iWon News: "The report said scientists conducting the experiments 'failed to obtain informed consent (and) dismissed adverse outcomes,' adding that the tests 'lacked scientific validity.'
One study in 2002-2004 by University of California-San Diego researchers administered chloropicrin, a soil insecticide that during World War I was a chemical warfare agent, to 127 young adults. Trade-name products for it and mixtures of it - such as Timberfume, Tri-Con, Preplant Soil Fumigant and Pic-Chor - must carry a 'danger' warning label.
Most were college students and minorities who were paid $15 an hour to be put in a chamber or have the vapor shot into their nose and eyes after signing consent forms warning they should anticipate 'some irritation in the nose, throat and eyes that could be sharp enough to cause blinking and tearing.'
'Because you will be participating in an experiment, we must apprise you that there may be some risks that are currently unforeseeable,' the consent form read.
However, doses 120 times the hourly limit established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were ingested by the test subjects, according to the congressional aides' report.
Another study dosed eight people with the pesticide azinphos-methyl for 28 days, and everyone reported headaches, abdominal pain, nausea, coughing and rashes, the report said.
Boxer said the report 'proves the Bush administration is encouraging dangerous pesticide testing on humans with no standards,' despite the EPA's new policy."
