Open Writing

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) all work hard and diligently to protect the American population from its self. Of the three, the EPA sadly has always been a political football and its effectiveness is unfortunately dictated by the party in power. Overall, it seems that large and powerful organizations are necessary to slow, or attempt to halt the human race on its path to self-destruction.

Certainly, the USA would be a lot less habitable if it were not for these institutions. Ladders would be collapsing under the luckless users if not for OSHA; acid rain would be destroying our forests and rivers without the EPA’s strictures; and but for the NIH, disease, poisons and pestilence would be decimating the population. Other than high profile, newsworthy incidents such as nuclear power station failures, toxic waste dumping and massive violations of worker safety, the work of these organizations largely goes unnoticed by the general public.

But there are some, less dramatic threats that seem to be in constant attendance: lead and mercury poisoning, asbestos, radon gas and other radiation hazards from a variety of sources. While I have complete sympathy for anyone who has been made ill or disabled by any of these manifestations, I have to wonder about the safety standards and limits set by the respective government bodies.

I choose these particular health hazards because I have been exposed to them all, and as far as I know have not experienced any ill effects. Lead poisoning affects the nervous system, the brain, kidneys and red blood cells. Yet lead has been used to line drinking water cisterns and for water pipes since Roman times at least. The house I was born in, and where I lived for eighteen years has lead pipes. My sister, who is in her sixties, still lives there and is in good health, as am I. In my early twenties I worked for a couple of years for the telephone company. The cables we used were lead sheathed and we handled them a lot.

When I was a child there were small, hand held games like crude forerunners of the electronic games of today. The game usually consisted of a circular container about 3 inches in diameter and a quarter of an inch deep with a clear plastic top. Inside the container was a card printed with some symbols and with several cutout holes. The object of the game was to get a ball of mercury into each hole in a numbered sequence by tilting the container. Inevitably we’d get bored with this simple pastime and would find more excitement in releasing the ball of mercury so we could push it about with our fingers!

Mercury poisoning can cause death, or permanent damage to the brain and kidneys, hallucinations, psychoses, and changes in vision and hearing. In my thirties I managed an operation that included a service department incorporating a calibration laboratory. Mercury columns that contain several ounces of mercury were in daily use in the laboratory. Spills would occasionally occur, and as a result, every cranny in the laboratory was filled with stray mercury. Our only precaution was to remove our gold watches or rings before we entered, because mercury has a propensity to amalgamate spontaneously with gold.

I have not experienced any of the listed symptoms of mercury poisoning, nor have the technicians who worked in the laboratory to my knowledge. Yet, a few years ago, a whole community here was evacuated because some children had been found playing with a vial of mercury. The families were not allowed to return to their homes until the houses had been thoroughly cleansed of any traces of mercury, a period that lasted around two weeks!

Without laboring the point any further, I have to wonder whether some of the standards and limits set by the watchdog institutions aren’t a little overzealous. Many of the “acceptable” tolerances are derived from experiments on small animals, using massive doses of toxins or radiation; a questionable protocol in my opinion.

It’s hard to argue against too much precaution, but often such stringency causes considerable disruption and hardship in the lives of the people affected. Commercial fishing on the Hudson River, an industry that supported families for generations, is no more, banned due to mercury and PCB levels found in the fish. Factories that used materials or processes classified as hazardous have been shut down and razed in many cases, bringing hardship to the workers and the community.

I don’t dispute that people have been sickened by exposure to chemicals and radiation in excess of the “safe” levels set by the respective institutions. But I’m not sure that there aren’t factors other than just exposure that account for some of these occurrences. Perhaps a genetic predisposition is the culprit. The Broad Institute, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts has recently announced plans to compile a complete catalog of the genetic abnormalities that characterize cancer.

The Human Cancer Genome Project seeks to determine the DNA sequence of thousands of tumor samples. “Knowing the defects of the cancer cell points you to the Achilles’ heel of tumors,” said Dr. Eric S. Lander, director of the Broad Institute. Experts say that a data bank of all cancer cell mutations would be helpful in developing new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent cancer. One can only hope that this new knowledge will help to rationalize some of the often draconian measures taken in the name of public health and safety.

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