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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/business/energy-environment/dow-weed-killer-runs-into-opposition.html?_r=1
By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: April 25, 2012
To Jody Herr, it was a telltale sign that one of his tomato fields had been poisoned by 2,4-D, the powerful herbicide that was an ingredient in Agent Orange, the Vietnam War defoliant.
Farmers in Kasbeer, Ill., with Monsanto’s Roundup, a popular herbicide that some say has been used too often to control weeds.
“The leaves had curled and the plants were kind of twisting rather than growing straight,” Mr. Herr said of the 2009 incident on his vegetable farm in Lowell, http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifInd. He is convinced the chemical, as well as another herbicide called dicamba, had wafted through the air from farms nearhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifly two miles away.
Mr. Herr recalled the incident because he is concerned that the Dow Chemical company is on the verge of winning regulatory approval for corn that is genetically engineered to be immune to 2,4-D, allowing farmers to spray the chemical to kill weeds without harming the corn stalks.
That would be a welcome development for corn farmers like Brooks Hurst of Tarkio, Mo., who are coping with runaway weeds that can no longer be controlled by Roundup, the herbicide of choice for the last decade.
READ MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/business/energy-environment/dow-weed-killer-runs-into-opposition.html?_r=1
http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/6501
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — New research from UC Davis and Washington State Univhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifersity shows that PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, launch a cellular chain of events that leads to an overabundance of dendrites — the filament-like projections that conduct electrochemical signals between neurons — and disrupts normal patterns of neuronal connections in the brain.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
"Dendrite growth and branching during early development is a finely orchestrahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifted process, and the presence of certain PCBs confuses the conductor of that process," said Pamela Lein, a developmental neurobiologist and professor of molecular biosciences in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "Impaired neuronal connectivity is a common feature of a number of conditions, including autism spectrum disorders."
Reported today in two related studies in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the findings underscore the developing brain's vulnerability to environmental exposures and demonstrate how PCBs could add to autism risk.
Source: University of California - Davis Health System
READ MORE: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/6501
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002603513
Tell the USDA to Keep Agent Orange Corn Off Your Plate
By Food Democracy Now
Source: Food Democracy NowTuesday, April 24, 2012
The first generation of biotech crops has failed. And failed badly.
In the last year alone, new studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-engineered Bt insecticide corn has not only created a new breed superbugs tolerant of the plant’s genetically engineered insecticide, but that those Bt toxins have also been found in the blood of 93 percent of woman and 80 percent of fetal blood samples in a Canadian study, despite Monsanto's claims that this was not be possible.
At the same time, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soybeans and their flagship herbicide have been linked to an increase in crop disease and livestock infertility. If that weren't enough, the excessive use of Roundup has led to the rampant rise of superweeds, which have grown tolerant to the herbicide and have infested millions of acres of farmland, threatening the livelihoods of America’s farmers.
Now, Dow Chemical is petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the approval of a new genetically engineered “Agent Orange” corn that tolerates the extremely toxic chemical herbicide 2,4-D, a major component of the Vietnam War era defoliant Agent Orange.
Numerous studies have linked exposure to 2,4-D to major health problems that include cancer (particularly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), lowered sperm counts, liver disease and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, dozens of peer-reviewed studies have found the use of 2,4-D to contribute to hormone-disrupting activity linked to reproductive problems and thyroid dysfunction.
READ MORE:
http://www.zcommunications.org/tell-the-usda-to-keep-agent-orange-corn-off-your-plate-by-food-democracy-now
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/04/22/hearing-targets-report-on-carcinogens/Dow, one of the manufactures of Agent Orange, invited to Congressional hearing.
(WASHINGTION, DC) – The Report on Carcinogens (ROC) is a congressionally mandated, science-based, public health report that identifies agents, substances, mixtures, or exposures in the environment that put people at increased risk for cancer.
Published biennially, each edition of the report is cumulative and consists of substances newly reviewed in addition to those listed in previous editions. The latest edition was published on June 10, 2011. The 13th ROC is under development.
Most Americans concerned about the health effects of environmental exposures and the increased risk of cancer would no doubt agree that the ROC is worthy effort to fund.
The ROC is not in the same category as the ‘bridge to nowhere’ or funding for the sexual life of bees. This is a serious scientific report that identifies environmental exposures that increase our risk of cancer.
The House of Representatives Small Business Subcommittee on Healthcare & Technology hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25th. The subject is: “How the Report on Carcinogens Uses Science to Meet its Statutory Obligations and its Impact on Small business Jobs.”
Given the high unemployment rate and the small business engine that generates jobs, something that impacts small business jobs would naturally be of interest to Congress. But, targeting a scientific report that identifies environmental carcinogens is beyond the pale.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause social, communication, and behavioral challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 1 in 88 children in the U.S. has an ASD.
While there are no proven cures for autism spectrum disorders, research has shown that early treatment can greatly reduce symptoms and increase a child's ability to grow and learn new skills.
Autism Awareness Month helps to increase knowledge and understanding about ASDs. Here are just a few resources to help you learn more about autism spectrum disorders:
Common Signs of ASD
Early Intervention and Types of Treatment
Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/04/21/2809366/garbage-chemical-taints-water.html#storylink=misearch
Memo shows Dow knew TCP was useless but used it anyway.
by Mark Grossi, Fresno Bee
A 1974 memo from Dow Chemical describes several chemicals in a widely used farm fumigant as "garbage." Today, one of those useless chemicals threatens drinking water for more than 1 million people across the San Joaquin Valley.
Now linked to cancer, the toxin was waste from a plastic-making process. Chemical companies often mix such leftovers to create other products to avoid the cost of disposal, says one long-time chemical engineer.
The fumigant manufacturers, Dow and Shell Oil Co., discovered decades ago that 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or TCP, was not effective against worms called nematodes, according to documents in lawsuits filed by a dozen Valley cities against the companies. But they apparently left it in a fumigant anyway.
"TCP was a hazardous waste, not a pesticide," said lawyer Todd Robins, who represents several Valley cities and water agencies. "It did nothing for farmers, but Shell and Dow knowingly used their fumigants as a way to dispose of it."
A Dow representative disputes the lawyer's statement, saying TCP never was intentionally put into the fumigant, called Telone. Nor did the company http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifintentionally allow TCP to remain in the fumigant, he said.
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/04/21/2809366/garbage-chemical-taints-water.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
http://www.umass.edu/umpress/title/agent-orange
Edwin A. Martini
Taking on what one former U.S. ambassador called “the last ghost of the Vietnam War,” this book examines the far-reaching impact of Agent Orange, the most infamous of the dioxin-contaminated herbicides used by American forces in Southeast Asia. Edwin A. Martini’s aim is not simply to reconstruct the history of the “chemical war” but to investigate the ongoing controversy over the short- and long-term effects of weaponized defoliants on the environment of Vietnam, on the civilian population, and on the troops who fought on both sides.
Beginning in the early 1960s, when Agent Orange was first deployed in Vietnam, Martini follows the story across geographical and disciplinary boundaries, looking for answers to a host of still unresolved questions. What did chemical manufacturers and American policymakers know about the effects of dioxin on human beings, and when did they know it? How much do scientists and doctors know even today? Should the use of Agent Orange be considered a form of chemical warfare? What can, and should, be done for U.S. veterans, Vietnamese victims, and others around the world who believe they have medical problems caused by Agent Orange?
Martini draws on military records, government reports, scientific research, visits to contaminated sites, and interviews to disentangle conflicting claims and evaluate often ambiguous evidence. He shows that the impact of Agent Orange has been global in its reach affecting individuals and communities in New Zealand, Australia, Korea, and Canada as well as Vietnam and the United States. Yet for all the answers it provides, this book also reveals how much uncertainty—scientific, medical, legal, and political—continues to surround the legacy of Agent Orange.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2012
No. 12-08
Contact: Mokie Porter
301-996-0901
Vietnam Veterans of America Applauds VA Decision To Hire More Mental Health Professionals
(Washington, D.C.) “We salute VA Secretary Shinseki for taking action to hire 1,600 new mental health clinicians to move toward better meeting the needs of veterans of every generation,” said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America, in response to the announcement that he has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to immediately hire an additional 1,600 mental-health professionals and 300 administrative support staff at VA Medical Centers around the country.
“It is very important that the Secretary ensure these clinicians are properly oriented to the needs of veterans, particularly those with combat-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma,” Rowan said. “The ongoing medical education of the VA staff is critical to their effectiveness in the treatment and care for veterans suffering from neuropsychiatric wounds.
“The VA must ensure that all clinicians are trained in the best evidence-based medicine for accurate diagnosis and assessment of PTSD, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science in a series of studies commissioned in 2006 and 2007 by the VA. It does no good to move toward a proper a level of staffing if the VA does not follow the best recommended medical procedures for accurate diagnoses and assessments of PTSD,” noted Rowan. (To read the IOM studies, go to: http://iom.edu/Reports/2006/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder-Diagnosis-and-Assessment.aspx .
When asked over the last six years why the VA is not doing the proper psychological testing to accurately diagnose PTSD, Veterans Health Administration officials at VA headquarters responded that it is “too expensive.” Local clinicians at VA medical centers have responded to the same question by noting that they do not have enough staff to do the proper testing. VVA contends that this failure is jeopardizing the recovery of veterans. Effective treatment is dependent upon an accurate and complete diagnosis.
“If we do not do the proper diagnosis of PTSD because it is ‘too expensive,’ what’s next as a cost-saving measure?” Rowan asked. “It can be argued that, without an accurate diagnosis and assessment, it is hit-or-miss as to whether the mental-health clinicians are then applying the proper treatment modalities for PTSD for the individual veteran. One size does not fit all.”
Said Rowan, “VVA will continue to work with Secretary Shinseki, with the VA’s mental health leadership, and with our allies in Congress to ensure that veterans receive the best available treatment for PTSD and MST.”
http://www.eaglevalleynews.com/news/147951375.html
By Lachlan Labere - Eagle Valley News
Published: April 18, 2012 10:00 AM
Updated: April 18, 2012 10:43 AM
Larry Heal believes he has been suffering the effects of exposure to industrial herbicides used in the province during in the 1960's and ’70s.
In 1964, the U.S. military was already two years into its herbicidal warfare program known as Operation Ranch Hand, spraying millions of acres of the Vietnamese landscape with defoliating chemical agents referred to as the rainbow herbicides: Agents Pink, Green, Blue, White, Purple and Orange.
Heal, who currently resides in Malakwa, says he was exposed to similar chemicals during his childhood in Cherryville, and that he has been suffering ailments of one kind or another ever since. He found some relief this month, though, with the release of a CTV news exposé, in which the news organization purports to have “several hundred pages of documents” that support the story Heal has been telling for years: herbicide combinations that comprise Agent Orange and other rainbow herbicides were used by the B.C. government around power lines near his family home in Cherryville.
READ MORE: http://www.eaglevalleynews.com/news/147951375.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/pressure-to-reduce-va-disability-claims-may-cause-more-delays-advocates-warn/2012/04/18/gIQABF6ART_blog.html
By Steve Vogel
With the Department of Veterans Affairs facing a growing backlog of more than 900,000 disability claims, advocates for veterans warned Wednesday that pressure by the VA to reduce the numbers will increase the number of mistakes it makes.
The number of pending claims before the VA stood at 903,000 this week, up 50,000 from January and an increase of about one-half million from three years ago, numbers driven by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with complex injuries, and a policy change making it easier for Vietnam veterans to file Agent Orange-related claims.
“The tidal wave of claims coming in on VA is putting unprecedented demand on VA,” Paul Sullivan, representing the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee at a hearing on the disability claims process.
“When VA focuses attention on expediting new claims, VA exacerbates the already bad situation by increasing the error rate, leading to even more appeals and even longer delays,” Sullivan added.
READ MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/pressure-to-reduce-va-disability-claims-may-cause-more-delays-advocates-warn/2012/04/18/gIQABF6ART_blog.html
