Author: Jon Merz
Date: 02-19-04 22:06
Source: Washington Post
URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56062-2004Feb19.html
Date published: February 19th 2004
Pesticide Testing on Humans Is Ethical, Science Panel Says
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 20, 2004; Page A03
It is ethical to test pesticides and pollutants on human volunteers in order to determine whether environmental safety standards can be lowered, a top panel of scientists said yesterday in an opinion that is expected to strongly influence government policy.
Many scientists and ethicists have argued that such research is never justified, and yesterday's unprecedented verdict by the National Academy of Sciences took environmentalists by surprise.
The pesticide industry has vehemently supported such tests for years, arguing that current regulatory limits on exposure to environmental toxins are overly cautious. Manufacturers of pesticides and companies that produce pollutants say human studies will demonstrate that higher levels of toxins in the air and water are not harmful.
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