Comments:
"Trade Secrets":
The Latest in a Long Line of Conspiracies charges Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.
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Vinyl Chloride Releases & Falsified Documents reporting those releases
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 14:49:52 EDT
From: MedEvacPiIot@aol.com
As an employee of 16 years in a PVC plant, I have seen
1st hand the releases of Vinyl Chloride and the documents reporting those
releases falsified. I exposed my
employers environmental practices to the Dept. of Environmental Quality only
to find out that they were not very interested in what I had to say. I had
much more than my word to offer them, to include nearly 13,000 documents
subpoenaed from my employer, as well as nearly 40 depositions from my
"Wrongful Termination" lawsuit which I filed as a result of my
termination for having "Blown the Whistle."
The P. E. L. (Permissible
Exposure Limit) as set by O. S. H. A. is
1 part per million, my fellow workers and I were routinely exposed to 20,000
times that amount during the required "Open Lid Loss" procedure.
This procedure was performed approx. 120 times per month, at which time
the Vinyl Chloride was evacuated from the reactors by way of a venting system
into the atmosphere. When the
reactors were opened, by law, readings measuring the residual Vinyl Chloride
in the reactor are required to be taken and reported to governmental agencies.
No matter what the meter read, the readings were recorded as 0 (zero), and the
Vinyl in the reactor was then
vented with a fan system to the atmosphere. So I say to those who think that
the dangers from Vinyl Chloride are a thing of the past, or that the
procedures used today as compared to years ago eliminate the publics exposure,
YOU ARE LIVING IN A DREAM WORLD. Many
chemical manufacturers are as irresponsible today as they have ever been.
I am including below, 2 links to reports done by the local CBS TV
affiliate that cite some of the testimony of the employees as well as some of
the company responses to these allegations.
This should clearly show that to this day the company is attempting to
use the "Bart Simpson Defense" of We didn't do it, Nobody saw it,
You can't prove a thing. Well, I have news for them, They DID do it, I DID see
it, and I CAN and WILL prove it ALL.
Plant Employees Admit to Releasing Vinyl Chloride in Air:http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?s=346884
Georgia Gulf Responds to Reports: http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?s=348078
Our research group has had some bad experiences as to our published data on
carcinogenicity from phenoxy herbicides and dioxins (including the Agent Orange chemicals). Monsanto manipulated our data before the Australian Royal
Commission on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam. For more details see: Hardell L, Eriksson M, Axelson O. Agent
Orange in war medicine: an aftermath myth. Int J Health Services 1998;28:715-724.
Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD
Professor
I fully agree.
One of the major traumas of my budding medical carreer 25 years ago was to have
had a beautiful little girl as a patient of about 11 or 12 who was dying of aplastic anemia.
In those days we didnt even dream of bone marrow transplant.
It transpired that her father had sprayed a bush with insecticide in her presence.
Of course it's not certain but highly suggestive that that was the cause of her demise.
His daughter dead because of a cosmetic application of a toxic chemical on account of a few
caterpillars or aphids.
AJ
Sorry, but I don't agree.
As worker in the chlorine/VCM industry, I have some
comment on this broadcast.
A large part of the story is about the carcinogenity of
VCM, base product for PVC. What was shown were "Trade Secrets" of
30-40 years ago. Everything that has to be known about VCM is known since then
and all measures were taken to reduce the exposure of workers since 1975. I
don't know of any liver cancer case for any worker who started work after
measures were taken. So there is no ongoing cover-up since then by anybody.
Much attention was on the case of Dan Ross, who died of a
rare form of brain cancer, not from angiosarcoma (a rare form of liver
cancer), which is the only confirmed link between VCM and cancer. The IARC
(part of the WHO) made a study of more than 12,000 VCM workers in Europe, they
didn't find a link between VCM and brain cancer (or other cancers besides
angiosarcoma).
We live now in 2001, not in 1970 anymore... As we don't
have any intention for suicide, all my colleagues and I are watching the
chlorine, ethene/EDC and VCM monitors closely. If there is a leak, that is
immediately repaired. If necessary, the factory is shut down, no matter what
that costs, even automatically (which is part of my job). What is released
today in VCM/PVC factories is less than 1 mg/m3 of VCM at the workplace (while
5 mg/m3 assures us of a less than 1:100,000 cancer risk in a working
lifetime). The "danger" for the general public, living in the
neighbourhood, is as high as the danger from exhaust fumes of one heavy diesel
truck passing at the same distance...
To make a comparison: Some 200 workers died worldwide by
angiosarcoma from inhaling VCM in large amounts before 1975. That is less than
the number of workers who died in the Piper Alpha oil drilling rig near
Scotland. In the foregoing years, there were no victims of VCM in Germany
anymore, but every year 30-40 new cases of cancer from inhaling (oak and
beech) wood dust at saw mills can be counted there...
I don't know with what intention this broadcast was done,
it didn't uncover cases which were not known before, it didn't give any
insight of what was done to prevent such diseases, nor what the chemical
industry does today (willingly or under pressure of their own workers or
governments). Be it that several points were brought in by the industries
representative in the panel discussion after the broadcast. See: http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/transcript.html
In my opinion, this kind of broadcast is as negative as
accusing the today's generation of Germans for all the sins of the last world
war...
In any case, I am proud to work for a chlorine/VCM
factory, one of the first to obtain the ISO 14002 certificate for
environmental performance in The Netherlands.
Sincerely,
Ferdinand Engelbeen
Chairman Chlorophiles
(A group of now 2,000 workers in chlorine/PVC factories, funded by selling T-shirts at $ 10,-)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Ferdinand Engelbeen
Chairman Chlorophiles
Oude Ertbrandstraat 12
B-2940 Stabroek
Belgium
Tel. +32-3-605.38.14
Fax +32-3-605.43.96
E-mail ferdinand.engelbeen@pandora.be
Website Chlorophiles: http://www.ping.be/chlorophiles/
BLESS MR MOYERS AND THOSE WHO MADE THE TRUTH KNOWN
AS one who has been MORE than average
in the CHEMICAL BODY LOAD of the secret ingredients in SILICONE
IMPLANTS --and one who has communicated with thousands of women and children
and men who have become victims of the giant chemical companys and the power
to not tell you what is happening to you health --I AM SO GREATFULL FOR THE
STORY ---WE HAVE HAD ALL THOSE TRICKS AND SECRETS USED AGAINST US--AND WHEN WE
THOUGHT THE GOVERNMENT WAS PROTECTING US WE FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY WHO WAS IN
CONTROL ---we could not tell the drs. the chemicals that were in our systems
cause the companys were allowed to hide them with CODE NAMES even to the FDA
and DRS.---we knew thru some court cases that we had vinyl chloride and
platinum and toulene and ethyl oxide and others --but we had no help in the
medical field --they followed the MONEY AND POWER --and left us sick and
helpless ---who do we turn to when the government --the doctors ==the
legal persons ---the media and the science and judges
ALL FOLLOW THE COMPANYS
AND THE MONEY TRAIL AND LEAVE US ALONE AND
SICK AND WITHOUT INFORMATION OR HELP TO TURN TO WHEN WE LOSE OUR HEALTH
AND FUTURE AND OUR FAMILYS AND TAXPAYERS PICK UP THE TAB FOR THE CLEVER
COMPANYS WHO EVADE RESPONSIBILTY WITH
SUCH A MASSIVE COVER-UP --IT JUST BOGGLES THE MIND THAT IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY
WE HAVE BECOME SO ABUSED AND TREATED LIKE NO MORE THAN
HUMAN LAB RATS THAT GET NO CONSIDERATION
OR COMMON DECENCY IN OUR TREATMEN BY PERSON ONLY INTERESTED IN THE CORPORATE
BOTTOM LINE AND STOCKHOLDERS WHO THRIVE ON BLOODMONEY OF FAMILYS LEFT IN THE
WAKE OF THE KILLING CHEMICALS ----IS THIS WORLD GOING TO WAKE UP ??
WE ARE WORLD WIDE --THE WOMEN THE CHILDREN THEY NURSED AND CARRIED
WHILE THE TOXIC CHEMICALS MIGRATED THRU THE BODY --THE MEN AND THE PENILE
IMPLANTS AND THE HARD SILICONE JOINTS AND IMPLANTS THAT ATE THE BONE AND MADE
A DISASTER OF THE HUMAN BODY ---ALL THOSE WORLDWIDE PERSONS WERE TESTED AS
LABRATS WITH NO CONSIDERATION OF THE OUTCOME AND CRIMINAL ACTIONS IT
CAUSED==IT IS THE WORST OF CRIMINAL ACTIONS--PEOPLE DIED --LIVES WERE RUINED
WITH NOT A WHIM OF CONCERN BY THE HUGE COMPANYS --IS THAT NOT MURDER ?? IS
THAT NOT PERSONAL ATTACK AND ABUSE ??? WE MUST HAVE THE GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATE AND STOP THIS
TRAVESTY BEFORE THE WORLD IS LOST IN THE POWER OF THE CHEMICAL AND DRUG
INDUSTRY (LEGAL AND ILLEGAL) THE PEOPLE MUST HAVE THEIR LIVES AND THE POWER
OVER THEIR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THE NEXT GENERATION
UNDER CONTROL --NO PERSON OR COMPANY CAN HAVE CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES
LIKE HAS BEEN ALLOWED =====ITS GONE TOO FAR AND TOO MANY INNOCENT VICTIMS HAVE
PAID THE PRICE --STOP THIS INSANITY AND LET US LIVE IN PEACE AND CONFIDENCE
THAT A HIDDEN KILLER IS NOT LURKING IN OUR BODIES WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE
---WE DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT IS IN THE AIR --THE WATER ---THE PRODUCT WE USE AND
THE PRODUCTS THAT ARE PUT INTO OUR BODIES BY THE DRS. -----PLEASE CAROLINE
BROMM
To all those concerned,
Keep fighting for the truth to be aired and known , as you all are fighting
for your future generations.
Nature is meant to be dealt with natural solutions, and not sythetic
chemicals which is poisonous and have long term efects on humans.
Keep upp the good work, all u there and don't forget to ask for divine
support in this noble cause.
Concerned Brother from Sunny Malaysia
Some have said that they were shocked, appalled, etc., ad
nauseam, that Bill Moyers' story was "unbalanced," and "told
only one side of the story." This
to me is incredible...after 50 years of the brainwashing we have been getting
by chemical companies through their advertising! We have a long way to go
before we have achieved anything like "equal time."
Bill Moyers has started to tell the "other side of the
story." It is 50 years late, but then lots of us have trusted the
government and the corporations to be responsible.
(Well, some of us started catching on with the Viet Nam War...)
It is like shining a light in a huge dark corner where
the devil has been doing his dirty business, revealing that dirty business to
the light of day, holding it up for scrutiny and evaluation, and having the
devil protest, "But you haven't heard MY side of the story!"
Who needs to? Some
of us haven't had our brains eaten out yet.
Some of us are able to look at evil and recognize it for exactly what
it is. A lie is a lie.
And there they were, by the tons, all those documents...and the public
record. Though this has political
implications, catching someone in a lie isn't, per se, "politics."
When a person of integrity engages in an honest search for the truth
and finds it, that's what it is. The
political ramifications will come down later...oh, boy, will they ever.
Just thanks to everyone responsible for bringing that
program to light. We are getting a new generation of heroes, including Rachel
Carson, Jan Schlichtmann ("A Civil Action"), Erin Brockovich, and
now Bill Moyers. The people who keep squawking "That was 40 years
ago!" are missing the point of that two-hour program. That was a particular incident very well documented and very
well worth investigating. But if
they think it isn't going on everywhere with virtually all the rest of the
people in that industry and related industries, they have their heads firmly
encased in PVC.
I live in a small city, Lompoc, where a diatomaceous
earth mining and processing facility shut down two and a half years ago.
The workers there were getting silicosis, and some were dying from it.
We also are surrounded by agricultural fields, including many new
vineyards, and these fields are sprayed over and over and over again during
the course of a growing season. Recent
state tests have shown pesticide drift residues on monitor filters in the very
center of our city. The state
Department of Pesticide Regulation has fiddled around and fiddled around for
years, finding one excuse and then another to keep from doing the monitoring,
delaying releasing the results, lying about the results, being forced to
retract the lies and doing so in a whisper, and telling us again and again why
we can't prove that pesticides have anything to do with the 85% higher rates
of respiratory disease in Lompoc (more than the rest of Santa Barbara county
and five other similar coastal counties) and 37% higher lung cancer rates.
Why should we have to prove it? Their
own stingy little studies have proven we are breathing pesticides in this
town.
The burden of proof of the safety of these products
should be on the manufacturers. Some
think environmentalists are out to "get" the farmers.
We are not. We know the
farmers have been duped about these products right along with everyone else.
What we really need to look at is the amount of money these
manufacturers have contributed to our political campaigns--most recently, Gov.
Gray Davis' campaign. If he really wants to do something for education in this
state, which is his alleged big issue, than he needs to do something about the
substances that are poisoning our children's brains and giving them epidemic
numbers of learning disabilities and neurological disorders.
In 1971, I had a conversation with Roy Carver, Pupil
Personnel Director of Laguna Salada School District in Pacifica, San Mateo
county. Both of my young sons had
been diagnosed as hyperactive, attention deficit disorder, neurologically
handicapped, poor fine motor coordination, poor gross motor coordination, poor
hand-eye coordination, learning disabled.
My daughter had similar problems, though less severe.
He told me then that they were estimating from 20%-40% of all the
children in school, mostly boys, had these problems.
I feel very sure that was some of the reason for the energy being put
into the "alternative school" movement of the time.
Our sons were being treated horribly at school.
"Bad boys," they called them; "at risk." And the schools were blaming the parents, just as the parents
are still being blamed today.
Enough already! We
need to take our country back from the corporations, put a stop to corporate
purchase of politicians, and if need be, rewrite the Constitution to make our
separate states independent nations, joined in a Federation.
The country is simply unmanageably big to work as a democracy.
When we can have an election as blatantly rigged as this last
Presidential election was, we have lost it.
They got away with it, and I don't see anything happening to prevent it
from happening again.
Keep up your excellent work, and pray "They"
don't figure out a way to jinx our only means of networking effectively
through the 'Net.
Sincerely,
Lauren J. Sullivan