Subject: Re: The ban on CFCs and conspiracy theories
From: Leonard Evens
Date: Thu, 07 Nov 1996 09:12:56 -0600
Don Baccus wrote:
>
> In article <32814019.1215F689@math.nwu.edu>,
> Leonard Evens wrote:
>
> >It was my suggestion that
> >something similar happened in connection with CFCs and chemical
> >companies. This is not a bizarre off the wall theory I dreamt up one
> >night but the conventional wisdom as best I can determine.
>
> And, indeed it fits a world view which assumes corporations work in
> their own self-interest, which includes attacking research or data
> which threatens their bottom line. That same self-interest, though,
> makes it likely that they'll accept overwhelming scientific consensus.
> At worst (if you wish to assume they have no sense of conscience at all,
> which I don't) acceptance leads to a quicker competitive reaction in
> the marketplace (by the development of alternatives) than denial, when
> an industry is not monopolized. I think this line of thought works
> for many industries, and those where it fails include special cases
> like the tobacco industry where addiction aids the marketer.
>
> >This is
> >not very surprising, and it doesn't really explain why they opposed any
> >action up to one point and then switched.
>
> If the science behind CFCs was really bad, and a ban unwarranted, such
> a switch would be exceedingly risky, in business terms. They'd risk
> losing credibility in their business at large, if it could be shown they'd
> ignored science in a crude attempt to capitalize on an environmental scare.
> DuPont sells many, many different kinds of chemicals, and if they were
> caught out being so blatantly loose with science in their self-interest,
> they'd be harmed in many fields.
>
> It reminds me of the DDT scenario, where the manufacturer claimed stridenty)
> (as Mike does today) that it was harmless, until the sciencific evidence
> was too overwhelming to ignore.
>
> > The usual explanation, as
> >mentioned above, is that as a chemical company they were convinced by
> >their own chemists of the validity of the science.
>
> And, as a company, are bright enough to realize that a science-based
> corporate endeavor abandons science with real risk to the long-term
> viability of the entity.
> --
>
> - Don Baccus, Portland OR
> Nature photos, site guides, and other goodies at:
> http://www.xxxpdx.com/~dhogaza
Mostly all I can say in response is `ditto, ditto'. But let me add
that there are those one the far left who consider corporations the
source of all evil. Corporations are mostly morally neutral but can be
expected to promote their own interests, which may not be those of
society as a whole. Hence, we need checks on their considerable power.
The exact balance and where those checks should be is what much of
politics in the last century in this country has been about. But more
basically, corporations are one aspect of human social organization and
one way our species impacts on the biosphere. But the human species
was affecting the biosphere in significant ways, including destroying
whole species, long before there were any corporations. Hence, looking
for devils and angels is not an appropriate way for our species to
respond to the problems which face us. Human beings are capable of both
altruism and the pursuit of self interest. That is the way we
function, and our societies can probably not function without both.
But we will need a bit more altruism if we are to solve the
environmental problems ahead, and how to attain it is not clear. In the
end we may fail, but I am not ready to give up yet.
--
Leonard Evens len@math.nwu.edu 491-5537
Department of Mathematics, Norwthwestern University
Evanston Illinois
Subject: A Great Offer of a Geographic Information System
From: nac@zap.io.org (The International NAC Society)
Date: 7 Nov 1996 11:08:48 -0500
===============================================================================
| |
| Great News! |
| |
| You can buy a US$999 GIS with only US$39 before Nov. 20, 1996! |
| |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Contents |
| |
| Introduction |
| Major features |
| Discount information |
| Order information |
===============================================================================
Introduction
NAC Geographic Products Inc. has developed a geographic information system
called NACGIS Version 2.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT, which has
implemented the great invention: the Natural Area Coding System. Based on
the Natural Area Coding System, NACGIS has introduced a ten-character
Universal Geographic Identity for every geographic object in the world. No
matter what size it is. Every geographic object in the world from a
continent to a parking meter can be statistically uniquely identified by its
Universal Geographic Identity (UGID).
Major features:
1. Automatic assignment of UGID's to all geographic objects.
2. Automatic links between a graphic object in the map file and its
associated document in the document database. You can use both text
searching and mouse clicking on the graphic object to retrieve the
document for reading and editing.
3 Supports transparency which allows you draw transparent graphic objects
with all pictures underneath shown in a mixed color.
4. Graphics editor's features:
a) Drawing tools:
NACGIS Version 2.0 procides two sets of drawing tools:
i) Mouse direct drafting on the screen with your specified default
line color, line type, line thickness, brush color, brush
pattern, font type, font size, font color, layer number, etc.
ii) Graphic object set-up dialog boxes to create accurate pictures.
The dialog boxs allow you input exact coordinates for polyline
nodes and polygon vertices and layer number, text escapement
angle, layer number, specify whether it is a polyline or smooth
curve and a polygon or an area, whether it is transparent, and
set up pen, brush and font parameters. You can insert or delete
nodes or vertices at any location of a polyline or a polygon.
A polyline, polygon, simple picture or a group picture can be
converted to each other by simply clicking a botton on the dialog
boxes.
NACGIS Version 2.0 can draw polylines, curves, polygons, areas, simple
pictures (ractangle, circle, ellipse, regular polygons, stars, etc.),
text objects, bitmap objects and group pictures (from an art gallery
database).
b) Manipulation tools:
NACGIS Version 2.0 provides the following graphic objects manipulation
tools:
i) Mouse and arrow keys direct draging and resizing
ii) Manipulation dialog box which allows you move an graphic object or
a group of graphic objects a specified distance or to a specified
location, exactly stretch it in x- and/or y-directions, rotate it
a specified angle arround a specified pivot, and mirror it in x-
and/or y-directions with a specified symetric center.
iii) Alignment dialog box which allows you align a group of graphic
objects to the left, center, right, top, middle, bottom.
iv) Group objects tool which allows you to create group pictures (only
one set of a group picture's data will be stored in the memory
but can be shown in as many places as you want, which will greatly
simplify your drawing and save memory). Once the group picture is
created, you can also add it to the art gallery database of the
software for later use.
v) Delete, Erase All, Undo, Cut, Copy and Paste tools
vi) Grid generator which can automatically generate the appropriate
level of the NAC grids.
5. Map viewing tools
NACGIS Version 2.0 provides the following map viewing tools:
i) Theme layers dialog box allows you select the visible layers for
the current map. It can store 120 different theme layers.
ii) Zoom In and Zoom Out tools allows you zoom in as many time as you
want and zoom back to the origanal picture.
iii) Split panes of a winow, multiple windows of a document and
multiple windows of multiple documents. NACGIS Version 2.0 allows
you to view different parts of a map in different panes or
windows, view different scales in different panes, and
compare different maps in different windows.
iv) Display of the cursor's coordinates in Longitude/Latitude, UTM and
NAC simultaneously on the status bar of the frame window.
v) Coordinate systems
NACGIS Version 2.0 supports three types of coordinate systems:
Longitude/Latitude system, UTM system and user-defined system.
You can import a map file in one coordinate system and export it
in another system (Longitude/Latitude <=> UTM).
vi) Window setting
You can set the scroll window size, window background color, the
coordinates of the top left corner of the window and suitable
scale to create the best view for the map.
6. Document editor's features
NACGIS Version 2.0 also provides a powerful document editor which allows
you to read and edit the attached document of a graphic object. The
attached document is named by the UGID of a geographic object, which can
cantain text contents with all kinds of fonts, font styles, sizes and
colors, bitmaps, and all other objects created by OLE servers such as
Excel Charts and Worksheets.
7. Help file
NACGIS Version 2.0 provides a powerful help system which has the
following features:
i) Context help
Whenever you need help for a dialog or a menu command, you can get
the help topic immediately by pressing F1. You can also press the
button with an arrow and a question mark on the toolbar and the
move the cursor to the item about which you need help and
click the left button of the mouse to get the help topic.
ii) Tooltips
NACGIS Version 2.0 provides tooltips for all menu commands and
buttons. When you move the cursor to a toolbar button, you will
see a yellow box with simple help text beside the cursor and a
bit more detail help text on the status bar of the frame window.
iii) Topics, index and word search
NACGIS Version 2.0 allows you to search help content by topics,
index and simply a word.
8. Print, print preview and printer set-up
NACGIS Version 2.0 provides you all the useful features for print, print
preview and printer set-up. It allows you print black/while or color
map, and a large map into small pieces which can be connected together
to get a large map. You can also print any part of a map if you set the
window size, the coordinates of the top left corner of the window and the
appropriate scale of the map.
9. Support of file types
NACGIS Version 2.0 mainly support its own map document files with the
extension ".nac". However, it can import and export three types of text
files: lists of polyline nodes coordinates, lists of polygon vertices
coordinates and lists of text objects (text contents, insert point
coordinates and escapement angle). In the future vertions, we will add
dxf files. NAC Geographic Products Inc. also provides you various map
documents at good prices.
Discount information
NAC Geographic Products Inc. would like to offer you a special discounted
price for the license of using NACGIS Version 2.0. The standard price for
the license for a single person using NACGIS Version 2.0 in one computer is
US$999. If you are using the software at home for non-business purposes,
you can get 50% discount. Once you have bought one license of the software,
you will get a 80% discount for the license for a future version of the same
sfotware. There is a special discount price now. If you buy the license
before November 20, 1996, you need to pay only US$39 + US$5 shipping fee
( + 7% GST if in you are in Canada). After then, the price will rise
everyday (about US$5.3 a day) until it reaches US$999.
Ordering information
You can order the license by sending us the international money order
(or a check if you are in Canada) or tell us the information of the VISA
credit card (Credit card number, holder's name, expiration date and issuing
bank name). The price is determined by the date you send out your order.
If you use credit card, you can also order it through Email, fax or phone.
Please include the exact name, company, address, phone, fax, email for each
licesee because the name and address will be embedded into the software.
Our address is
NAC Geographic Products Inc.
509-50 Stephanie Street
Toronto, ON M5T 1B3
Canada
NAC: 8CHK Q87P
Phone and fax: (416) 979 9306
Email: nac@io.org
Web: http://www.io.org
If you are doing land planning, NACGIS will be your great assistant!
If you are working on transportation, NACGIS will be your first assistant!
If you are managing natural resources, NACGIS will provide you the convenience!
If you are working on environment protection, NACGIS will be your power tool!
If you are doing marketing, NACGIS will give you extra hands, eyes and ears!
If you are managing real estate, NACGIS will let you get rid of tedious work!
If you like fishing, NACGIS will help you record the best fishing spots!
If you are a bird watcher, NACGIS will tell you where birds live and move to!
If you are learning geography, NACGIS will be your helpful teaching assistant!
Subject: Threat to climate data
From: rmichael@nwu.edu (Bob Michaelson)
Date: 7 Nov 1996 16:13:21 GMT
_Nature_ reports in its October 24, 1996 issue (page 653) on an issue of
concern to anyone who depends on large observational databases. The
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) could well establish new
copyright laws that would present barriers to access of these databases.
The following is exerpted from the Nature article. This article, written by
Colin Macilwain, is also available at the _Nature_ web site
(http://www.america.nature.com/) -- access to the site is free but
users do need to register.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Researchers across the world could lose access to important
databanks under new database copyright rules being considered by the
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), scientific leaders in the
United States warned last week.
The critics say that, in order to use data under the proposed rules,
astronomers, climatologists, oceanographers and others who rely on free
access to large observational databases would have to seek permission and
perhaps to pay. The proposed rules are said to have originated in Europe
and have already been endorsed by the US Department of Commerce.
But US government lawyers say that the concerns are misplaced. According
to one of them, Keith Kupferschmid of the US Patent and Trademark Office
(PTO), scientists will get free access to data anyway under the proposed
law, because their using it will not do "substantial harm" to the commercial
interests of the database compiler.
Leaders of the US scientific establishment have written to Michael Kantor,
secretary of commerce, criticizing the proposed new rules. They want the
United States to withdraw its support and to prevent their endorsement at a
planned WIPO meeting in Geneva in December.
In the letter, Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences,
William Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering, and
Kenneth Shine, of the Institute of Medicine, say that the proposed changes
would "significantly inhibit researchers seeking to reuse and combine data for
publication or for research".
The changes were endorsed by the commerce department "without any
debate or analysis of the law's potentially harmful implications" for science
and technology, the letter says. It points out that, although the unintended
consequences appear "very grave", no effort was made to consult the
scientific community.
The proposals would assign the copyright on the contents of a database to
whoever compiled it, require users to ask for permission to use the contents,
and set up a basis for payment for use. Critics say that the law would apply
to all privately generated datasets, as well as to public datasets from
countries that wished to restrict access.
Climate scientists are particularly worried that cash-strapped weather
services in some countries could use the rule to extract fees from researchers
who need access to their weather records. According to John Barton of the
law school at Stanford University, the privatization of satellite and other
data-gathering operations will place an increasing quantity of vital data in
the hands of organizations that will be inclined to use the new law to charge
scientists for access. "The entire community ought to be very upset about
this," says Wulf.
Stephen Berry, a chemist at the University of Chicago, attacks the proposal
for failing to include any "fair use" provision of the type that currently
allows free use of documents and databases for research. In the worst
scenario, he says, the proposal would allow a commercial database compiler to
"co-opt" publicly accessible data and claim copyright on it.
[material deleded]
Colin Macilwain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Davud Lide, a chemical physicist formerly with the National Institute of
Standards and Technology and now Editor-in-Chief of the _CRC Handbook of
Chemistry and Physics_ and of several other major reference sources posted
a message on the listserv CHMINF-L on November 1 saying that:
>This is a serious issue which the scientific information community should
>follow closely. The PTO will hold an open meetin on Nov. 12 and has asked
>for written comments by Nov. 22 (see Federal Register, Oct. 17, Vol. 61,
>No, 202, p. 54159). Whetever the merits of the proposed WIPO treaty, it
>seems clear that more time shoud be allowed to get input from all interested
>parties.
Bob Michaelson
rmichael@nwu.edu
Subject: Re: Major problem with climate predictions, WARNING: LONG BORING POST
From: mfriesel@ix.netcom.com
Date: Thu, 07 Nov 1996 10:16:51 -0700
Harold Brashears wrote:
>
> Price fixing is most readily accomplished by a government, or at the
> least with the connivance and help of a government. I cannot recall
> any price fixing which lasted without government support, can you?
I note:
Actually, the above assertion seems to require some clarification.
What industry has existed in a society lacking a government? If an
industry in a society with a government fixes prices, it must be
allowed to do so by the government. Government support for price
fixing may take two forms, in the extreme: Preventing other interests
from interfering, and not interfering itself with the industry.
Harold continues (see original for context):
>
> Who do you define as "free marketers"? An intelligent business
> executive, working for a large firm, does generally prefer a >stronger,
> more intrusive government, which he may then influence to his
> advantage. Frequently done by reducing foreign competition with
> tariffs and domestic competition with regulation. This is a part of
> the reason big business gave so much money to Democrats, since they
> believe Democrats are more likely to prefer a larger, more intrusive
> government.
I note:
Big business certainly gave money to Democrats and to Republicans, the
amount depending in part depending on who they think will have the
political muscle although neither is left out in the cold. What
business wants out of government is a tool to accomplish business'
ends. It wants control of the government to keep government from
interfering in the busness's profitable activities while using the
government to create more opportunities for profitable activities.
Businesses want a government that is intrusive in the affairs of the
their competition and which will eliminate roadblocks to business
expansion, but also that does not intrude in the businesses internal
affairs.
Harold continues:
>
> There are probably quite a few "free marketers", as you define the
> term, but many, if not most, will ask for government regulation and
> protection when threatened. Did you think they were different than
> everyone else?
I note:
Not a bit. That's why I think your analysis is somewhat...incorrect.
He continues:
>
> But to compare them to the communists who only professed to want
> communism is probably not an accurate representation of either. It
> demeans the suffering of the oppressed people in the communist world,
> and exxagerates the sin of the "free marketers".
I note:
It's important to look beyond the labels we typically use to
categorize various social organizations of note. One-party government
is a one-party government whether we're talking about the old USSR or
the modern US, although this example is for illustration only. Slave
labor and indentured servitude is the same thing whether practiced by
agrarian institutions under the Roman Caesar or the pre-civil war US,
whether by industrial institutions in imperial Japan and the USSR, or
US coal mine interests or Nike. It is the behavior of the
institutions, not the labels we attach to them, that is important.
Harold continues:
>
> How would you conceive of this happening without a strong government
> to enforce it? I think the primary function of a government in a free
> society is the encouragement of competition, not price fixing.
I respond:
By maintaining a weak government unable to counter it, but having the
power to control those who would oppose it. The purpose of government
in a free society it would seem is to take that path which is most
effective in establishing and maintaining the welfare of the general
public, welfare including the maximum amount of personal freedom
consistent with the achievement of prioritized social objectives.
Harold continues:
>
> I find it hard to conceive of a nongovernmental (not protected by
> government or a part of government) which has, as its source of income
> (profits), the "destitution of other people", with the exception of
> tort attorneys or other government parasites. A private enterprise
> functions best by the production of wealth. A free market functions
> as the protection of the consumer.
I reply:
An unregulated 'free market' hardly protects anyone. Creating demand
is a major part of any strategy of an established industry, while
responding to demand via new industry incorporates inevitable delays.
Don't think this is more than the tip of the iceberg, it is not.
Subject: Re: Major problem with climate predictions
From: bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de (Bruce Scott TOK )
Date: 7 Nov 1996 19:01:12 GMT
A couple of minor points...
Michael Tobis (tobis@scram.ssec.wisc.edu) wrote:
: Bruce Scott TOK (bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de) wrote:
: : Adam Ierymenko (api@axiom.access.one.net) wrote:
: : : The ozone hypothesis and global warming are both highly politically charged
: : : issues. There is a lot of ideology mixed up in the debate. There are quite
: : : a few who *want* these things to be true in order to push a certain ideology,
: : : and there are a lot of others who don't *want* them to be true in order to
: : : push a different ideology.
: : Maybe you can give specific examples. The above does not describe any
: : research environment I've ever seen.
: Of course it doesn't, but it does describe some organizations that are quite
: willing to put on white coats and pretend to be research institutions. The
: question as to how the lay public is to make the distinction is not a trivial
: one.
Exactly this is what the corporate PR machines have learned how to
exploit. The young tobacco researchers who thought they were supposed
to find the truth and then report it found out way too late what was
expected of them.
One way to learn about these things is to follow the money. Does a
"scientific" organisation get all its money from intrested business, and
does it publish most of its findings in trade journals?
If so, it is probably a PR front. But most people don't know anything
about this. Just a few years ago I didn't either and I probably would
have sounded a lot like Mr Asher in these arguments. One thing which
woke me up was the flap about how some of the initial climatology
findings were being manuipulated by the Bush administration. I only
knew about it because the scientist who wrote a major report to the
Government at the time called "foul" in the Americal Geophysical Union's
weekly news journal (EOS, 1988 or 1989; I couldn't possibly find it
now). I knew enough about the science of climate, if not the details,
to learn what was going on. But without a specific example like that I
might not have woke up, either.
: Furthermore, while this is rare among the disciplines you might recognize
: to be sciences, political motivation is certainly not unheard of historically
: in scientific disciplines, nor is it absent in many contemporary faculties
: that have some scientific pretensions, notably in the social sciences
: such as some sociology faculties on the one hand and some economics faculties
: on the other.
Economics is especially abominating to me. There _are_ economists who
understand well what the mathematics of limited resources are (I got a
text from one the last time I visited the US), but these aren't the
people you see on your TV screen. I wonder why? :-)
Same goes for demography and the historical examples of the impact of
growing numbers on a culture's surroundings and technological base.
When CNN does a report on Easter Island and its past you don't hear
anything about the holocaust which engulfed it in the 17th and 18th
Centuries, not to mention the relevant lessons.
: Most challenging of all is the classification of ecologists on this scale.
: Ecologists tend to feel the permanent loss of biological information with
: a particular keenness, which is to be expected. The ones I have met do not
: feel compelled to separate their descriptive tasks as scientists and their
: prescriptive tasks as citizens. I think this is unfortunate.
The problem is that it takes a lot of effort to sit in the middle. You
get shat on from both sides. Many people find themselves unappreciated,
and then pick a side.
: On the other hand, we have nuclear engineers, whose self-interest may
: or may not color their evaluation of the risks of the systems they design.
: It's far from clear who is to evaluate their evaluations.
The problem with an industry like that is that it is so specific and
therefore so narrow. There aren't many people who deeply train in such
a field without wanting to be there and further it in the first place.
There is a certain selection process -- part of it is quite intangible
but you can feel it nonetheless. I've seen that happening even during
short at visits to Los Alamos. The atmosphere of the place selects for
people who want to be there doing what the lab does, with no
reservations.
: While these questions can be overdrawn (and have been so quite severely
: in the case of stratospheric ozone chemistry, and probably only slightly less
: severely in climate science) I think it is a real mistake to trivialize
: the question of how knowledge is acquired by science and conveyed to
: society. Aside from a small discussion by C.P.Snow that's becoming quite
: ancient now focussing on the British development of radar in WWII
: (Snow, Charles Percy, _Science and Government_ -- Cambridge,
: Harvard University Press, 1961) I don't know of anyone who's given the
: matter the level of consideration it deserves.
Well, there is a growing number of serious treatments of the effects of
industry's PR in both obfuscating the issues and in directly damaging
the reputation of science in the public eye. I'm lapping it up, not
least because I am really tired of taking blame in certain circles for
what the Capitalists do in our name.
a good place to start reading:
_Toxic Sludge is Good for You_ by J Stauber and S Rampton
Common Courage Press, 1995
http://www.coolbooks.com/~outpost/pubs/comco/toxic.html
--
Mach's gut!
Bruce Scott, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de
Remember John Hron: http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/h/hron-john/
Subject: Re: Major problem with climate predictions
From: "Mike Asher"
Date: 7 Nov 1996 19:43:56 GMT
Andrew Taylor wrote:
> Mike Asher wrote:
> >Paul Ehrlich is a fraud and a charlatan... One of my favorite Ehrlich
> >predictions is the one claiming US population would shrink to 22 million
by
> >1999 (that's three years from now). Of course, that was after he
predicted
> >the starvation of 3 billion people worldwide by 1980. And isn't he the
one
> >who also predicted that residual DDT (whether or not we stopped use)
would
> >kill all the algae in the sea, and deprive us of 40% of our oxygen?
>
> I'd like references for these claims....
>
> The Population Bomb certainly does not contain a prediction of the
> starvation of 3 billion people by 1980 or the US population shrinking
> to 22 million
"The Population Bomb", written in 1968, predicted only the death of a few
hundred million. I quote from my copy:
"The battle to feed humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo
famines. Hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in
spite of any crash program embarked upon now."
This turned out to be wrong, but he persisted. He predicted a another
global famine in 1985. After that failed to materialize, he predicted the
population of the US will shring to about 22.5 million before 1999, due to
famine and global warming. He predicted killer smogs in Los Angeles,
perpetual oil shortages and rising sea levels swamping cities in the 1980s.
Ehrlich has also said on numerous occasions that he advocates the reduction
of population by force, and the the US has had too much ecomic growth. His
program includes the following proposals:
- Institution of the Chinese Communist system of compulsory abortion.
- The abandonment of 'polluting labor-saving devices'.
- The cessation of business air travel.
- The rich and intelligent should not propagate, as they promote
overproduction.
- Tax breaks for people that have themselves sterilized.
Erhlich's inaccurate prophecies are numerous. In 1968 he said: "My
examination of the trend of India's grain production over the last eighteen
years leads me to the conclusion that the present 1967-1968 production...is
at a maximum level." By 1992 it had increased it 112%. . In 1988, he
predicted a drop in world grain production, and was again proven wrong. He
forecast that, by 1984, the U.S. will "quite literally, be drying up", due
to severe water shortages. Again wrong. Erlich acknowledges his mistakes,
but says he is only wrong on the time scale.
Ehrlich's mistakes have been somewhat costly. In 1990, Professor Simon, a
longtime debunker of Ehrlich's claims, received payment on a $1000 bet made
with Mr. Ehrlich a decade earlier, in which Mr. Simon took the position
that strategic minerals would become cheaper, not exorbitantly expensive as
Ehrlich claimed
It appears that Ehrlich is moderating in his old age, however. His most
recent lecture series at Stanford contains only the prediction that a
billion people "could" die before 2020. Why does Ehrlich, a butterfly
specialist, consider himself an expert on these matters. His own words are
illuminating for the fallacies they contain:
"...one studies butterflies as an experimental system to help us understand
the world and the way people fit into the world....The evolution and
ecology of butterflies and of people just sort of naturally go together
because it's the same system. We're all subject to exactly the same laws."
References
Holdren, ]. P., and P. R. Ehrlich. 1974. Human population and the global
environment. Am. Sci. 62:282-292.
Ehrlich, P. R., and H. A. Mooney. 1983. Extinction, substitution, and
ecosystem services. BioScience 33(4):248-254.
Ehrlich, P. R. 1986. The Machinery of Nature. Simon and Schuster.
Daily, G.C. and P.R. Ehrlich. "Population, sustainability, and Earth's
carrying capacity: a framework for estimating population sizes and
lifestyles that could be sustained without undermining future generations."
BioScience 42: 761-71.
Meffe, G. K., A. H. Ehrlich, et al. (1993). "Human population control: The
missing agenda," Conservation Biology 7(1): 1-3.
--
Mike Asher
masher@tusc.net
"Giving society cheap, abundant energy ... would be the equivalent of
giving an idiot child a machine gun."
-Paul Ehrlich, ``An Ecologist's Perspective on Nuclear Power'', May/June
1978 issue of Federation of American Scientists Public Issue Report
Subject: Re: Environmentalists responsibility for human deaths (was Re: Major problem with climate predictions )
From: "Mike Asher"
Date: 7 Nov 1996 18:46:12 GMT
gdy52150@prairie.lakes.com wrote:
>
> some facts that you have deliberitly chose not to use.At the time of
> the ban in the US DDT was a known carcinogentic, tumorigentic,and
> teragentic. In addtion today it is also a known endocrine blocker,
> these toxins will be the next large battle and in all likelyhood be as
> large a problem as ozone depletion or global warming.
Sorry to disturb you with the facts, but I've posted (yet again) a list of
study results on the human results of DDT. They are unanimous: DDT in
expected doses, or even far-larger-than expected doses is harmless.
A summary of the 19 research studies quoted below is:
- Humans exposed to large, longterm doses have had little
or no symptoms.
- DDT has not been shown to be a human carcinogen.
- DDT does not cause chromosomal damage
- DDT does not cause liver damage
- Dermal irritation from DDT is minor and presents no health risks
One study noted a possible increase in one lung cancer, but made no
determination as the study group was exposed to other contributory factors.
Note that the OSHA guidelines list DDT as class B2, a probable human
carcinogen. This is given to any substance that has been shown to have
a positive carcinogenic profile in any other animal species.
===== BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGES =====
DERMAL EXPOSURE ... HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH NO ILLNESS & USUALLY NO
IRRITATION. ... EVEN SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION OF COLLOIDAL SUSPENSIONS OF
DDT IN SALINE SOLUTION UP TO 30 PPM CAUSED NO IRRITATION. ... ONE STUDY
REPORTED THAT DDT-IMPREGNATED CLOTHING CAUSED A SLIGHT, TRANSIENT
DERMATITIS, BUT THE METHOD OF IMPREGNATION WAS NOT STATED & THE ABSENCE
OF SOLVENT WAS NOT GUARANTEED. OTHER MORE THOROUGH STUDIES OF
DDT-IMPREGNATED CLOTHING HAVE FOUND IT NONIRRITATING. (HAYES, WAYLAND J.,
JR. PESTICIDES STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON: WILLIAMS AND WILKINS,
1982. 198)
Virtually all fatalities reported in the literature have resulted from ...
intentional ingestion of DDT in various toxic solvents. The toxicity of
these solutions is greater than that of either DDT or the solvent alone.
(DREISBACH, R.H. HANDBOOK OF POISONING. 12TH ED. NORWALK, CT: APPLETON
AND LANGE, 1987. 99)
... THERE IS NO DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE THAT DIETARY ABSORPTION OF DDT, ALONE
OR IN COMBINATION WITH INSECTICIDES OF ALDRIN-TOXAPHENE GROUP, HAS CAUSED
CANCER IN GENERAL POPULATION. NO EVIDENCE ... PRESENTED THAT DDT HAS
CAUSED CANCER AMONG MILLIONS OF INDIVIDUALS (ALMOST ENTIRELY MEN) WHO
HAVE BEEN OCCUPATIONALLY ENGAGED FOR AS LONG AS 35 YEARS IN MFR &
HANDLING OR SPRAYING ... DDT (AS DUST, SOLN & SUSPENSION) IN ALL PARTS
OF WORLD & UNDER ALL POSSIBLE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. (CLAYTON, G. D. AND F.
E. CLAYTON (EDS.). PATTY'S INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE AND TOXICOLOGY: VOLUME 2A,
2B, 2C: TOXICOLOGY. 3RD ED. NEW YORK: JOHN WILEY SONS, 1981-1982. 3697)
The peripheral lymphocytes of workers occupationally exposed to DDT were
examined and no increase in chromosomal aberrations was observed when
compared to an unexposed cohort. In one small group of severely exposed
workers, a small increase in chromatid aberrations was found. In general,
a positive correlation was observed between DDT levels in the plasma and
time of exposure. However, there was no relationship between the plasma
level of DDT and the frequency of chromosomal aberrations. (RABELLO MN ET
AL; MUTAT RES 28: 449-54 (1979))
HYPERSENSITIVITIES, SUCH AS DERMATITIS, ANAPHYLAXIS, & FATAL
PERIARTERITIS NODOSA & APLASTIC ANEMIA, HAVE BEEN REPORTED, BUT THEY ARE
RARE. WHETHER DDT OR OTHER INGREDIENTS IN COMMERCIAL MIXT HAVE BEEN
RESPONSIBLE HAS NEVER BEEN DETERMINED. (GOODMAN, L.S., AND A. GILMAN.
(EDS.) THE PHARMACOLOGICAL BASIS OF THERAPEUTICS. 5TH ED. NEW YORK:
MACMILLAN PUBLISHING CO., INC., 1975. 1014)
No increase in chromosomal aberrations were observed in human ...
lymphocyte cultures exposed to 1, 10, or 100 ug/ml DDT based on the
analysis of 25 metaphases per culture. (HART HM ET AL; XENOBIOTICA 2: 567
(1972))
There was no evidence of liver disease or abnormalities in liver function
tests in 31 chemical workers who in the course of their work had ingested
the equivalent of 3.6 to 18 mg of DDT daily for 16 to 25 years. Serum
concn of DDT & its metabolites in 10 patients were 20 times greater than
in the normal population. (REYNOLDS, J.E.F., PRASAD, A.B. (EDS.)
MARTINDALE-THE EXTRA PHARMACOPOEIA. 28TH ED. LONDON: THE PHARMACEUTICAL
PRESS, 1982. 835)
Observation of tumors (generally of the liver) in seven studies in
various mouse strains and three studies in rats. DDT is structurally
similar to other probable carcinogens, such as DDD and DDE. HUMAN
CARCINOGENICITY DATA: Inadequate. ANIMAL CARCINOGENICITY DATA:
Sufficient. **QC REVIEWED**(U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S
INTEGRATED RISK INFORMATION SYSTEM (IRIS) ON
P,P'-DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE (DDT) (50-29-3) FROM THE NATIONAL
LIBRARY OF MEDICINE'S TOXNET SYSTEM, AUGUST 29, 1994)
In humans, ingestion of 20 gr. of DDT in the form of a 10 % dry mix with
flour has induced symptoms that persisted for more than 5 weeks,
(DREISBACH, R. HANDBOOK OF POISONING. 12TH ED. NORWALK, CT: APPLETON AND
LANGE, 1987 99)
Severe scrotal pain followed the local use of dicophane application for
pubic lice in two patients. Long term effects .. were not noted.
(REYNOLDS, J.E., PRASAD, A.B. (EDS. MARTINDALE-THE EXTRA PHARMACOPOEIA.
28TH ED. LONDON:
THE PHARMACEUTICAL PRESS, 1982 835)
DDT/DDE HAS NOT ... DEMONSTRATED A SELECTIVE TOXIC EFFECT ON EYES. PURE
DDT DISSOLVED IN PURIFIED KEROSENE WAS TESTED ... AT 0.01% ON HUMAN EYE &
CAUSED NO DISCOMFORT OR IRRITATION ... RARE INSTANCES HAVE BEEN REPORTED
OF OCULAR IRRITATION FOLLOWING CONTAMINATION OF THE EYE BY POWDERS
CONTAINING DDT, & IN ONE INSTANCE CHRONIC SUPERFICIAL PUNCTATE KERATITIS
WAS ASSOC WITH FATAL POISONING FROM LONG EXPOSURE TO THE DUST, BUT IT IS
PROBABLE THAT CONSTITUENTS OTHER THAN DDT WERE RESPONSIBLE, OR THAT THERE
WAS HYPERSENSITIVITY. ... IN EXPERIMENTAL EXPOSURE OF TWO MEN TO SKIN
CONTACT WITH DDT ONE DEVELOPED MANY COMPLAINTS INCL "YELLOW VISION" FOR
LESS THAN AN HR ON 2 OCCASIONS. (GRANT, W.M. TOXICOLOGY OF THE EYE. 3RD
ED. SPRINGFIELD, IL: CHARLES C. THOMAS PUBLISHER, 1986. 305)
EVIDENCE ... THAT SIGNIFICANT POISONING OR DISTURBANCE OF EYES OR VISION
IS UNLIKELY FROM PROLONGED OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY
STUDY OF 35 MEN EXPOSED FOR 11-19 YR TO LARGE AMT OF DDT IN ITS MFR, WITH
BODY FAT CONCN OF DDT & ITS ISOMERS & METABOLITES RANGING FROM 38-647
PPM, CONTRASTING WITH AVG OF 8 PPM FOR GENERAL POPULATION. AMONG THESE
MEN & IN OTHER EMPLOYEES OF MFR PLANT, NO INSTANCES OF CLINICAL POISONING
WERE RECOGNIZED. ... NONE OF 35 PATIENTS IN ... STUDY HAD EYE COMPLAINTS.
(GRANT, W.M. TOXICOLOGY OF THE EYE. 3RD ED. SPRINGFIELD, IL: CHARLES C.
THOMAS PUBLISHER, 1986. 306)
... ALMOST CONTINUOUS DAILY EXPOSURE TO AEROSOLS SUFFICIENT TO LEAVE
WHITE DEPOSIT OF DDT ON NASAL VIBRISSAE OF VOLUNTEERS PRODUCED MODERATE
IRRITATION OF NOSE, THROAT, & EYES. EXCEPT FOR THIS IRRITATION DURING
EXPOSURE, THERE WERE NO SYMPTOMS ... TESTS /ARE REPORTED/ IN WHICH
VOLUNTEERS WERE EXPOSED TO DDT DISPERSED INTO AIR ... BY VOLATILIZING
UNITS OR BY CONTINUOUSLY OR INTERMITTENTLY OPERATED AEROSOL DISPENSORS.
IN SOME INSTANCES, SLIGHT ODOR & SOME DRYNESS OF THROAT WERE NOTICED ...
. (HAYES, WAYLAND J., JR. PESTICIDES STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON:
WILLIAMS AND WILKINS, 1982. 198)
... STUDIES OF DDT IN VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED ... TO SEARCH FOR
POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF DOSES CONSIDERED TO BE SAFE. IN 1ST OF THESE STUDIES,
MEN WERE GIVEN 0, 3.5, & 35 MG/MAN/DAY. THESE ADMIN DOSAGES, PLUS DDT
MEASURED IN MEN'S FOOD, RESULTED IN DOSAGE LEVELS OF 0.0021 TO 0.0034,
0.038 TO 0.063, & 0.36 TO 0.61 MG/KG/DAY, RESPECTIVELY, EXACT VALUE
DEPENDING ON WT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL. SIX VOLUNTEERS RECEIVED HIGHEST
DOSAGE OF TECHNICAL DDT FOR 12 MO, & 3 RECEIVED IT FOR 18 MO. A SMALLER
NUMBER OF MEN INGESTED LOWER DOSAGE OF TECHNICAL DDT OR 1 OF DOSAGES OF
p,p'-DDT FOR 12 TO 18 MO. NO VOLUNTEER COMPLAINED OF ANY SYMPTOM ... SAME
RESULT WAS OBTAINED IN 2ND STUDY IN WHICH SAME DOSAGES WERE GIVEN FOR 21
MO & VOLUNTEERS WERE OBSERVED FOR MINIMUM OF 27 ADDNL MO. (HAYES, WAYLAND
J., JR. PESTICIDES STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON: WILLIAMS AND
WILKINS, 1982. 195)
Alveolar-cell carcinoma of the lung has been reported in 5 patients with
granulomatous disease of the lungs associated with the inhalation of DDT
powder. In 4 studies, tissue levels of DDT were reported to be higher in
cancer patients than in subjects who died from other causes; no
significant difference was found in 4 other studies, 1 of which was
confined to cancer of the breast & incl some living patients. Serum DDT
levels appeared to be elevated in another study of 9 cancer patients, but
the study is difficult to interpret. In 2 case-control studies of
soft-tissue sarcoma, & in 3 of malignant lymphoma, relative risks for the
assoc of these diseases with exposure to DDT were 1.2, 1.3, 1.6, & 1.8,
respectively. Some of the men in these studies had also been exposed to
chlorophenoxy herbicides & chlorophenols, for which there were higher
relative risks. (IARC. MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF THE CARCINOGENIC
RISK OF CHEMICALS TO MAN. GENEVA: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION,
INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER,1972-PRESENT. (MULTIVOLUME
WORK).,P. S7 186 (1987))
Excess of leukemia (particularly chronic lymphocytic leukemia) were noted
in 2 studies. A case-control study of colon cancer showed no increased
relative risk for exposure to DDT. A small excess of deaths from cancer
(3 observed, 1.0 expected) was found in forestry foremen exposed to DDT,
2,4-D & 2,4,5-T. In two other studies of men involved in production /
manufacture of DDT, there was no incr in mortality from cancer overall
(standardized mortality ratio (SMR), 68 & 95, respectively), although in
1, mortality from resp cancer was increased slightly (SMR, 156; 95%
confidence interval, 74-286). Possible incr. in lung cancer mortality was
also observed in agricultural workers who had used DDT & a variety of
other pesticides & herbicides, but a small case-control study of lung
cancer deaths in orchardists showed no excess. Studies of pesticide
applicators, who used DDT as well as a number of other pesticides, showed
excesses of lung cancer. In 1 of these studies, the risk for lung cancer
increased with duration of holding a licence to nearly 3-fold among those
licenced for 20 or more years. Exposure to multiple pesticides in these
studies prevents a clear evaluation of the cancer risk assoc with DDT
alone. (IARC. MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF THE CARCINOGENIC RISK OF
CHEMICALS TO MAN. GENEVA: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, INTERNATIONAL AGENCY
FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER,1972-PRESENT. (MULTIVOLUME WORK).,P. S7 186
(1987))
Three case studies ... of alveolar-cell carcinoma were performed among
men occupationally engaged in 2,4-D handling/manufacture ... mortality
rates were within control limits. (HAYES, WAYLAND, PESTICIDES
STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON: WILLIAMS AND WILKINS, 1982)
No effect on unscheduled DNA synthesis was observed in SV-40 transformed
human cells with concentrations up to 1,000 uM DDT either with, or
without S-9 microsomal activation. (AHMED FE ET AL; MUTAT RES 42: 161
(1977))
Subject: Re: Major problem with climate predictions
From: bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de (Bruce Scott TOK )
Date: 7 Nov 1996 19:37:36 GMT
John McCarthy (jmc@Steam.stanford.edu) wrote:
: Even if fusion power were a long shot, it would be worth the trivial amounts
: of money that are spent on it.
It is important for people to realise this. It is really a very small
piece of the total research budget -- some $230 M/yr in the US, about
what solar energy research gets. Compare that to the full DOE budget
which is of order 100 times larger. Even in terms of computations, we
are very envious of what the general relativity groups and the climate
researchers are able to get their hand on.
In the second case that is just. Climate chemistry and physics is of
paramount importance just now.
This "boondoggle" Mike Asher talks about is called ITER. He went on his
noble tirade without noting the finite level of opposition within our
field against spending some $12B, albeit over 15-25 years. A lot of us
think this is unwise, that as presently configured ITER has too large a
chance of being a dud (performing possibly worse, not better, than JET
and TFTR) and that global computations are coming through now and should
have their say before anything is committed to. What is a wait of five
years in a project which is going to take decades? If we keep the
funding level low and constant, we would be OK in the long run. I
personally see no reason to increase it.
But a certain momentum has developed, having little to do with science.
Among things that drive it are the interest of the administration (more
resources to process --> more importance) and in many not-so-negligible
cases the personal motivation to do it _now_ such that a bit of breast
patting can be indulged (I do hate careerism, but you will find it in
any endeavour involving social primates). Another problem is that the
people who actually lead the departments who manage these projects (eg,
DOE) are not scientists and do not in my opinion seem to realise that
fusion is still a physics project, not an engineering one you can throw
money at.
I have always thought ITER was premature and still do. You can see an
eloquent statement of this position by Tom Stix and Andrew Sessler in
the June 1996 Physics Today, if you want to. No, nobody suppressed it.
"We are fully aware of the special interests of each partner in
ITER and in no way do we wish to dictate international strategy.
But we would be less than honest if we failed to reiterate our
opinion, that the ITER step is too large and that the time to
"first plasma" is too long: 12-14 years from now, not including a
decision-making delay of uncertain length after mid-1998.
Conservatism, both fiscal and scientific, demands that the fusion
community move ahead prudently while keeping open its options for
significant breakthroughs. Accordingly, we advocate a
collaborative multinational fusion strategy that we believe will
answer the most important magnetic fusion reactor questions more
reliably, quickly, flexibly and cost-effectively than the
currently proposed single ITER machine."
-- Stix and Sessler, _Physics Today_ June 1996,
answering M Rosenbluth, p 25
I can sign onto that, with the proviso that the "international strategy"
should not be very binding -- that each center should maintain a
scientifically sound measure of independence (as is now _de facto_ the
case). I think the above is sufficient to demolish any effort to
characterise the whole community as arrogant megalomaniacs, although in
certain cases this would indeed hit the target.
--
Mach's gut!
Bruce Scott, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik, bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de
Remember John Hron: http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/h/hron-john/
Subject: Re: Environmentalists responsibility for human deaths (was Re: Major problem with climate predictions )
From: "D. Braun"
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 11:44:27 -0800
On 7 Nov 1996, Mike Asher wrote:
> gdy52150@prairie.lakes.com wrote:
> >
> > some facts that you have deliberitly chose not to use.At the time of
> > the ban in the US DDT was a known carcinogentic, tumorigentic,and
> > teragentic. In addtion today it is also a known endocrine blocker,
> > these toxins will be the next large battle and in all likelyhood be as
> > large a problem as ozone depletion or global warming.
>
> Sorry to disturb your rhetoric with some facts, but below is a fairly
> comprehensive list of study results on the human effects of DDT.
>
> A summary of the 19 research studies below is:
>
> - Humans exposed to large, longterm doses have had little
> or no symptoms.
> - DDT has not been shown to be a human carcinogen.
> - DDT does not cause chromosomal damage
> - DDT does not cause liver damage
> - Dermal irritation from DDT is minor and presents no health risks
>
> One study noted a possible increase in one lung cancer, but made no
> determination as the study group was exposed to other contributory factors.
> Note that the OSHA guidelines list DDT as class B2, a probable human
> carcinogen. This is given to any substance that has been shown to have
> a positive carcinogenic profile in any other animal species.
I applaud your effort at posting sources with abstracts.
I do have a question: Did you do a broad literature search (I assume on
your computer) to find these, or are these references pulled from a book
or paper which sought to disprove human health risks associated with DDT?
BTW, there were several more studies which you cited below which did link
increased incidence of cancer with DDT exposure, in addition to the "one"
you cite.
The issue concerning DDT and other persistant, chloronated hydrocarbon
pesticides is larger than the direct affects on humans--- it also includes
the fact that these pesticides bioaccumulate in the food chain, have
caused reproductive failures in several bird species, and because they are
broad spectrum, kill most invertebrates they come in contact with.
You don't have to be a forest entomologist, which I am, to realize that
killing off thousands of species of non-target invertebrates, to very low
levels, where these pesticides are applied is a bad idea. Any high school
biology course mentions that invertebrates are critical cogs in the
decomposition cycle, by which nutrients are made available to plants, are
plant pollinators, are beneficials, in that they eat or parasitize pest
species, producing biological control, and that invertebrates are the
basis for many vertebrate food chains. Oh, and many pest species also
quickly become tolerant -- e.g., mosquitos and fleas. Haven't you heard?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has come on the scene due to the
drawbacks of the old "pray and spray" attitude which reigned whem DDT was
widely used on our fields and forests. Pesticides now are used which are
narrowly focused on target organisms, are short lived, and are of the
lowest toxicity required. Biologicals are prefered, and not spraying at
all, based on knowledge of potential pest population trends, is the norm.
Do you believe that these considerations are based on groundless opinions
of the uninformed?
Dave Braun
>
> ===== BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE =====
> DERMAL EXPOSURE ... HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH NO ILLNESS & USUALLY NO
> IRRITATION. ... EVEN SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION OF COLLOIDAL SUSPENSIONS OF
> DDT IN SALINE SOLUTION UP TO 30 PPM CAUSED NO IRRITATION. ... ONE STUDY
> REPORTED THAT DDT-IMPREGNATED CLOTHING CAUSED A SLIGHT, TRANSIENT
> DERMATITIS, BUT THE METHOD OF IMPREGNATION WAS NOT STATED & THE ABSENCE
> OF SOLVENT WAS NOT GUARANTEED. OTHER MORE THOROUGH STUDIES OF
> DDT-IMPREGNATED CLOTHING HAVE FOUND IT NONIRRITATING. (HAYES, WAYLAND J.,
> JR. PESTICIDES STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON: WILLIAMS AND WILKINS,
> 1982. 198)
>
> Virtually all fatalities reported in the literature have resulted from ...
> intentional ingestion of DDT in various toxic solvents. The toxicity of
> these solutions is greater than that of either DDT or the solvent alone.
> (DREISBACH, R.H. HANDBOOK OF POISONING. 12TH ED. NORWALK, CT: APPLETON
> AND LANGE, 1987. 99)
>
> ... THERE IS NO DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE THAT DIETARY ABSORPTION OF DDT, ALONE
> OR IN COMBINATION WITH INSECTICIDES OF ALDRIN-TOXAPHENE GROUP, HAS CAUSED
> CANCER IN GENERAL POPULATION. NO EVIDENCE ... PRESENTED THAT DDT HAS
> CAUSED CANCER AMONG MILLIONS OF INDIVIDUALS (ALMOST ENTIRELY MEN) WHO
> HAVE BEEN OCCUPATIONALLY ENGAGED FOR AS LONG AS 35 YEARS IN MFR &
> HANDLING OR SPRAYING ... DDT (AS DUST, SOLN & SUSPENSION) IN ALL PARTS
> OF WORLD & UNDER ALL POSSIBLE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. (CLAYTON, G. D. AND F.
> E. CLAYTON (EDS.). PATTY'S INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE AND TOXICOLOGY: VOLUME 2A,
> 2B, 2C: TOXICOLOGY. 3RD ED. NEW YORK: JOHN WILEY SONS, 1981-1982. 3697)
>
> The peripheral lymphocytes of workers occupationally exposed to DDT were
> examined and no increase in chromosomal aberrations was observed when
> compared to an unexposed cohort. In one small group of severely exposed
> workers, a small increase in chromatid aberrations was found. In general,
> a positive correlation was observed between DDT levels in the plasma and
> time of exposure. However, there was no relationship between the plasma
> level of DDT and the frequency of chromosomal aberrations. (RABELLO MN ET
> AL; MUTAT RES 28: 449-54 (1979))
>
> HYPERSENSITIVITIES, SUCH AS DERMATITIS, ANAPHYLAXIS, & FATAL
> PERIARTERITIS NODOSA & APLASTIC ANEMIA, HAVE BEEN REPORTED, BUT THEY ARE
> RARE. WHETHER DDT OR OTHER INGREDIENTS IN COMMERCIAL MIXT HAVE BEEN
> RESPONSIBLE HAS NEVER BEEN DETERMINED. (GOODMAN, L.S., AND A. GILMAN.
> (EDS.) THE PHARMACOLOGICAL BASIS OF THERAPEUTICS. 5TH ED. NEW YORK:
> MACMILLAN PUBLISHING CO., INC., 1975. 1014)
>
> No increase in chromosomal aberrations were observed in human ...
> lymphocyte cultures exposed to 1, 10, or 100 ug/ml DDT based on the
> analysis of 25 metaphases per culture. (HART HM ET AL; XENOBIOTICA 2: 567
> (1972))
>
> There was no evidence of liver disease or abnormalities in liver function
> tests in 31 chemical workers who in the course of their work had ingested
> the equivalent of 3.6 to 18 mg of DDT daily for 16 to 25 years. Serum
> concn of DDT & its metabolites in 10 patients were 20 times greater than
> in the normal population. (REYNOLDS, J.E.F., PRASAD, A.B. (EDS.)
> MARTINDALE-THE EXTRA PHARMACOPOEIA. 28TH ED. LONDON: THE PHARMACEUTICAL
> PRESS, 1982. 835)
>
> Observation of tumors (generally of the liver) in seven studies in
> various mouse strains and three studies in rats. DDT is structurally
> similar to other probable carcinogens, such as DDD and DDE. HUMAN
> CARCINOGENICITY DATA: Inadequate. ANIMAL CARCINOGENICITY DATA:
> Sufficient. **QC REVIEWED**(U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S
> INTEGRATED RISK INFORMATION SYSTEM (IRIS) ON
> P,P'-DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE (DDT) (50-29-3) FROM THE NATIONAL
> LIBRARY OF MEDICINE'S TOXNET SYSTEM, AUGUST 29, 1994)
>
>
> In humans, ingestion of 20 gr. of DDT in the form of a 10 % dry mix with
> flour has induced symptoms that persisted for more than 5 weeks,
> (DREISBACH, R. HANDBOOK OF POISONING. 12TH ED. NORWALK, CT: APPLETON AND
> LANGE, 1987 99)
>
>
> Severe scrotal pain followed the local use of dicophane application for
> pubic lice in two patients. Long term effects .. were not noted.
> (REYNOLDS, J.E., PRASAD, A.B. (EDS. MARTINDALE-THE EXTRA PHARMACOPOEIA.
> 28TH ED. LONDON:
> THE PHARMACEUTICAL PRESS, 1982 835)
>
> DDT/DDE HAS NOT ... DEMONSTRATED A SELECTIVE TOXIC EFFECT ON EYES. PURE
> DDT DISSOLVED IN PURIFIED KEROSENE WAS TESTED ... AT 0.01% ON HUMAN EYE &
> CAUSED NO DISCOMFORT OR IRRITATION ... RARE INSTANCES HAVE BEEN REPORTED
> OF OCULAR IRRITATION FOLLOWING CONTAMINATION OF THE EYE BY POWDERS
> CONTAINING DDT, & IN ONE INSTANCE CHRONIC SUPERFICIAL PUNCTATE KERATITIS
> WAS ASSOC WITH FATAL POISONING FROM LONG EXPOSURE TO THE DUST, BUT IT IS
> PROBABLE THAT CONSTITUENTS OTHER THAN DDT WERE RESPONSIBLE, OR THAT THERE
> WAS HYPERSENSITIVITY. ... IN EXPERIMENTAL EXPOSURE OF TWO MEN TO SKIN
> CONTACT WITH DDT ONE DEVELOPED MANY COMPLAINTS INCL "YELLOW VISION" FOR
> LESS THAN AN HR ON 2 OCCASIONS. (GRANT, W.M. TOXICOLOGY OF THE EYE. 3RD
> ED. SPRINGFIELD, IL: CHARLES C. THOMAS PUBLISHER, 1986. 305)
>
> EVIDENCE ... THAT SIGNIFICANT POISONING OR DISTURBANCE OF EYES OR VISION
> IS UNLIKELY FROM PROLONGED OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY
> STUDY OF 35 MEN EXPOSED FOR 11-19 YR TO LARGE AMT OF DDT IN ITS MFR, WITH
> BODY FAT CONCN OF DDT & ITS ISOMERS & METABOLITES RANGING FROM 38-647
> PPM, CONTRASTING WITH AVG OF 8 PPM FOR GENERAL POPULATION. AMONG THESE
> MEN & IN OTHER EMPLOYEES OF MFR PLANT, NO INSTANCES OF CLINICAL POISONING
> WERE RECOGNIZED. ... NONE OF 35 PATIENTS IN ... STUDY HAD EYE COMPLAINTS.
> (GRANT, W.M. TOXICOLOGY OF THE EYE. 3RD ED. SPRINGFIELD, IL: CHARLES C.
> THOMAS PUBLISHER, 1986. 306)
>
> ... ALMOST CONTINUOUS DAILY EXPOSURE TO AEROSOLS SUFFICIENT TO LEAVE
> WHITE DEPOSIT OF DDT ON NASAL VIBRISSAE OF VOLUNTEERS PRODUCED MODERATE
> IRRITATION OF NOSE, THROAT, & EYES. EXCEPT FOR THIS IRRITATION DURING
> EXPOSURE, THERE WERE NO SYMPTOMS ... TESTS /ARE REPORTED/ IN WHICH
> VOLUNTEERS WERE EXPOSED TO DDT DISPERSED INTO AIR ... BY VOLATILIZING
> UNITS OR BY CONTINUOUSLY OR INTERMITTENTLY OPERATED AEROSOL DISPENSORS.
> IN SOME INSTANCES, SLIGHT ODOR & SOME DRYNESS OF THROAT WERE NOTICED ...
> . (HAYES, WAYLAND J., JR. PESTICIDES STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON:
> WILLIAMS AND WILKINS, 1982. 198)
>
> ... STUDIES OF DDT IN VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED ... TO SEARCH FOR
> POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF DOSES CONSIDERED TO BE SAFE. IN 1ST OF THESE STUDIES,
> MEN WERE GIVEN 0, 3.5, & 35 MG/MAN/DAY. THESE ADMIN DOSAGES, PLUS DDT
> MEASURED IN MEN'S FOOD, RESULTED IN DOSAGE LEVELS OF 0.0021 TO 0.0034,
> 0.038 TO 0.063, & 0.36 TO 0.61 MG/KG/DAY, RESPECTIVELY, EXACT VALUE
> DEPENDING ON WT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL. SIX VOLUNTEERS RECEIVED HIGHEST
> DOSAGE OF TECHNICAL DDT FOR 12 MO, & 3 RECEIVED IT FOR 18 MO. A SMALLER
> NUMBER OF MEN INGESTED LOWER DOSAGE OF TECHNICAL DDT OR 1 OF DOSAGES OF
> p,p'-DDT FOR 12 TO 18 MO. NO VOLUNTEER COMPLAINED OF ANY SYMPTOM ... SAME
> RESULT WAS OBTAINED IN 2ND STUDY IN WHICH SAME DOSAGES WERE GIVEN FOR 21
> MO & VOLUNTEERS WERE OBSERVED FOR MINIMUM OF 27 ADDNL MO. (HAYES, WAYLAND
> J., JR. PESTICIDES STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON: WILLIAMS AND
> WILKINS, 1982. 195)
>
> Alveolar-cell carcinoma of the lung has been reported in 5 patients with
> granulomatous disease of the lungs associated with the inhalation of DDT
> powder. In 4 studies, tissue levels of DDT were reported to be higher in
> cancer patients than in subjects who died from other causes; no
> significant difference was found in 4 other studies, 1 of which was
> confined to cancer of the breast & incl some living patients. Serum DDT
> levels appeared to be elevated in another study of 9 cancer patients, but
> the study is difficult to interpret. In 2 case-control studies of
> soft-tissue sarcoma, & in 3 of malignant lymphoma, relative risks for the
> assoc of these diseases with exposure to DDT were 1.2, 1.3, 1.6, & 1.8,
> respectively. Some of the men in these studies had also been exposed to
> chlorophenoxy herbicides & chlorophenols, for which there were higher
> relative risks. (IARC. MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF THE CARCINOGENIC
> RISK OF CHEMICALS TO MAN. GENEVA: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION,
> INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER,1972-PRESENT. (MULTIVOLUME
> WORK).,P. S7 186 (1987))
>
> Excess of leukemia (particularly chronic lymphocytic leukemia) were noted
> in 2 studies. A case-control study of colon cancer showed no increased
> relative risk for exposure to DDT. A small excess of deaths from cancer
> (3 observed, 1.0 expected) was found in forestry foremen exposed to DDT,
> 2,4-D & 2,4,5-T. In two other studies of men involved in production /
> manufacture of DDT, there was no incr in mortality from cancer overall
> (standardized mortality ratio (SMR), 68 & 95, respectively), although in
> 1, mortality from resp cancer was increased slightly (SMR, 156; 95%
> confidence interval, 74-286). Possible incr. in lung cancer mortality was
> also observed in agricultural workers who had used DDT & a variety of
> other pesticides & herbicides, but a small case-control study of lung
> cancer deaths in orchardists showed no excess. Studies of pesticide
> applicators, who used DDT as well as a number of other pesticides, showed
> excesses of lung cancer. In 1 of these studies, the risk for lung cancer
> increased with duration of holding a licence to nearly 3-fold among those
> licenced for 20 or more years. Exposure to multiple pesticides in these
> studies prevents a clear evaluation of the cancer risk assoc with DDT
> alone. (IARC. MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF THE CARCINOGENIC RISK OF
> CHEMICALS TO MAN. GENEVA: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, INTERNATIONAL AGENCY
> FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER,1972-PRESENT. (MULTIVOLUME WORK).,P. S7 186
> (1987))
>
> Three case studies ... of alveolar-cell carcinoma were performed among
> men occupationally engaged in 2,4-D handling/manufacture ... mortality
> rates were within control limits. (HAYES, WAYLAND, PESTICIDES
> STUDIED IN MAN. BALTIMORE/LONDON: WILLIAMS AND WILKINS, 1982)
>
> No effect on unscheduled DNA synthesis was observed in SV-40 transformed
> human cells with concentrations up to 1,000 uM DDT either with, or
> without S-9 microsomal activation. (AHMED FE ET AL; MUTAT RES 42: 161
> (1977))
>
>
>
>