The people who have been studied carefully are those who are still working  and who are very fit. "The people who are not fit, who have had to give up work because of exposure to OPs, have not been properly studied. In that sense, this report is still inconclusive."

Subject:   The COT Report------------
 Date:  Sat, 27 Nov 1999 11:10:17 -0500
From:     Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To:     Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>

Lyndon, I thought you might like to read something on OP's from the BBC's Home page:  The BBC's Margaret Gilmore reports "Within months he was fighting for his life" -- COT Committee chairman Professor Frank Woods "There is sufficient evidence to change the way OPs are used" --Paul Tyler, All Party Organophosphates Group "The NHS failure to monitor OP effects is a scandal"  --  Friday, 26 November, 1999, 17:34 GMT  Jury out on sheep dip --  OP dip: "more research needed".

A government committee has concluded there is not enough evidence to prove organophosphate (OP) sheep dip has caused serious medical problems to people exposed to it at low levels.

However, the experts acknowledge an urgent need for more research into the impact of the chemicals (POISONS) - particularly on those who may have some genetic predisposition to suffer from OP poisoning.

They also accept that OPs can cause brain damage at high levels, and that controls on their use may be advisable.

Farmers exposed to the chemicals claim OPs cause chronic fatigue, memory loss and aching limbs.

(Lyndon, if "they" need more "research" maybe they should expose the "experts" to the same doses of OP poisons the farmers received to see if any of  "them" also react the same way - if some of "them" get poisoned maybe "they" will conclude there is enough "evidence" then.)

 They have been campaigning for years to have the illness recognised, and for compensation for those whose health they say has been damaged.

A report by two psychiatrists published this summer found that farmers were 10,000 times more likely to suffer from mental disorders if exposed to OPs.

The claims have been studied by the Committee of Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT). Its report was published on Friday.

The committee (How many were poison producers?) concludes that the "balance of evidence" does not support the theory that prolonged or repeated low-level exposure to OPs can cause nerve damage or significant neuropsychological effects. If such effects do occur, the report concludes, they must be relatively uncommon.

However, committee chairman Professor  Frank Woods said: "There are sufficient  indications in the science we looked at to change the way in which the compounds (POISONS) are used."

The Veterinary Products Committee, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Committee on Safety of Medicines are now preparing advice on the implications of the COT report.

Junior agriculture minister Baroness Hayman said the government took concerns over OPs "very seriously" and would respond to the expert advice as  soon as possible.

Ban needed - Liberal Democrat MP Paul Tyler, chairman of the All Party Organophosphates Group, said the report contained nothing to suggest OPs were safe, and called for a total ban.

He told the BBC: "The people who have been studied carefully are those who are still working  and who are very fit. "The people who are not fit, who have had to give up work because of exposure to OPs, have not been properly studied. In that sense, this report is still inconclusive.

"The government should do everything it can to try and find equally effective pesticides for use on sheep."

The National Farmers' Union issued a statement welcoming the call for new research as a "step forward". The statement said: "OP based dips have a vital animal welfare role to play in the  control of diseases like sheep scab for which there are currently no alternatives available which are equally effective and do not have an environmental impact. (They have not seen my safe, non-polluting and far more effective sheep dip alternatives yet - do you think "they" will also say my unregistered alternatives are "illegal" too?)

"This is a serious problem for the farmers who are affected and the NFU is committed to raising farmer awareness about the potential dangers."

OPs were first recognised in 1854, but their general toxicity was not established until the 1930s.

Tetraethyl pyrophosphate (TEPP), the first OP insecticide (POISON), was developed in Germany during World War Two as a by-product of  nerve gas development. The report can be found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_537000/537549.stm

Well Lyndon, the real point of all this is not even if your "registered" pesticides poisons are really DANGEROUS UNTESTED POISONS but, that there are many safe, far more effective alternatives that can be used instead, that cost less and do not cause any contamination and "possible" health effects.  When will any of these unregistered, safe alternatives be "legal" (in your opinion) to be used to replace your questionable "registered" POISONS?

Respectfully,  Stephen L. Tvedten
 
 

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