http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/03/25/monsanto-seeks-retraction-for-report-linking-herbicide-to-cancer/ Monsanto Co, maker of the world's most widely used herbicide,
Roundup, wants an international health organization to retract a report
linking the chief ingredient in Roundup to cancer. The company said on Tuesday that the report, issued on Friday by the
World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC), was biased and contradicts regulatory findings that the
ingredient, glyphosate, is safe when used as labeled. A working group of the IARC, based in Lyon, France, said after
reviewing scientific literature it was classifying glyphosate as
"probably carcinogenic to humans." "We question the quality of the assessment," Philip Miller, Monsanto
vice president of global regulatory affairs, said on Tuesday in an
interview. "The WHO has something to explain." Monsanto officials have asked to meet with WHO and IARC members, and Miller said the company wants a retraction. A representative of the IARC could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday. Miller said the company provided scientific data to the IARC showing
the safety of glyphosate, but that the agency largely ignored it. Miller said the IARC report should not affect the safety review of
glyphosate currently under way by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA, which has the power to limit or ban use of glyphosate, said
it would look at the WHO report as part of the review process. Farmers have been using glyphosate in increasing quantities since
Monsanto in the mid-1990s introduced crops genetically engineered to
withstand being sprayed with Roundup herbicide. "Roundup Ready" corn, soybeans and other crops are popular because of
the ease with which farmers have been able to kill weeds. But weeds
have developed resistance to glyphosate, leading farmers to use more
herbicide. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated agricultural use of glyphosate
in 2012, the most recent year available, at more than 283 million
pounds, up from 110 million pounds in 2002. The United States and other international regulatory bodies have
backed the safety of glyphosate when used as directed, but the IARC
report cited studies that raised concerns about glyphosate and impacts
on health. Monsanto says such studies are invalid. But critics say they merit attention. "There are a number of independent, published manuscripts that
clearly indicate that glyphosate ... can promote cancer and tumor
growth," said Dave Schubert, head of the cellular neurobiology
laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla,
California. "It should be banned."
WASHINGTON
— The under secretary of the Army on Wednesday apologized for the
military’s treatment of American service members exposed to chemical
weapons in Iraq,
and he announced new steps to provide medical support to those with
lingering health effects and to recognize veterans who had been denied
awards.
Under
Secretary Brad R. Carson acknowledged that the military had not
followed its own policies for caring for troops exposed to old and
abandoned chemical munitions that had been scattered around Iraq, and he vowed improvement.
He
also said that the Army had reversed a previous decision and approved a
Purple Heart medal for a soldier burned by sulfur mustard agent, and
that he expected more medals to be issued to other veterans after
further review.
“To
me, the scandal is that we had protocols in place and the medical
community knew what they were, and yet we failed in some cases to
implement this across the theater,” he said. “That was a mistake, and I
apologize for that. I apologize for past actions and am going to fix it
going forward.”
Mr.
Carson was appointed last fall by Chuck Hagel, then the defense
secretary, to lead a Pentagon working group to identify service members
who had been exposed to chemical weapons and to offer them medical
screening and other support. The effort was in response to an investigation in The New York Times that revealed that the military had secretly recovered thousands of old and often discarded chemical munitions in Iraq.
The
report found that insurgents had used some of the weapons in roadside
bombs, that most of the episodes had never been publicly acknowledged
and that many troops who had been wounded by the blister or nerve agents
had received substandard medical care and had been denied military
awards.
Mr.
Carson said the working group’s new instructions, which were
distributed to the military services in recent days, would ensure that
hundreds of veterans identified by the services, or who had called a
hotline set up at Mr. Hagel’s order, would be screened and properly
treated. The steps, Mr. Carson said, would also cover troops exposed to
chlorine, which insurgents repeatedly used as a makeshift chemical
weapon.
“My
ambition, and what I am committed to, is to make sure that any person
who was exposed to a weaponized chemical or a chemical weapon is
addressed through this process,” he said.
Under
the guidelines, veterans identified as possibly having suffered
exposure to a chemical weapon will be contacted by their military
service, evaluated in a structured interview and in some cases invited
for a full medical examination.
The
veterans will be provided with documentation of their exposure and have
their medical records updated; this information, Mr. Carson said, will
also be shared with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans
receive follow-up care or submit claims.
http://www.wksu.org/news/story/42382 A study released by the VA in January confirmed previous findings
that these vets could have been exposed to Agent Orange at dangerous
levels while they were flying the planes on bases in Ohio, Massachusetts
and Pennsylvania. But many of the vets who are sick with diseases that
can be related to Agent Orange have had their VA claims denied. More than three weeks ago now, VA Secretary Robert McDonald told
senators an announcement would be coming within the week on the issue.
That’s been pushed back to an unknown date, which Barbara Carson says is
disappointing. She’s appealed her claim for benefits after her husband,
a former reservist, died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. "You know they’ve denied this for years, and they can’t deny it anymore. They’ve got to admit to it." The Vietnam Veterans of America have now joined with the reservists and families calling for a more aggressive response from the VA. A VA rep said only that the VA is examining policy and legislative issues.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A bipartisan group of senators led by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and
Jeff Merkley (D-OR) today
called on VA Secretary Robert McDonald to ensure that veterans long
denied care for exposure to
Agent Orange receive timely and proper benefits and compensation. The
letter follows a recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) study that provides
new and compelling evidence on exposure to Agent Orange of veterans who
flew contaminated aircraft after the Vietnam
war.
Burr
and Merkley were joined in a letter by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR),
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Michael Bennet
(D-CO).
The
IOM study, which was published in January, found “with confidence” that
post-Vietnam veterans serving on C-123 aircrafts were exposed to
potentially dangerous levels
of dioxin from aircrafts that were used to carry and spray Agent Orange
during the Vietnam War and that were never properly decontaminated.
According
to the study, an estimated 1500-2100 personnel served on the affected
planes, and numerous veterans among that group have developed symptoms,
including cancer,
consistent with Agent Orange exposure.
The senators pushed the VA to reverse previous decisions that have denied veterans benefits and compensation, writing:
“Despite
(1) multiple Air Force reports going back to 1979 showing that the
C-123s were contaminated, (2) numerous expert opinions from inside and
outside the government
suggesting these veterans were exposed to Agent Orange and other
toxins, and (3) a judge’s order stopping the resale of these C-123s
because the planes were a ‘danger to public health,’ the VA to-date has
doggedly insisted there is no possibility that post-Vietnam
era C-123 veterans might have been exposed to dangerous levels of Agent
Orange. It also has denied all but one of the C-123 veterans’ claims
for benefits.”
They
continued, “It is our desire to see that C-123 veterans who suffer
today because of service-related exposure to Agent Orange receive the
help they need. To speed the
award of benefits, we ask that you provide a presumption of service
connection for these veterans.”
The
senators also called on the VA to immediately review all C-123 Agent
Orange exposure claims, including those that have been denied and are
under appeal, and to work
with the Department of Defense to proactively contact all veterans who
served on any C-123s previously used in Vietnam to spray Agent Orange
defoliant that were subsequently assigned to Air Force Reserve units
based in the United States from 1972-1982 in order
to notify these veterans that they may be eligible for benefits.
VA Continues to Deny Justice To C-123 Crews Exposed to Dioxin
(Washington, D.C.)– “It is an outrage that the VA, in effect, is
continuing to deny these veterans justice,” said John Rowan, National
President of Vietnam Veterans of America. “These VA bureaucrats
attempting to delay justice ought to be relieved of
their duties so that they can no longer abuse veterans with their
tactic of ‘delay, deny, until they die.’ There is no excuse for why
these worthy veterans are still not being treated with the appreciation
and the respect their service warrants.” Rowan praised
Wes Carter, the leader of the C-123 Veterans Association, for his spunk
and spirit: “You’ve got to keep on keeping on,” Rowan urged, “and VVA
will be at your side to convince the VA hierarchy that to continue to
delay justice is to deny justice.”
For over five years, retired Air Force Reserve Major Wes Carter has led
the fight of his life: to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to
acknowledge that the C-123 Provider military cargo planes which
transported Agent Orange to and from Vietnam had, in
fact, been contaminated with dioxin. A number of reputable scientists
and epidemiologists at federal agencies have gone on record, endorsing
Carter’s stance that these craft remained hazardous to the health of the
2,100 crew members, flight nurses, and maintenance
workers who serviced them between 1972 and 1982. “Yet the VA, in all
its wisdom, maintained that these men and women who had been exposed to
Agent Orange ought not be eligible to receive the same healthcare and
disability compensation benefits that boots-on-the-ground
veterans of Vietnam receive,” Rowan noted.
“VVA has long supported Major Carter in his quest for justice,” Rowan
said. “When the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded, in a study funded
by the VA, that the planes were actively contaminated when Air Force
Reservists flew them, we were as pleased as Wes
Carter, who exulted, ‘We won!’ The IOM report was released in January
2015, yet Major Carter and those who have been sickened with maladies
the VA concedes are associated with exposure to Agent Orange have still
not received the justice they deserve. Why?
Because a few bad actors in the office of Public Health &
Environmental Hazards at the VA continue their attempts to delay justice
despite the conclusive report by the IOM.
http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/e1cd2d16ed0f41bf8dce0fc4b9ce1af8/LT--Colombia-US-Coca-Spraying-Debate BOGOTA, Colombia — New labeling on the world's most popular weed
killer as a likely cause of cancer is raising more questions for an
aerial spraying program in Colombia that underpins U.S.-financed efforts
to wipe out cocaine crops. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a
French-based research arm of the World Health Organization, on Thursday
reclassified the herbicide glyphosate as a carcinogen that poses a
greater potential danger to industrial users than homeowners. The agency
cited what it called convincing evidence that the herbicide produces
cancer in lab animals and more limited findings that it causes
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in humans.
The glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup is a mainstay of
industrial agriculture worldwide, and it's a preferred weapon for
killing Colombian cocaine harvests. More than 4 million acres of land
have been sprayed over the past two decades to kill coca plants, whose
leaves produce cocaine. The fumigation program, which is partly carried out by
American contractors, long has provoked hostility from Colombia's left,
which likens it to the U.S. military's use of the Agent Orange herbicide
during the Vietnam War. Leftist rebels, currently in negotiations with
the government to end a half-century conflict, are demanding an end to
the spraying as part of any deal. Daniel Mejia, a Bogota-based economist who is chairman
of an expert panel advising the Colombian government on its drug
strategy, said the report is by far the most authoritative and could end
up burying the fumigation program. "Nobody can accuse the WHO of being ideologically
biased," Mejia said, noting that questions already had been raised about
the effectiveness of the spraying strategy and its potential health
risks. Mejia's own research published last year found higher
rates of skin problems and miscarriages in districts targeted by
herbicides. It was based on a study of medical records from 2003 to
2007. Colombia's ombudsman office said it would seek suspension of the spraying program if the WHO results prove convincing. But U.S. and Colombian government officials argue that cocaine does more health damage than aerial spraying. "Without a doubt this reopens the debate on fumigation
and causes us to worry," Colombia Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria told
The Associated Press on Saturday, referring to the WHO findings. But Gaviria argued that the need to suppress cocaine harvests "transcends" other considerations. Monsanto and other manufacturers of glyphosate-based
products strongly rejected the WHO ruling. They cited a 2012 ruling by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the herbicide was safe. Colombia already has scaled back use of aerial
herbicides in favor of more labor-intensive manual eradication efforts,
partly in response to criticism by farmers. Colombian officials say aerial spraying last year
covered 55,000 hectares (136,000 acres), down from a 2006 peak of
172,000 hectares (425,000 acres). Critics of the program concede that the government has
improved safety standards, such as by avoiding herbicide flights during
strong winds, and installing GPS devices on fumigation aircraft that
keep records of plane movements and help investigators to determine the
validity of farmers' compensation claims. In 2013, Colombia agreed to pay Ecuador $15 million to
settle a lawsuit over economic and human damage linked to spraying along
their common border. Gen. Ricardo Restrepo, commander of the anti-narcotics
police, said he had not seen the WHO warning, and Colombia's herbicide
spraying was proceeding as usual. "My job is to carry out the strategy," he said.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/29261-usda-approves-untested-inherently-risky-gmo-apple On Friday, February 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
approved the first genetically engineered apple, despite hundreds of
thousands of petitions asking the USDA to reject it. According an article in Politico, the USDA said the GMO apple “doesn’t pose any harm to other plants or pests.”
Great. But what about potential harm to the humans who consume them? The Arctic Apple (Golden Delicious and Granny varieties), developed
by Canada-based Okanagan Specialty Fruit, shockingly doesn’t require
approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Association (FDA). The FDA will
merely conduct a “voluntary review” before, presumably, rubber-stamping
the apple for use in restaurants, institutions (including schools and
hospitals) and grocery stores—with no meaningful long- (or even short-)
term safety testing for its potential impact on human health.
Here’s why that should concern every consumer out there, especially parents of young children. In April 2013, we interviewed scientists about the genetic
engineering technology used to create the Arctic Apple, whose only claim
to fame is that it doesn’t turn brown when sliced. The benefit to
consumers? Being able to eat apples without having any sense of how old
they are? Here’s what we learned about the technology, called RNA interference,
or double strand RNA (dsRNA), from Professor Jack Heinemann (University
of Canterbury, New Zealand), Sarah Agapito-Tenfen (from Santa Catarina
University in Brazil) and Judy Carman (Flinders University in South
Australia), all of whom said that dsRNA manipulation is untested, and
therefore inherently risky:
Given that the dsRNA from our food,
and presumably the Frankenapple, will enter the bloodstream and cells of
consumers, safety research should be done BEFORE this GMO apple is put
on the grocery shelf to prove that the dsRNA that enters consumers'
bodies will not harm them. To date, no such research has been reported,
so the Frankenapple is flying in the dark.
On the contrary, recent research has
shown that dsRNAs can transfer from plants to humans and other animals
through food. The biotech industry has always claimed that genetically
engineered DNA or RNA is destroyed by human digestion, eliminating the
danger of these mutant organisms damaging human genes or human health.
But many biotech scientists say otherwise.
They point to evidence that the dsRNA present in food survive digestion
in the stomach and intestines and actually enter the bloodstream and
tissues of the body, where it can influence the functioning of the
eater's cells.
Some of the scientists also pointed out that GMO apples will likely
lead to even greater use of pesticides, on a product that (unless it’s
organic) already tests positive for 42 pesticides, according to the
Pesticide Action Network’s analysis of the most recent USDA data. Here’s why. Turns out the chemical compound that is shut off in the
engineered fruit through RNA manipulation, in order to make it not
oxidize or brown, is a chemical compound that also fights off plant
pests. What happens when the apple’s ability to fend off insects is
compromised? Growers will need to spray greater amounts. Those
pesticides will eventually find their way into our bodies, either
because we ingested the fruit, or breathed the air or drank the water
where the pesticides were sprayed.
The result was announced by the Office of the National Steering
Committee (Office 33) at a workshop held in Hanoi on March 19 for the
project “Environmental remediation of dioxin contaminated hotspots in
Vietnam” funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the the
UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam. Speaking at the
workshop, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Environmental Administration
and General Director of Office 33 Nguyen The Dong said the project has
achieved its designed objectives and made significant scientific and
practical contributions to researching and overcoming the complicated
and long-term consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam. The
project, implemented since 2010 with more than US$5 million in funding,
aims to minimise the disruption of ecosystems and health risks for
people in the contaminated hotspots of Bien Hoa, Danang and Phu Cat
airbases. The project’s results have been handed over to the
Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Dong
Nai Department of Natural Resources and Environment and a number of
relevant organisations and authorities for future maintenance and
management in accordance with their functions as assigned by the
Government.
“I
have a small child and baby on the way, and I want to know they’re OK
playing in the backyard,” Proudfoot said during a March 10 meeting at
the Ridgefield Community Center to discuss high dioxin levels in a
residential area of downtown Ridgefield.
The six-block neighborhood lies
between Maple Street, Mill Street, Railroad Avenue and North Main
Street. It includes about 39 parcels, and about half a dozen of its
residents attended the meeting.
Officials found high dioxin
levels in soil samples taken on right of ways next to the area’s
streets, and they hope to test adjacent yards this Spring. So far, no
samples have had enough dioxin to pose immediate health risks, officials
at the Tuesday meeting said, but the samples are high enough to warrant
further investigation.
“That’s good news,” Department of Ecology Site Manager Craig Rankinesaid of the low health risk. “But they’re still high enough we need to look at it.”
The contamination is believed to
be from the former Pacific Wood Treating facility, which opened on
property leased from the Port of Ridgefield in 1964. It operated until
the Pacific Wood Treating’s bankruptcy in 1993.
From
1961-1971, The Air Development Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base (AFB),
Florida, developed, tested, and calibrated the aerial spray systems
used in support of Operation RANCH HAND and the US Army Chemical Corps
in Vietnam. Twenty major test and evaluation projects of aerial spray
equipment were conducted on four fully instrumented test grids, each
uniquely arrayed to match the needs of fixed-wing, helicopter, or jet
aircraft. Each of the grids was established within the boundary of Test
Area 52A of the Eglin Reservation.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/03/06/we-all-use-water In June of 1964, helicopters from the U.S. Geological Survey began
spraying an herbicidal chemical along the Gila and San Carlos rivers.
The chemical herbicide was used to remove salt cedars along the rivers
so that water runoff from the rain would be maximized for commercial and
industrial water use in lakes, rivers and streams. Salt cedar, an
invasive plant species, was brought to the area from the Mediterrean and
African regions. It grows along waterways and uses a lot of water in
order to maintain its life.
This odorless herbicide’s scientific names are 2-4-5-TP or 2-4-5 D,
but it’s commonly known as Agent Orange, one of the worst chemicals ever
known to mankind. The herbicide was used to spray salt cedar on the San
Carlos River and indigenous peoples in other parts of the world.
It was popularized during the Vietnam War when the United States
sprayed this chemical on the high canopy tree stands of the Vietnamese
forests to kill vegetation. Even U.S. veterans were victimized by this
chemical, and to this day, those who had contact with Agent Orange have
become sick with many types of diseases and cancers that were unknown
prior to the creation of this dangerous chemical. Diseases associated
with Agent Orange contamination include Type 2 diabetes, liver and heart
disease, birth defects (two row teeth, cleft pallet) spina bifida,
neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian
cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, Alzheimer’s disease, and many others.
In 1969, areas near Kellner Canyon and Ice House Canyon near the
Pinal Mountains were also sprayed for five years, and the San Carlos and
Gila Rivers were contaminated. After the spraying in the
off-reservation town of Globe, residents who were contaminated sued Dow
Chemical, the makers of the Agent Orange, and the government of the
United States. The case, Shoecraft V. Dow Chemical, went before the U.S.
District in Phoenix and was settled out of court in the early 1980s. On
the other hand, San Carlos Apache tribal members have yet to receive
redress of their grievances, harm to health, and deaths that have been
perpetuated by this witches brew.
Who are the makers of such witches brew and what it does?
WASHINGTON – The VA said Friday no date has been set for a decision on
whether to award benefits for Agent Orange exposure to Air Force
reservists who flew C-123 aircraft contaminated with the herbicide.
The department is weighing the issue after a recent study confirmed the
possibility of health risks as well as lobbying from veteran groups and
former crew members. But it did not plan to make an announcement this
week, despite an earlier indication by VA officials, spokeswoman Meagan
Lutz said.
There is no definite timeline for a decision, she said.
Veterans say herbicide residue left inside the aircraft from service
during the Vietnam War sickened them and they deserve the VA health care
coverage for Agent Orange-related conditions extended to nearly all
servicemembers deployed to the war zone.
The C-123s were used to spray during Operation Ranch Hand and were
later brought back to the United States and repurposed as military cargo
aircraft. About 1,500 to 2,100 personnel flew and trained on the C-123
aircraft from the early 1970s to the 1980s.
An Institute of Medicine study stoked the debate in January when it
found that herbicide residue inside the planes could have exposed
reservists to the disease-causing dioxins found in Agent Orange.
“It is plausible that, at least in some cases … the reservists’
exposure exceeded health guidelines for workers in enclosed settings,”
the researchers wrote. “Thus, some reservists quite likely experienced
non-trivial increases in their risks of adverse health outcomes.”
VA Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey told Stars and Stripes
last week that the department had planned to announce a decision on the
benefits but was delaying it until Tuesday or Wednesday, though that
never materialized.
MILWAUKEE - The Veterans Administration will begin sharing information about possible toxic exposure for soldiers stationed at Fort McClellan, Ala., a spokesman said.
In a statement, the VA confirmed a February meeting between former Fort McClellan veterans and government officials. Fort McClellan was shuttered in 1999. It has also been declared a
federal Superfund cleanup site. As the home of the Army's chemical
warfare school, McClellan may have exposed soldiers to toxic substances.
"As a result of this meeting, the VA’s Office of Public Health is
updating its website to include more information for Veterans and
Servicemembers on potential environmental hazards at Fort McClellan,"
the statement read. "We intend to follow up in the near future for
additional discussions."
The I-Team has spoken with a number of veterans who were trained at
Fort McClellan and now report strange and debilitating illnesses.
Those veterans did not know about a possible link between their
illnesses and their service until word began to spread on social media.
A federal judge dismissed Navy
veterans' claims to compensation for illness incurred by exposure to
poisonous chemicals the U.S. Military sprayed during the Vietnam War, Courthouse News Service reports. U.S. planes showered almost 20 million gallons of the herbicide Agent
Orange over about 10,000 square miles of Vietnam in the late' 60s and
early '70s. The chemical is extremely toxic, and hundreds of thousands
of American veterans who served on land in Vietnam have been compensated
for their poor health by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. But sailors who served at sea are ineligible for benefits, and their move for medical funding was denied in a district court. RELATED: Vietnam vet walks to raise awareness of Agent Orange According to Courthouse News, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote
"Congress chose to shield VA benefits decisions from review or channel
them into specific courts, and the court therefore has no jurisdiction
to hear these claims." Organizations of Navy veterans first sued the VA in 2013.
The sailors argue that, even though they were not on land, they were
exposed to Agent Orange that washed into the ocean and was sucked into
their ships' drinking water purification systems. Agent Orange is linked to at least 14 cancers and diseases, as well as birth defects. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese suffer from Agent Orange poisoning, and children are still born with severe deformations. RELATED: Agent Orange still a threat at old U.S. base in Vietnam Neil Carman, a chemist with the Texas Sierra Club, called Agent
Orange "one of the most toxic chlorine containing chemicals ever known
to science," and noted that it can poison a man's sperm. It's main use
if deforestation; it was used to wipe out rainforests where North
Vietnamese armies hid and to kill the crop fields that fed the
communists. "It was an environmental disaster in Vietnam," Carman said. According to the New York Times, the Pentagon and developers of Agent Orange initially claimed the chemical was not harmful to humans. However, according to the VA,
it is a recognized cause of illnesses including leukemia, diabetes,
Hodgkin's Disease, lymphoma, Parkinson's Disease, prostate cancer and
respiratory cancers. In Vietnam, where many communities were sprayed
with the chemical, Agent Orange has caused severe mental disabilities
and physical disfiguration, including people born without eyes. RELATED: Communist, U.S. will fight effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam In 2010, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki expanded the list of Agent Orange claims eligible for benefits,
adding new diseases to the list. Shinseki said he expected 150,000 new
claims from the Vietnam era and would re-review 90,000 claims previously
dismissed. The VA commissioned a 2011 study to determine to what extent ocean
Navy veterans were exposed to Agent Orange. But Judge Chutkan noted that
the results are "vigorously disputed." She said she dismissed the case
because her court did not have jurisdiction to evaluate the parameters
set by the VA for what qualifies a veteran for benefits.
http://www.earth911.com/living-well-being/stuff-happens-cloth-diapering-101-and-a-few-102s/ In recent years there have been debates abut whether cloth diapering
is truly better for the environment, especially when you take into
account the amount of hot water, electricity and detergent that goes
into their care. This environmentalist still stands firmly for cloth
however, and here's why.
According to Green America, one of the greatest concerns surrounding
disposable diapers is in regards to their creation, not their disposal.
Have you ever noticed the oddly gel-like feeling of a full disposable
diaper? What you're feeling is sodium polyacrylate crystals. Sodium
polyacrylate is capable of holding up to 300 times its weight in water,
which seems like it would be a good thing except for the fact that
absolutely no studies have been conducted to establish whether sodium
polyacrylate is dangerous to children when absorbed through the skin.
Given that it is also used in tampon manufacturing and some believe it
is a factor in Toxic Shock Syndrome, it is a definite cause for concern. Even worse is dioxin. Green America characterizes dioxin as “a highly
toxic carcinogen and endocrine disruptor, [found] in disposable
diapers. Dioxin is a byproduct of the chlorine bleaching process, and
the Archives of Disease in Childhood reports that trace amounts of
dioxin are present on disposables.” And as a final one-two punch, one study found that lab mice exposed
to various brands of disposable diapers experienced asthma-like
symptoms, as well as eye, nose, and throat irritation. Cloth diapers did not cause any respiratory symptoms. So, hey, maybe washing poop isn't so bad after all!
Chuck Palazzo, a founding member of the Vietnam chapter of Veterans
for Peace, accused Monsanto of trying to “brainwash” locals, especially
young people. The company is on a public relations push to align itself
with the positives of food security, he said, instead of its
controversial products, Agent Orange and genetically modified seeds. Even if Monsanto has pure intentions, it should wait to get involved
in sustainable agriculture and first compensate Vietnamese who suffer
birth defects like missing limbs and distended bodies, Palazzo said. “The first thing they need to do is benefit, somehow, the victims of
Agent Orange, they need to show some good faith,” he said. “Doing the
right thing, in my mind, is giving financial benefits, medical benefits,
and social benefits.”
The industrial chemicals known to interfere with brain development in
children include the PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). But PCB is a
mixture of compounds, and some of them resemble the extremely toxic
dioxin, known from the Seveso explosion in Italy and its presence in
Agent Orange. Could it be that PCB is a brain drainer due to dioxin-like
effects? A new study from Germany
suggests that prenatal exposure to dioxins is associated with increased
distractability and deficient attention at age 9. Even though human
milk contains dioxins, the exposure from breast-feeding had no clear
effect. So dioxin’s main interference with brain development seemed to
happen in the mother’s womb.
The results also suggested that PCB exposure by itself can cause adverse
effects. So PCB is likely a drain drainer in its own right, and not
just because some of the PCBs resemble dioxin. That would make sense in
light of all that we know about PCB neurotoxicity. Also, several possible neurotoxic mechanisms are known, and some of them are not triggered by dioxin.
But this is just a single study of 117 children. Although the findings are in agreement with a previous report from The Netherlands,
the findings would need to be confirmed. Or is that necessary?
Additional studies should not be anticipated right away. For one, the
analysis of a single blood sample for its dioxin content can easily cost
more than $1,000, thus making studies extremely costly. In addition,
such studies take time. Even if further documentation appears, some
uncertainties will likely remain. After all, it took more than 20 years
for the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency
to finalize a risk assessment for dioxins. Given the plausibility that
dioxin is in fact a brain drainer, should weighting of the evidence take
into account how hard it is to document the brain toxicity in children?
Public health logic would say yes, any doubt should not prevent
recognition that dioxin is also poisonous to developing brains. So that
would add one more unwanted compound to the list of known brain
drainers. However, the good news in this case is that dioxin exposures are decreasing,
and in most parts of the world, they are now lower than the levels that
the German kids were exposed to prenatally about 15 years ago.
Fifty years since the first major American combat unit was deployed to
Vietnam, the lethal legacies of war still haunt generations of civilians
in that country. Special correspondent Mike Cerre, who served in that
conflict, reports from Danang about some Americans who have returned in
hopes of making a difference.
NOTE:
Tucson does not observe Daylight Saving Time; please confirm your local
time when calling in from another part of the country
Parking
The resort is offering complimentary self-parking to all meeting attendees driving in for the public session.
Please follow the signs to self-parking (turn at the service drive entrance).
If you end up at the front drive the valet team will direct you to self-parking.
Public Statements
For those requesting to make a statement during our
public comment period, please note that a 5-minute timeslot will be
allotted per person (any additional information may be submitted in
writing).
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2015/03/06/Agent-Orange-benefits-announcement-delayed/stories/201503060294 An anticipated announcement regarding new Agent Orange benefits
for Air Force reservists who flew or worked on C-123 transport planes
in Pittsburgh and two other air bases in the 1970s has been delayed
until next week. Allison Hickey, undersecretary of benefits for the VA, was expected
to hold a news conference on the issue Thursday in Washington. But the event has been pushed back, probably to next Tuesday
or Wednesday, according to VA correspondence with Wes Carter of
Colorado, head of the C-123 Veterans Association. Many of the huge C-123s were used in Vietnam to spray Agent
Orange defoliant, then sent back to the United States after the war for
use at the 911th air base in Pittsburgh, Rickenbacker Air Force Base
in Columbus and Westover Air Reserve Station outside of
Springfield, Mass. About 2,100 crew members, flight nurses and mechanics who flew on
the planes from 1972 to 1982 have long maintained that the planes
were contaminated with dioxin, the toxic chemical in Agent Orange. Reservists with various cancers and other health problems
are convinced Agent Orange residue is to blame and that they
should receive the same Agent Orange health care and disability benefits
that veterans who served in Vietnam get. The VA has denied most of their claims over the years because the
Air Force insisted that the planes were decontaminated and that
Agent Orange residue could not become airborne. But a report in January by the Institute of Medicine
found differently, concluding that C-123 reservists were likely exposed
to dioxin. The VA is expected to announce that benefits will be extended to all C-123 veterans who are eligible.
More than a dozen agencies now oversee some aspect of
the country’s sprawling food supply chain. President Obama’s budget
blueprint for fiscal 2016 calls for significantly cutting the
bureaucratic overlap, a move supported by consumer safety groups and the
Congressional Budget Office. Each agency contributes unique expertise to the system, he said. Normally, it would be rare to hear an executive
support a large, complicated network of overlapping agencies versus a
more simple system. But then again, Monsanto has done just fine under
the status quo. The company, based in suburban St. Louis, generated
about $16 billion in annual sales last year, mostly on the strength of
its portfolio of products that genetically enhance crops like corn and
soybeans to increase yields and resist pests and diseases. More importantly, U.S. regulators use “decision making that’s science based,” Fraley said. The distinction is important to Fraley and Monsanto.
The company has fostered the use of genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) on farms around the world since the 1990s. Consequently, Monsanto
is public enemy No. 1 for critics who say such “Frankenfoods” are
unsafe for consumers and bad for the environment. As a food and agriculture reporter in St. Louis in
the early 2000s, I witnessed firsthand the controversy, which has ranged
from spirited debate to outright hysteria. More than a decade later, not much has changed. Some state lawmakers
want to require food manufacturers to label foods made from GMOs, though
Fraley has previously expressed support
for a national system to label GMO-free foods. In any case, GMOs are
well established in the American food supply, and that’s unlikely to
change even if Obama consolidates food regulation. No matter how wild
the conspiracy theories. For example, activists recently accused the federal
government of conspiring with Monsanto to — and I’m not making this up —
create the severe drought in California. READ MORE
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/veterans/2015/01/27/persian-gulf-war-illness-nerve-agent-pills/22363913/ A small research study at Baylor University has identified a genetic
difference between veterans who developed symptoms of Gulf War illness
after deploying to that 1990-91 conflict and those who deployed but
didn't get sick. The finding — touted as the first "direct
evidence" that genetic factors may contribute to a veteran's risk for
Gulf War illness — links the use of anti-nerve agent pills and troops'
genetic makeup. Baylor University Institute of
Biomedical Studies researcher Lea Steele and others examined the genetic
profile of 304 Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm veterans,
including 144 former troops who had Gulf War illness symptoms and 160
who did not. The scientists found that veterans with a gene
variant that complicates their bodies' efforts to metabolize chemicals
in anti-nerve agent pills — pyridostigmine bromide, or PB — were up to
40 times more likely to have Gulf War illness symptoms than those who
took the pills or were exposed but had a different gene variant. Steele
said the findings are preliminary but point to a physical reason why as
many as one in four troops who deployed to the region fell ill while
others came through fine. "Scientists have long thought this might
be because of some genetic interaction. We know different people break
down toxicants differently based on their genotypes," Steele said. Researchers looked at genetic variants that "program"
a body to break down certain chemicals found in PB, Sarin nerve gas and
some pesticides. In high doses, these toxins can be fatal, but
anti-nerve agents such as PB contain low levels of these chemicals,
which bind with nerve receptors to shield an individual from the effects
of a nerve agent. The research found that those with a less
active genetic variant for the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase were more
likely to have Gulf War illness symptoms. READ MORE
Here’s why that should concern every consumer out there, especially parents of young children.
In a statement, the VA confirmed a February meeting between former Fort McClellan veterans and government officials.
According to Green America, one of the greatest concerns surrounding
disposable diapers is in regards to their creation, not their disposal.
Have you ever noticed the oddly gel-like feeling of a full disposable
diaper? What you're feeling is sodium polyacrylate crystals. Sodium
polyacrylate is capable of holding up to 300 times its weight in water,
which seems like it would be a good thing except for the fact that
absolutely no studies have been conducted to establish whether sodium
polyacrylate is dangerous to children when absorbed through the skin.
Given that it is also used in tampon manufacturing and some believe it
is a factor in Toxic Shock Syndrome, it is a definite cause for concern.
Fifty years since the first major American combat unit was deployed to
Vietnam, the lethal legacies of war still haunt generations of civilians
in that country. Special correspondent Mike Cerre, who served in that
conflict, reports from Danang about some Americans who have returned in
hopes of making a difference.
"
a body to break down certain chemicals found in PB, Sarin nerve gas and
some pesticides. In high doses, these toxins can be fatal, but
anti-nerve agents such as PB contain low levels of these chemicals,
which bind with nerve receptors to shield an individual from the effects
of a nerve agent.