In August 2005, thousands of you joined us in taking action against the EPA’s regulations that allow pesticide manufacturers to test their products on human beings. Now the issue comes to prime time, tonight, Tues. Feb. 6, on NBC’s crime drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit".  Tonight's  episode--"Loophole,"--will focus on the controversial EPA rule allowing intentional dosing of human beings in pesticide experiments. Check your local listings for the time.
 
In the episode, several children and their families -- including a Honduran immigrant family—are unwittingly tested with a dangerous organophosphate pesticide (a class of acutely toxic chemicals, like the ones discussed in today’s alert) by a fictional chemical company.
 
In real life, EPA's recent human testing rule contains loopholes that allow chemical corporations to test pesticides on women and children. A 2005 Congressional report by Senator Barbara Boxer's and Congress member Henry Waxman's staffs revealed human testing studies where pesticide corporations told their subjects they were ingesting vitamins or drugs. No study of the well-documented long-term effects of pesticide exposures were conducted in follow-up on those test subjects.
 
"Loophole" reminds the public of the EPA's all-too-real life 2004 "CHEERS" program.  This program proposed to offer Florida’s low income families $970, a camcorder, and some clothes if they would record "routine exposure" of their age one and under infants to household pesticides.

The "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" episode points out another EPA issue thousands of UFW supporters have taken action on--which is the EPA staff scientists objection to the human testing rule crafted by EPA political appointees.  It also points out how these scientists are objecting to how agency managers and pesticide-industry officials are exerting 'political pressure' to allow continued use of organophosphates.

Watch this show and them help get deadly organophosphates banned.