human as guiea pigs for pestisides and nuclear energy

I got this as an email.

------- Original Message --------
Subject: U.S. PIRG : Should Americans be Guinea Pigs in Pesticide Experiments?
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 15:40:37 -0500
From: Gene Karpinski, U.S. PIRG Executive Director <GeneK@uspirg.org>
To: xxxx

Hi Dar,

The Bush administration has lifted a ban on testing pesticides on humans and has been allowing these tests to go forward in the last several months. They're even considering a proposal to allow testing on pregnant women and newborn infants.

The Senate is going to vote this week on a proposal to bar pesticide tests on humans - but this proposal is facing stiff opposition from the chemical industry, which is willing to continue subjecting children to these tests.

Please take a moment to ask your senators to end pesticide testing on humans. Then forward this email on to three parents and ask them to take action to protect their kids' health.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=1100&id4=ES

I also have a big victory to report - just a few hours after emailing you last week and asking you to call your senators opposing subsidies for new nuclear power plants in a global warming bill, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to reject the bill! Your emails and calls made a big difference - Senators Barbara Boxer (CA), Russ Feingold (WI), Tom Harkin (IA), and Tim Dayton (MN), all previous supporters of a nuclear-free version of the bill, withdrew their support and deserve our thanks. Afterwards, one of the bills co-sponsors said he would have to reconsider the bill's nuclear subsidies before offering it again.


Background

Even in the last year, chemical companies - with Bush administration approval - have tested toxic chemicals on humans.

In December, 2004, 127 students at the University of San Diego participated in a study where they were exposed to chloropicrin, a highly hazardous insecticide that is also an active ingredient in tear gas.

One set of students in this study were placed in a chamber for up to one hour on four consecutive days with the vaporized toxic chemical. Another set had this chemical released directly into their nostrils and eyes.

To make matters worse, the experiment's stated purpose didn't line up with its methods. The company researchers said they were trying to find out how much of a warning agent they had to add to the chemical so that people could smell it - something that could be accomplished with a quick sniff test, not repeated exposure over hours. Ultimately, the company used the test instead to support their efforts to get a license to continue marketing the pesticide.

The Senate is going to vote this week on a proposal to bar pesticide tests on humans - but it's facing stiff opposition from the chemical industry. Please take a moment to ask your senators to end pesticide testing on humans. Then forward this email on to three parents and ask them to take action to protect their kids' health.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=1100&id4=ES

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org