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NEW REPORT LINKING TOXICS TO 180 DISEASES
WILL BE USED AS LOBBYING TOOL
By Amy Lambiaso
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
amy.lambiaso@statehousenews.com
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 14, 2004...Toxic
chemicals found throughout
homes, schools, businesses and in the environment are increasingly
associated with more than 180 human diseases, according to a report
released on Wednesday.
The report, "Chemical Contaminants and Human
Disease: A Summary of evidence," produced by the Alliance
for a Healthy Tomorrow, links incidences of cancers and other diseases
to pesticides, manganese, mercury, aluminum, tobacco smoke, asbestos,
and lead. It was compiled by three Collaborative for Health and
the Environment member doctors – Sarah Janssen, Gina Solomon,
and Ted Schettler – who summarized peer-reviewed studies from
major textbooks and medical literature reviews. According to the
report's authors, the main causes of diseases are a combination
of genetics, environment, alcohol use, exercise, smoking, and UV
exposure, but exposure to such toxins is often a contributing or
triggering factor.
"These are everyday exposures," said
Julia Brody, executive director of the Silent Spring Institute,
a non-profit scientific research organization. "I know many
of these titles will challenge your spellcheckers, but these are
in our homes."
At a press conference, alliance members told personal
stories to kick off a day of lobbying lawmakers for passage of three
bills: H.4642, directing the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI)
to analyze the ten worst chemicals in the state and develop safe
alternatives; H.4639, requiring the manufacturers of products containing
mercury to be responsible for recycling and disposing of them, and
H.2966, preventing schools, hospitals and health care facilities
from using cleaning products not listed on the "Healthy Cleaning
Products" list to be created by the state Department of Public Health.
All three proposals received favorable recommendations
from legislative
committees earlier this year.
"This is already a remarkable success story,"
said Rep. Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington), lead sponsor of the safer alternatives
bill. Kaufman said that not enacting the legislation will cost the
state between $1 billion and $1.5 billion a year in additional health
care costs and missed savings.
"That number will get
people's attention, even if your heartfelt stories
don't."
The report was discounted by business leaders, who
say the same chemicals have life-saving capabilities when used as
protection against cathode rays on computer screens, and in certain
medications. "These are extreme examples of everything,"
said Robert Rio, vice president for environmental programs at Associated
Industries of Massachusetts. "To take the extreme position
and assume that every one of these chemicals is going to cause a
disease, or cancer, is a pretty extreme position to have. I think
the committees fell for the rhetoric."
The report is available at
www.protectingourhealth.org.
www.statehousenews.com
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