comment:
This is so mind-blowing, it's hard to think of anything to say about it, but the first thing that came to my mind was that they just got caught this time, who knows what people like this get up to that hasn't been exposed? Really scary!
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