Quote:
Originally Posted by CoombellKid
Lee,
They may not be spraying yet, but as they state "The Bush Administration
will soon announce a repeal of the Clinton-era rules against testing pesticides
on humans." it wont be far away.
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Rob
I don't know what that means, and I doubt whether you do either. Most new chemical additives and pesticides are tested on animals, and if they are found not to be toxic, are then tested on humans to detect any adverse reactions. This is the usual protocol before general release for sale. I suspect the rules around this are extensive, and probably subject to revision in the light of experience.
There will always be a balance between minimising the cost of testing and allowing potentially harmful products onto the market, or making the testing so rigourous that it is uneconomic to develop new products.
This is NOT an easy equation for policy makers. The desperate scramble for non-yet-fully-tested new drugs by terminal patients is an example. The patients are desperate and demanding, and the industry and researchers are reluctant for early release of potentially harmful, lethal and possibly useless medication.
Similarily the availability of pecticides/herbicides/insecticides etc is a balance between efficacy and potential harm. I can't see the problem with determining the level of harm amongst kids exposed to (presumably already available on the market) insecticide products.
Hey, I use Mortein too.
A final note. Both Australia and the USA are free democratic societies. You don't have to be "sprayed" by the govermmint. You can choose not to use these products.
There is nothing I can read in that article that indicates that kids are being used as guinea pigs - either with or without their parents consent. That would be unethical. Probably illegal, as it is a from of child abuse.