GET HELP TRASYLOL HEART ATTACK, STROKE & KIDNEY DAMAGE VIAGRA BLINDESS ZYPREXA SETTLEMENT BEXTRA RECALL VIOXX Please BOOKMARK this site for future reference and be sure to visit our articles, resources and brochure pages. The Consumer Law Page is regularly updated and is published by Alexander Hawes, LLP, a law firm leading the legal profession in serving the public, consumers and small businesses, individually and in class actions, in cases in which corporate abuse, fraud, defective products and toxic chemicals have caused personal injuries or damage to property. This site, along with its affiliate site, Alexander Hawes, LLP, averages thousands of visits per month. Thank you for your positive response. |
| The Consumer Law Page: Articles: |
Pesticides and Lymphoma
Cancer of the white blood cells, most commonly diagnosed as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, accounts for 90% of all lymphomas. It is the second most common cancer in the U.S.
Closely associated with lymphoma are are chlorinated organic solvents, including chlorophenols, dioxins, PCBs, DDT, and the phenoxy herbicides," e.g. 2,4,5-T, and 2,4-D which are popular weed killers sold as Weed-B-Gone, Weedone, Miracle, Demise, Lawn-Keep, Raid Weed, Killer, Plantgard, Hormotox, and and Ded-Weed.
Of 99 human studies, 75 indicate a significant connection between exposure to pesticides and lymphomas. Twenty-four show no relationship. One study of pet dogs indicates that exposure to 2,4-D, doubles a dog's chances of cancer.
While the carcinogenicity of these products is not scientifically established, limiting exposure to pesticides makes good sense.
The question is not whether these products cause cancer, but why has the EPA allowed the public to be placed at risk by chemicals that have not been proven safe?
The available evidence strongly indicates that people occupationally exposed to pesticides are more likely than non-exposed or less-exposed people to suffer an excess of lymphoma.
Several studies conclude that parents who use pesticides are more likely to raise children with an excess of lymphoma.
Chlorophenol pesticides, atrazine and glyphosate are statistically linked to lymphoma.
Atrazine is used on 96% of the U.S. corn crop each year. It is found in drinking water in the Midwest during the growing season and has been strongly linked to birth defects in the children of midwestern farmers.
Glyphosate is sold as Roundup, Rodeo, Touchdown, Rattler, Sting, and Pondmaster, among other trademarked names.
Roundup is sold by Monsanto Corporation in conjunction with its genetically engineering food crops. Monsanto also sells "Roundup ready" seeds for corn, soybeans, and cotton; wheat will be next. These seeds are genetically engineered to withstand exposure to Roundup, which kills weeds without killing the plant, but which increases the amount of residual Roundup consumed by people. To make "Roundup ready" seeds legal, the EPA had to triple the allowable amount of glyphosate residues on food crops.
EPA obviously has sided with industry over the public. When an activity raises threats of harm to human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.
This concept, known as the precautionary principle, is not new or unique. The laws of many states, including California, provide that whenever it is foreseeable that someone "might" be injured, the failure to take precautions is negligence.
Here the evidence is more than sufficient that people "might" be harmed by exposure to these pesticides.
For more information see Susan Osburn, Research report: Do Pesticides Cause Lymphoma? Available by U.S. mail from Lymphoma Foundation of America, P.O. Box 15335, Chevy Chase, MD 20825. Tel. (202) 223-6181. ISBN 0-9705127-0-8. Also available at: http://www.lymphomahelp.org/docs/research/researchreport/rr_2000.pdf.
2001
Richard Alexander is a specialist in personal injury litigation with 30 years in-depth experience. Emphasizing working relationships with clients has led to an exceptional record of success. He has served as a member of the Board of Governors of The State Bar of California, President of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and the Board of Governors of Consumer Attorneys of California. He is a founding member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and heads Alexander Hawes, LLP.
Alexander Hawes, LLP is a California law firm that specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, and financial losses caused by negligence, defective products, toxic chemicals, corporate misconduct or insurance fraud on behalf of consumers, small investors, injured workers and small businesses. In addition to individual cases the firm prosecutes class actions for large groups of individuals who have suffered financial loss as a result of corporate fraud, defective consumer products, and environmental pollution. The firm holds Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating and is recognized in the List of Preeminent Law Firms in the U. S.
Press here for a free consultation.
Press here to return to The Articles Page.
Press here to return to The Consumer Law Page.
Press here to return to Alexander Hawes, LLP Homepage.
"The Consumer Law
Page" is a trademark of Alexander Hawes, LLP and
Alexander Hawes, LLP. Please read our Disclaimer.
Copyright 1994-2007, Alexander Hawes, LLP