Victims of life-threatening diseases think there is 'an invisible killer' in Carpinteria

...today, millions of Americans work and live in environments full of dangerous contaminants.

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Victims of life-threatening diseases think there is 'an invisible killer' in Carpinteria

by Gary A. Schlueter

The severe health problems that an increasing number of Carpinterians are reporting could be the result of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), according to Robin Wood, a woman who has been suffering some kind of hidden disease for years. Wood moved from Carpinteria last year in order to get away from what she feels is its unhealthy environment.

Michael Roberts who wrote a paper on MCS called it a "socially disruptive disease." MCS is defined by multiple symptoms affecting multiple organs, such as the nose, eyes, lungs, and central nervous system. These attacks wax and wane in response to various chemical exposures "at what a healthy person would consider a tolerant level," Roberts reported.

He said MCS usually starts with a chronic or acute exposure to one of more toxins like pesticides and then low-level exposures trigger similar symptoms.

"The life of a person living with MCS can be a life full of suspicion, fear and loneliness," Roberts reported. "Their suspicion is that every person will not believe them. In addition, they feel that every time they try to explain their disability they will be thought of as a crank, loon, or worse yet, mentally unstable. The fear they feel is very real and very powerful."

Without specifically mentioning Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco announced on May 2 the release of a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report on federal and state efforts to collect and use data on human exposure to toxins in our environment.

"Everyone has the right to live in an environment free of deadly pollutants and toxic waste, and every child has a right to be born free of exposure to toxic chemicals," Congresswoman Pelosi said in announcing the report's findings. "But today, millions of Americans work and live in environments full of dangerous contaminants." GAO found the two federal agencies whose job is to insure the public's health, the Environmental Protection Agency and Health and Human Services are failing their public trust. "Of the over 1400 toxic chemicals that GAO reviewed, only 6 percent are currently being measured in HHS and EPS's surveys conducted to measure and monitor human exposure to chemicals. For example, these efforts include only 7 percent of the chemicals that are known to be or thought to be cancer causing." 

For a 25-year Carpinteria resident who lives on Jay Street, this failure to protect the public is more than words in a government report. His wife recently had her bladder removed due to cancer. She came down with bladder cancer between one and two years ago, he said. In his search to find a cause he is looking into several potential sources. "It is definitely something out of the air," he said. "Not only are we dealing with pesticides (as potential carcinogens) but what they're putting in the gasoline."

He was speaking of MTBE, the additive which is known to be a health risk and is suspected of causing cancer. "There are three people along Cameo who have cancer," he said. "And that's right along the freeway." The Jay Street resident is also concerned about what the city's Parks and Recreation Department is spraying on park grasses. "I know the city has lowered the amount of chemicals they spray, but what happens when they mix one chemical with another. No one knows what effect that might have, and there are little kids who are playing on the grass," he said. According to public health officials who testified at the hearing about this GAO report data about how environmental toxins affect children are sorely lacking. "Children have been data orphans," according to the director of the National Center for Environmental Health Dr. Richard Jackson.

The report suggests addressing the problem of lack of data in a new way, something called "biomonitoring." "Public health experts have stated that for some chemicals and purposes, it is more useful to determine human exposure to toxics by measuring the actual levels of chemicals found in human tissues," the GAO summarized. It said, "Biomonitoring can reduce the uncertainties that are associated with estimating human exposure based on external measurements." The Jay Street resident would like the city council to take a leading role in seeing that Carpinteria's air quality is tested. But for people like his wife who have already come down with cancer or people like Robin Wood who feels she has MCS ,this testing, whether by a local agency, the state or the federal government, is already too late. "I know from my own research that we could be dealing with a multitude of culprits," Wood said. "I do not believe that any one thing is causing these illnesses in people, and from what I hear, there are many who say 'pesticides.' There are also those who clearly have injuries from petroleum products."

But she is not trying to blame any suspected source for these contaminants.

"Finger pointing is not our intention," she said. "We simply want it known that there is an invisible killer in Carpinteria. We want the suffering to stop."

Since her move, Wood has seen a marked improvement in her health. "One of the biggest changes that I have felt since moving from Carpinteria is the fact that I have my ability to think again, to process thoughts. My brain is not in a fog," she said. "I was getting so bad at the end of my living in Carpinteria . . . I never want to feel like that again.

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