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  Health issues: General materials - July-Aug. 2001  

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July-Aug. 2001:

Molecules of death: ...Dioxins are among the deadliest chemicals known to humans...Dioxins are released mostly from burning of chlorinated compounds e.g, from garbage, medical waste and toxic chemicals. Dioxins from incinerators contaminate the air, water and food passing these deadly pollutants on to people through milk, meat and other fatty animal products. Bleaching of paper with chlorinated compounds, production of pvc plastics, chlorinated pesticides and secondary smeltering of copper also produce dioxins. Essentially, to produce dioxin we need organic matter, chlorine and a reactive thermal environment...Despite knowing their carcinogenic nature, there is no monitoring of these chemicals in most countries. (Centre for Science and Environment, Down to Earth, 31 Aug. 2001)

Environmental Justice from the Niger Delta to the World Conference Against Racism: Erovie, a community in the Niger Delta, is thousands of miles from Durban, South Africa where delegates from around the globe are gathering this week for the World Conference Against Racism. But the tragedy that befell the citizens of Erovie, who were poisoned by toxic waste from Shell Oil's operations, is a graphic example of what the Conference's NGO Forum refers to as environmental racism: the disproportionate impacts of pollution borne by communities of color around the world. (Sam Olukoya, special to CorpWatch, 30 Aug. 2001)

Teck-Cominco probes contamination at Trail plant: Teck-Cominco Ltd. is trying to determine how 65 workers at its Trail, British Columbia, lead smelter were contaminated with thallium, a toxic metal linked to nerve damage, the company said this week [Canada] (Reuters, 30 Aug. 2001)

WHO unduly influenced by large pharma companies, complains Nader: The World Health Organisation has permitted a handful of large pharmaceutical companies to exercise undue influence over its polices and programs and intimidate and deter the WHO from exercising leadership on a wide range of trade-related health issues, particularly in the area of access to medicines and in promoting use of generic drugs, noted consumer advocate, Dr. Ralph Nader has complained in a letter to Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland. (Chakravarthi Raghavan, South-North Development Monitor, 29 July 2001)

Interview With National AIDS Coordinator [Botswana]: "The other thing that's important is our campaign to get the private sector on board in fighting the disease. Within the country we're happy to report that many private sector companies are coming on board. A very good programme exists at Debswana, one of the biggest mining houses and the financial sector is also now putting good programmes into place." (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 29 Aug. 2001)

Shell disputes Brazil toxic site health report: Anglo-Dutch oil and chemical group Royal Dutch/Shell has disputed a report in Brazil that showed a high rate of contamination in residents near its former pesticide factory. Shell admitted in February that the factory had contaminated the groundwater and soil but not residents. (Sharon Cohen, Reuters, 29 Aug. 2001)

WHO Director-General proposes a ground-breaking health and ethics initiative: Speaking at the African Regional Committee meeting in Brazzaville, WHO Director-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland, proposed the establishment of a WHO Health Ethics Initiative. The cross-WHO initiative would focus on ethics in public health, health research, and biotechnology, including genome related work, stem cell research and cloning. (World Health Organization, 28 Aug. 2001)

Workers tests show they have 27 times the dangerous level of toxic thallium [Canada]: Carpenters and boilermakers who were unknowingly working on a toxic job site have been found with levels of poisonous thallium up to 27 times what's considered dangerous. (Terri Theodore, Canadian Press, in The Province [Vancouver], 28 Aug. 2001) 

Clarke tobacco firm 'targeted children': Kenneth Clarke is facing a World Health Organisation investigation into whether British American Tobacco, of which he is deputy chairman, put sugar and honey into cigarettes to attract under-age smokers. (Chris Ayres, Times [London], 28 Aug. 2001)

Air Pollution May Affect Hearts of Younger Adults: Air pollutants may adversely affect the heart even in young and middle-aged adults, according to preliminary study findings [by Harvard School of Public Health]. (Reuters Health, 27 Aug. 2001) 

Companies Consider Financial Implications of HIV/AIDS: At a conference held in Cape Town on Friday to discuss the financial implications of HIV/AIDS, South Africa's leading mining companies said they were offering treatment packages as an incentive for employees to go for testing. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 27 Aug. 2001)

Roxbury [Massachusetts, USA] group tackles pollution: In the heart of Roxbury an innovative nonprofit organization is changing the way people approach environmental problems. Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), based in Dudley Square, works to reduce what it considers ''environmental injustice'' - that the poorest communities are harmed the most from environmental problems such as air pollution and hazardous waste. (Justin Pollard, Boston Globe, 26 Aug. 2001)

Exco to meet on action over polluted rivers: The state government will decide on the action to be taken over the polluted Sungai Benus and Sungai Semantot here (Bentong, Pahang State) after all reports have been submitted and discussed at the executive councillors meeting on Wednesday. Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the Malaysia Newsprint Industries' representatives would also be called to attend the meeting as it was the company's waste which was believed to have caused the pollution. (Nik Naizi Husin, The Star [Malaysia], 26 Aug. 2001)

Tobacco Lures World's Teens - Free Cigarettes Find Their Way to Underage Smokers: Just as it is in the United States, giving cigarettes to teenagers is illegal in many countries, including Albania. But while the practice has all but disappeared in America, it goes on in many developing nations, and Philip Morris is not the only tobacco company that the World Health Organization has accused of enticing teenagers with free cigarettes. (Greg Winter, New York Times Service, in International Herald Tribune, 25 Aug. 2001)  

Power Shift: American-owned power plants slated for construction in northern Mexico will provide plenty of electricity for Californians -- and plenty of pollution for local residents. (Kimberly Lisagor, Mother Jones, 24 Aug. 2001)

Beijing Admits to HIV-AIDS 'Epidemic': New Cases of Infection Rise 67% Over a Year, Health Ministry Reports - Breaking the Chinese government's general reticence on the subject of AIDS, a senior official openly acknowledged Thursday that China was facing an epidemic that threatened to outpace government efforts to control it. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times Service, in International Herald Tribune, 24 Aug. 2001) 

ILO studies find worsening labour conditions in Ukraine – A decade after their country gained independence, tens of millions of Ukrainians continue to work without pay, lack access to adequate health coverage and avoid seeking help from government agencies when faced by economic or social crises, according to a pair of new surveys by the International Labour Organization. (United Nations Newservice, 23 Aug. 2001)

Ohio company, executives plead guilty to falsifying test results: The company, J.T. Eaton & Co. of Twinsburg, Ohio, and two of its executives, Stanley Z. Baker and Benjamin H. Baker, pleaded guilty on Aug. 16 to submitting a false application to EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] concerning products designed to repel squirrels and birds. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 23 Aug. 2001)

EU says no evidence US GM soybeans pose risk: The European Commission said this week it had no scientific evidence that a brand of genetically modified soybeans - which environmental group Greenpeace wants banned - posed a health risk. (Reuters, 22 Aug. 2001) 

Mexico, California link arms to bring multimillion dollar health care initiatives to help agricultural worker population: Representatives of the Governments of Mexico and California, together with The California Endowment, the state’s largest health foundation, met today in the State Capitol to announce strategies for addressing the critical health care needs of California’s agricultural worker population, saying no group of workers in America faces greater barriers to the basic human right of access to health care services. (The California Endowment, 21 Aug. 2001)

Can the Public and Private Sectors Work Together to Improve Health? Partnerships between the public sector and private enterprise can bring wide benefit in terms of improved health, but there must be safeguards to make sure that their prime focus is healthier populations rather than richer companies. This is the conclusion of a series of articles in this month's Bulletin of the World Health Organization which assesses the controversial issue of public–private partnerships for drugs and vaccines. (World Health Organization, 20 Aug. 2001) 

Charges of Clean Air Act violations for not protecting homeless men hired to remove asbestos [USA]: (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Aug. 2001)

Missouri company, former manager indicted on asbestos charges [USA]: the indictment alleges that Barr used Leeds employees who were not trained to remove asbestos. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Aug. 2001)

Washington Chemical Inc. ex-president charged in waste case [USA]: Donn Herron of Spokane, Wash., was indicted on August 7 on charges he unlawfully stored, treated and disposed of hazardous waste....The illegal disposal of hazardous waste can contaminate drinking water and pose a threat to human health and safety. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Aug. 2001)

Mortality and smoking in Hong Kong: case-control study of all adult deaths in 1998 - Objective: To assess the mortality currently associated with smoking in Hong Kong, and, since cigarette consumption reached its peak 20 years earlier in Hong Kong than in mainland China, to predict mortality in China 20 years hence. (T.H. Lam, S.Y. Ho, A.J. Hedley,  K.H. Mak,  R. Peto, British Medical Journal, 18 Aug. 2001)

Groups protest threat to food safety laws: Over 200 groups worldwide recently sent a letter to US President George W. Bush's administration, protesting what they call "threats" he made to other countries' sovereignty by promising not to trade with them under their current respective food safety laws...The group called the US threats "unreasonable" in their letter and they reportedly argued that Sri Lanka and other nations have a scientific, regulatory and moral basis to set limits on the proliferation of genetically engineered organisms (GMOs). (Duane A. Gallop, Earth Times News Service, 17 Aug. 2001)

PAHO and IBM Collaborating to Enhance Health Services and Information Technology For Latin America and Caribbean Nations: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and IBM announced today an extension of a three-year joint project to increase access and enhance the use of information technology by healthcare professionals throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. (Pan American Health Organization, 17 Aug. 2001)

Mining Companies Invade Peru's Andean Cloud Forests: The recent discovery of gold deposits in northwestern Peru has split the population between those who support proposed mineral extraction and those who fear it will cause irreparable ecological damage to human health, agriculture and endangered species. (Environment News Service, 17 Aug. 2001)

Air pollution labeled a killer: Direct link to deaths, study claims - A study released today provides substantial new evidence that air pollution from automobile exhausts and smokestacks is killing people worldwide. (Charles Seabrook, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 17 Aug. 2001)

AIR POLLUTION: Fossil Fuel Pollution A Current Health Hazard, Study Says - Pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels may have devastating effects on the global climate in years to come, but it is already killing people in cities around the world by contributing to asthma, heart disease and lung disorders, five scientists say in a study appearing in today's Science. (UN Wire, 17 Aug. 2001)

Righting wrongs - Human rights: Human-rights campaigners are starting to lobby for economic and social rights, such as the right to health and the right to food. Will they make a success of it? (The Economist, 16 Aug. 2001)

China's smoking timebomb: One-third of all young men in China are likely to die from smoking-related diseases, say scientists. (BBC News, 16 Aug. 2001)

Air and water pollution becoming great threat to citizens of Multan [Pakistan]: Air pollution and water pollution have become a great threat to the existence of the residents of Multan, spreading critical diseases due to continuous flow and discharge of gases from industrial fertiliser plants and liquid waste from municipal and industrial sources. [pollution from tanneries, paper factories, fertiliser units, dyes factories and textile matching units, sugar factories, power generating plants, oil and gas plants] (Hoover's Online, 15 Aug. 2001) 

Challenge to Bring Health Care to All: SA [South Africa] employers could collectively be facing a potential R30bn medical aid bill if they are to meet employment-equity requirements and to satisfy growing pressure from labour unions for medical-aid cover across the workforce. (Business Day [Johannesburg], 15 Aug. 2001)

Ethiopia pesticide cleanup under way, needs funds (Reuters, 14 Aug. 2001) 

Still stitching for export, but now it pays [a new all-female worker-owned sewing cooperative - or maquila - in Nicaragua with good labor conditions that is emerging as a model] (Catherine Elton, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Aug. 2001) 

Electronics Makers Plan for Lead Free Products: Electronics assembly firms have made a global alliance to plan an early transition to the use of lead free solders in electrical and electronic equipment. (Environment News Service, 13 Aug. 2001)

Ex-UNEP [United Nations Environment Programme] official pushes business solutions to environment problems: "We believe that economic sustainability and profitability are possible, if you initially invest to create environmentally sound products," [Noel] Brown said in an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo.  He also said that the degraded environment would eventually lead to low productivity by harming workers' health. (Hiroko Nakata, Japan Times, 11 Aug. 2001)

Brazil - Winning Against AIDS: HIV/AIDS sufferers in Brazil today get the same treatment as HIV/AIDS sufferers in the USA and Europe - the same, free 'triple cocktail' of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, the same clinical care, the same monitoring.  So perhaps it's not surprising that Brazil's HIV/AIDS patients have proved just as capable of taking their medicines on time as Americans or Europeans (the failure rate is exactly the same for Los Angeles and Rio), and that since 1997 the Brazilian government's national HIV/AIDS programme has proved its cost-effectiveness - halving the death rate from AIDS, preventing thousands of new patients being hospitalized, and helping to stabilize the epidemic...Brazil is breaking the virtual price monopoly enjoyed under World Trade Agreements by the major pharmaceuticals companies. They've complained about Brazil's action. But Dr Pinheiro says they have little reason to. "The drug companies say they need to charge high prices in Latin America and Africa to pay for research into new drugs and that if they were to lower their prices to the poorer countries they would lose heavily. In truth the global drugs business is worth US$300 billion and 82% of this market is made up of sales in the USA, Europe and Japan - 82%! So how is it then that we poor countries can cause so much harm to these companies with our share of the market?"  Brazilian Health Minister Jos‚ Serra puts it in a nutshell: "We've put our case to the world and we've fought for it. And what is our case? It is that access to medicines is a basic human right." (Lifeonline: A multimedia initiative about the impact of globalization, 9 Aug. 2001)

NIGERIA: Polluted Water Sources Put Communities At Risk - Communities in Nigeria's southern Ondo state could be risking a water-borne epidemic from pollution unless Nigeria moves to combat oil spills, the Nigerian News Agency reports. (UN Wire, 9 Aug. 2001)

Caution about HIV drugs 'misplaced': People dying of HIV/Aids in poor developing countries can be safely, effectively and relatively cheaply treated with western drugs according to two papers in the medical journal Lancet this week which categorically dismiss the current negative approach of western politicians and drug companies. (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 3 Aug. 2001)

India Inhales: Two and a half thousand Indians die every day from smoking related diseases - one every 40 seconds. Yet these numbers will be dwarfed in the future if present trends in tobacco use continue. This week, City Life goes to India to talk to cancer sufferers and campaigners and look at the effects of the globalization of tobacco addiction...Dr Sharad Vaidya, a Goa cancer surgeon, became so frustrated at the number of preventable tumours he was operating on that he started the National Organization for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE)...Dr Vaidya thinks that only legislation can work, the tobacco companies will never show any responsibility on their own initiative. "They're impervious to the tragedy . . . Money drives them, and greed drives them to do what they're doing." (Lifeonline: A multimedia initiative about the impact of globalization, 2 Aug. 2001)

Hudson River clean-up a monumental victory for public health: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to require General Electric to pay to remove the PCBs from the Hudson River is a monumental victory for public health, the Sierra Club said today. (Sierra Club, 1 Aug. 2001)

ENVIRONMENT-U.S.: Critics Condemn Review of Clean Air Act - President George W. Bush's request to review the Clean Air Act - considered one of the most important U.S. environmental laws - could halt government efforts to stop some of the world's largest energy companies from polluting, warn health and environmental advocates. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 1 Aug. 2001)

Health Workers Call for AIDS Monitoring: HIV/AIDS activists warn that Kenya does not have the adequate facilities to administer the drug, Nevirapine which is used to curb mother-to-child-transmission of the HIV virus, 'Africa Analysis' reported on Monday....HIV/AIDS activists are calling for private sector support to make HIV-testing more affordable. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 1 Aug. 2001)

Anglo [AngloGold] in the Dark On AIDS Deaths: CEO says HIV positivity is a subterranean syndrome' and not easy to track among miners [South Africa] (Pat Sidley, Business Day [Johannesburg], 1 Aug. 2001)

NZ GMO report pits Australian industry vs consumers: A New Zealand government inquiry which urged the South Pacific nation not to reject genetically modified (GM) foods was welcomed by the Australian food industry yesterday but slammed by consumer activists. A Royal Commission, the most far-reaching investigation a New Zealand government can order, on Monday rejected the idea of a GM-free country by recommending loosened curbs on low-risk GM applications while calling for rigorous case-by-case testing. (Reuters, 1 Aug. 2001) 

Nigeria leads African way in Aids treament: Nigeria plans to launch the largest Aids treatment program in Africa using cheap generic drugs on September 1, says a United Nations special envoy. (Independent Online [South Africa], 31 July 2001)

More Tobacco Companies Going Public Overseas, New IRRC Directory Finds: More government-owned tobacco companies are falling into private hands, presenting new opportunities and ethical dilemmas for investors, finds a new report from the Investor Responsibility Research Center. While the privatization trend supports economic reforms advocated by free-trade groups like the World Trade Organization, it also invites more aggressive marketing practices that spread the health risks of smoking. (Investor Responsibility Research Center, 30 July 2001)

Aventis to continue efforts to contain StarLink corn: European biotech firm Aventis SA said last week it would continue efforts to keep its StarLink bio-engineered corn, currently unapproved for human consumption, from making its way into human food supplies. (Reuters, 30 July 2001) 

US science panel rejects StarLink in human food: A science advisory panel last week urged the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain its ban on StarLink biotech corn in human food, saying too many questions remain about whether the gene-spliced corn can cause rashes, breathing problems or other allergic reactions. (Julie Vorman, Reuters, 30 July 2001)

Attempt To Weaken Clean Air Standards Called An Attack On Public Health [USA]: Industry Up To Old Tricks Again (Earthjustice, 27 July 2001)

Hudson River Cleanup Clash to Echo in U.S.: If EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] scales back PCB dredging plan, environmentalists fear a pattern of future policy rollbacks by Bush. - At the heart of the struggle is whether the General Electric Co. can be forced to clean up the Hudson River, which has become the nation's largest Superfund cleanup site. The company's plants along the river flooded the waterway with more than 1 million pounds of PCBs--chemicals linked to cancer in humans and animals--until the practice was banned by the federal government in 1977. (Josh Getlin, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2001)

Tobacco giant says sorry to Czechs: Philip Morris, the US tobacco giant behind Marlboro cigarettes, has apologised for funding a widely derided survey that found that the early deaths of smokers helped governments to save money. (Michael Ellison, Guardian [UK], 27 July 2001)

Gold Fields Counts the Costs of AIDS: Gold Fields has released a report on the extent of the HIV/Aids pandemic among its South African workforce that manages quite literally to count the cost of the killer disease: it affects one in four of its 48000-strong labour complement.  The study reveals a wealth of facts and figures about the disease and also cuts to the quick of the issue for business -- what the effect will be on the bottom line.  (Stewart Bailey, Mail & Guardian [Johannesburg], 27 July 2001)

Study links pesticides to male infertility: French and Argentine researchers produced new evidence today showing that exposure to pesticides and solvents could be contributing to falling sperm counts and rising levels of male infertility. (Reuters, 27 July 2001)

Thousands ill as Phnom Penh air pollution doubles: Tens of thousands of residents of the Cambodian capital are suffering respiratory problems as construction activity has increased dust levels, a senior government official said yesterday. (Reuters, 27 July 2001)

GENOMICS: WHO Meeting Calls For Guidelines To Prevent Abuses - Scientists and sociologists at a World Health Organization conference Tuesday called for ethical guidelines enshrined in international law to head off the possible exploitation of patients in poor countries by Western scientists in search of genetic material. (UN Wire, 26 July 2001)

CHEMICAL SAFETY: Documents Available Free on Internet - The World Health Organization yesterday announced that thousands of chemical safety documents are now available free at the Web site of the International Program on Chemical Safety, a joint effort of the WHO, the International Labor Organization and the UN Environment Program. (UN Wire, 26 July 2001)

GENETIC TECHNOLOGY: Action sought on abuse of patent rights - Developing nations at a disadvantage in field research while rich countries profit unfairly, meeting concludes.  Citing their comparative disadvantage in the advancement of genetic technology to improve health matters, developing nations are demanding a mechanism to prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights for commercial gain related to the technology. (Pennapa Hongthong, The Nation [Bangkok], 26 July 2001)

HUMAN GENOME: Warning on gene therapy - Social causes must not be overlooked - Public health policy-makers should not rely too heavily on gene therapy to help cure diseases, warned a British molecular biologist....Many "incurable" diseases resulted from toxicity from pesticides and chemical use, not only from genetic impairment. (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 25 July 2001)

GENOMICS: WHO Forum Eyes New Technology To Combat Diseases - Scientists from developing countries attending a World Health Organization forum this week in Bangkok have determined that genome technology could be used in the development of drugs and vaccines to help eliminate diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. (UN Wire, 25 July 2001)

ORANGE ORCHARDS: Growers face curbs on pesticides, water use and expansion [Thailand]: Local leaders move against health risks - Local leaders have agreed to contain any further expansion of orange orchards in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district to limit pesticide contamination. A meeting of the tambon administration organisations in the district yesterday hoped the measures would reduce health risks faced by villagers. (Onnucha Huttasingh, Bangkok Post, 25 July 2001)

Earthjustice lawsuit challenges EPA's failure to control pollution from consumer and commercial products [USA] -  Emissions from Paints, Aerosols Threaten Public Health: Challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s fundamentally dysfunctional air toxics program, Earthjustice has filed seven lawsuits each day for a week. Today’s final suit addresses EPA’s failure to regulate pollution from consumer and commercial products, such as paints, aerosol sprays, and solvents. (Earthjustice, 24 July 2001)

Landmark victory for public health & the environment [USA]: Court Rules EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] Regulations For Hazardous Waste Burners Inadequate - Earthjustice today secured a landmark victory for public health and the environment pertaining to critical clean air standards. In its ruling today, the United States Court of Appeals struck down as inadequate and unlawful EPA regulations for incinerators and cement kilns that burn hazardous waste. Earthjustice filed suit on behalf of the Sierra Club in 1999 to challenge the EPA regulations. (Earthjustice, 24 July 2001)

Genome hope for tropical diseases: Scientists and sociologists from developing countries attending a World Health Organisation (WHO) forum here have identified an opportunity in genetic research to get rid of tropical diseases, but they also want to bring an end to corporate control of the technology. (Nantiya Tangwisutijit and Pennapa Hongthong, The Nation [Bangkok], 24 July 2001)

Official Blames Acid Rain, Stress, Others On Gas-Flaring: Gas-flaring, which has become a regular feature in the Niger Delta region for several decades, has been blamed for ecosystem heat, stress and acid rain, including the destruction of fresh water-fishes, forests and property. [Nigeria] (Guardian [Lagos, Nigeria], 24 July 2001)

Toxic Texas is Bush’s heartland: During Mr Bush’s six-year stint as governor, Texas became number one among the 50 states for ozone precursor emissions. Two years ago, Houston - the state’s biggest city - took Los Angeles’ place as the smog capital of America. With five other major metropolitan areas in Texas, it was warned by the federal environmental protection agency that its smog levels threatened health. (Robert Tait, The Scotsman [Edinburgh], 24 July 2001)

Government Needs to Rein In Drug Ads [USA]: Public Citizen’s Dr. Sidney Wolfe Testifies to Senate Lawmakers - The federal government urgently needs to beef up its regulation of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs because false and misleading ads can lead to injuries and deaths, Public Citizen's Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe will tell lawmakers today. (Public Citizen, 24 July 2001)

New Report Debunks Drug Industry Claims About the Cost of New Drug Research and Development [USA]: Second Report Documents Industrys Intense Lobby and Political Contribution Campaign to Keep Prices and Profits High - The pharmaceutical industry spends about one-fifth of what it says it spends on the research and development (R&D) of new drugs, destroying the chief argument it uses against making prescription drugs affordable to middle and low-income seniors, a Public Citizen investigation has found. (Public Citizen, 23 July 2001)

New Report Exposes Drug Industrys 625 Washington Lobbyists and Spending Blitz to Keep Prices and Profits High [USA] (Public Citizen, 23 July 2001)

Study estimates environmental costs of energy output: The cost of producing electricity from coal or oil would double if costs such as damage to the environment and health were taken into account, according to the results of a study published last week. The cost of electricity production from gas would increase by 30 percent if these so-called "external costs" were factored in, the European Union-funded research study found. (Reuters, 23 July 2001)

{···español} Los poderosos crean un fondo contra el sida de 240.000 millones (El Pais [Madrid], 21 Julio 2001)

HEALTH: Anti-Tobacco Treaty On Track, Says WHO: The World Health Organisation (WHO) is convinced that a proposed UN treaty curbing the use of tobacco will survive attacks from opponents. (Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service, 20 July 2001)

Health fund pledges 'inadequate': The world's richest countries on Friday formally launched a new fund to fight Aids, but divisions remained over how it should be administered and health charities said the amount pledged was inadequate (Stephen Fidler and Alan Beattie, Financial Times, 20 July 2001)

Global Health Fund must not be a subsidy for the drug industry: As the G8 announces details of Global Health Fund, access to affordable medicines for the poor must be a priority. (Médecins Sans Frontières, 20 July 2001)

Wealthy Countries Seal the Deal: AIDS Treatment Not Worth the Dollars [regarding the launch of the Global AIDS and Health Trust Fund] (ACT UP Health GAP Coalition, 20 July 2001)

Roadmap points the way ahead for biotechnology: Business experts serving on ICC [International Chamber of Commerce] commissions covering environment, trade and investment, intellectual property and marketing have combined to draw up a Global Roadmap for Modern Biotechnology. The roadmap contrasts business and government positions on all the basic issues under debate, including promoting innovation, building consumer trust and health and environmental issues. (International Chamber of Commerce, 20 July 2001)

Drugs: US, Europe Battle Over Pricing Rules: Even before the United Nations has reached its goal of $10 billion for Secretary-General Kofi Annan's global HIV/AIDS fund, the United States and Europe are going head to head over how the funds should be spent and, in particular, issues surrounding pharmaceutical drugs. (UN Wire, 20 July 2001)

{···français} Les pays riches lancent un Fonds mondial pour la santé (Le Monde, 20 juillet 2001)

Unchecked incinerator pollution underscores pervasive problem: Toxic Emissions from Many Categories Remain Uncontrolled - While the Environmental Protection Agency flounders with a dysfunctional regulation program for air toxics, unchecked pollution threatens Americans’ health. To address EPA’s regulatory lapse, Earthjustice filed today the fifth of seven lawsuits against EPA on behalf of Sierra Club. (Earthjustice, 20 July 2001)

Price of vital TB drugs reduced by as much as 94% through WHO partnership - People suffering from the deadly strains of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) now have access to high quality "second line" drugs at sharply reduced prices and to a system designed to promote the use of the drugs in the most effective manner, thanks to international efforts led by the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières and Harvard Medical School.  Some countries will be able to save as much as 94% of their current spending on the drugs needed to treat MDR-TB.  Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was instrumental in the negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry for the second line drugs.  (World Health Organization, 19 July 2001)

press release: Pfizer: The industry leader in pricing drugs beyond the reach of the poor in developing countries - Oxfam today accuses Pfizer, the world's largest and richest drug company, of moral bankruptcy by pricing life-saving drugs beyond the reach of millions of poor people. (Oxfam GB, 19 July 2001)

Earthjustice lawsuit challenges EPA's failure to crack down on supertoxins: EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] Fails to Protect Americans from Worst of Toxic Air Pollutants - Continuing to stress the need for stronger and timelier implementation of clean air safeguards, Earthjustice today filed the third of seven lawsuits challenging the federal government’s chronic failure to protect Americans from the health hazards of toxic air pollution. Representing Sierra Club, Earthjustice is filing one lawsuit each day for a week, to compel EPA to do its job. Today’s lawsuit focuses specifically on supertoxins – dioxins, PCBs, and mercury as well as four other pollutants that Congress singled out for especially careful regulation. (Earthjustice, 18 July 2001)

Tobacco: Philip Morris Report Claims Benefits Of Smokers' Deaths - A controversial study commissioned by Philip Morris to examine the financial costs of smoking includes findings that premature smokers' deaths have economic benefits, after researchers concluded that the Czech government saved $30 million in 1999 by not having to support, house and care for smokers who perished prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses. Because of the tobacco industry, the report found that the Czech Republic was better off in 1999.  Conducted by research company Arthur D. Little International, the report found that financial benefits to the Czech government from cigarette duties, income tax for tobacco businesses and customs duty already outweigh the costs of health care, lost working days and fires triggered by cigarettes. (UN Wire, 18 July 2001)

Air pollution kills 3 lakh [300,000] in South Asian cities a year: Survey - The World Bank has stressed the need for launching out a strong campaign to create public awareness about urban pollution and halting the use of high emitting two-stroke engines that cause premature deaths in cities and their suburbans, reports BSS. (Independent [Bangladesh], 18 July 2001)

Earthjustice lawsuit challenges EPA's failure to control hazardous air pollution in cities [USA]: Missed Deadlines Leave Urban Areas Waiting for Public Health Protections - Responding to a rash of missed clean air deadlines, Earthjustice today filed the second of seven lawsuits challenging the federal government’s chronic failure to protect Americans from the health hazards of toxic air pollution. Earthjustice represents Sierra Club in its second suit this week against the Environmental Protection Agency.  Today’s lawsuit challenges EPA’s failure to implement a key requirement in the Clean Air Act: the Act’s mandate to reduce emissions of the hazardous air pollutants that are the greatest threat to public health in urban areas. These pollution sources include chemical plants and various types of waste incinerators, among others, but the list is incomplete and most of the sources remain unregulated. (Earthjustice, 17 July 2001)

San Joaquin Valley [California] Medical, Community and Environmental Groups Announce Upcoming Lawsuit To Enforce Clean Air Act: At Fresno City Hall, medical, community, and environmental groups announced their intention to sue both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District in 60 days for failure to stop the air pollution that threatens the health of all San Joaquin Valley residents....Agriculture: Polluter and Victim  (Earthjustice, 17 July 2001)

WHO: Agency, Project.net Join Forces On New Initiative: The World Health Organization has joined forces with Project.net to launch the pilot phase of the Health InterNetwork initiative, which will include projects in Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, India, Latin America and the Middle East, Project.net announced yesterday in its quarterly review. (UN Wire, 17 July 2001)

Report on Tobacco and Czech Economy Exposes Real Philip Morris Behind Glossy Image: Tobacco Giant Devalues Human Life: Corporate accountability and public health advocates are condemning Philip Morris’s attempts to convince the Czech government that tobacco-related deaths are good for the country’s economy. (Infact, 16 July 2001)

Oil Spill: Abia Communities Send SOS to FG, State: The Umuagu-Umuhu and Ihite-Ude Ofeme communities in Abia, currently being ravaged by oil spillage, have sent a distress call to the state and federal governments for urgent assistance, especially in the provision of potable water. [Nigeria] (Tony Edike, Vanguard [Lagos], 16 July 2001)

Earthjustice lawsuits challenge widespread defects in federal toxics program [USA]: First of Seven Suits Seeking Timely Clean Air Regulations Filed Today - Earthjustice today filed the first of seven lawsuits challenging the federal government’s chronic failure to protect Americans from the health hazards of toxic air pollution. The defendant is the very agency tasked with providing such protection: the Environmental Protection Agency. The plaintiff is Sierra Club. To compel EPA to do its job, Earthjustice will file one lawsuit each day for the next week.  All seven lawsuits address EPA’s failure to establish controls for such highly toxic air pollutants as dioxins, PCBs, and mercury ¾ pollutants that even in tiny doses can cause devastating health effects.  (Earthjustice, 16 July 2001)

BAT Loses Plea On Smoking [Uganda]: The High Court yesterday dismissed attempts by the British American Tobacco (BAT) Limited to be joined as respondents in a case in which environmentalists are seeking criminalisation of public smoking.  BAT (U) Limited represented by Oscar Kihika had applied to court to be joined as respondents, saying that the positive outcome of the case was likely to affect their sales and profits....The Environmental Action Network Limited (TEAN) petitioned court to declare that public smoking infringes on the constitutional rights of non-smokers as provided for in the Constitution. (Juliet Nankinga, New Vision [Kampala], 14 July 2001)

Rio Tinto: Global Compact Violator - PT Kelian: A Case Study of Global Operations - In the third article in our series on Global Compact corporations, Danny Kennedy of Project Underground takes a look at Rio Tinto, the world's largest mining company. Just by looking at the company's practices at one mine in Indonesia over the last year, he finds evidence of brutal human rights and environmental violations. (Danny Kennedy, Project Underground, CorpWatch website, 13 July 2001)

Unilever admits to toxic dumping: will clean up but not come clean: Finally conceding to citizens groups and Greenpeace, the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever has agreed to permanently close its mercury thermometer factory in India, the largest in the world. While the company will implement a cleanup of 5.3 tons of mercury wastes it illegally dumped at a local scrapyard, it still refuses to accept responsibility for local citizens and workers at the factory in Kodiakanal, who may have been exposed to the highly toxic metal. (Dyan M. Neary, Earth Times News Service, 13 July 2001)

Diesel Cancer Risk Dwarfs All Other Air Toxics Combined: New EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] Data Reveal Much Higher Than Expected Risk Levels (Environmental Defense, 12 July 2001)

Sunday morning political talk shows ignore corporate power issues [USA] - The study found that: Topics related to corporate power -- the environment, corporate crime, labor, mergers, consumer rights, corporate welfare, national health care, free trade agreements, redlining, blockbusting, multinational capital flight, tort reform, renewable energy, the commercialization of children, etc. -- make up less than 4% of the shows’ discussion topics...Corporate influence over the networks, the shows and the guests in part explains the remarkable omission of issues related to corporate power. Multinational conglomerates own the networks, major corporations sponsor specific shows, businesses regularly pay celebrity journalist lecture fees, and massive corporations fund the campaigns of the guest newsmakers. (Essential Information, 12 July 2001)

How the world is threatened by massive change: The effects of relentlessly rising global temperatures in the coming century are likely to be catastrophic for the world, the second volume of the new IPCC report spells out with more chilling confidence than ever before. (Michael McCarthy, Independent [UK], 12 July 2001)

Washington State/Alaska company sentenced in asbestos case: Great Pacific Seafood and Stiles pleaded guilty to having five of its employees directly or indirectly exposed to asbestos fibers without the proper training, equipment or protective clothing. The hazardous nature of abatement was never disclosed to two of the employees. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 12 July 2001)

WHO [World Health Organization] calls on private sector to provide affordable hearing aids in developing world: 250 Million People in the World affected by Hearing Loss - 25-fold decrease in hearing aid prices in developing countries possible (World Health Organization, 11 July 2001)

NGOs Air Concerns On Trading System At WTO Symposium (ICTSD Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, 10 July 2001)

Like Minded Group Sets Out Positions Before Doha: Trade Ambassadors from the Like Minded Group (LMG) -- a 13 member developing countries coalition -- elaborated their positions on various WTO issues in an interactive dialogue with journalists and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) held on 5 July in Geneva. (ICTSD Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, 10 July 2001)

HEALTH: UN Report Sees Green Light for Generic AIDS Drugs - In a direct challenge to the world's pharmaceutical industry, the authors of a new UN report call on developing countries to strengthen their national laws in order to enable local production of cheaper, lifesaving AIDS drugs. Such an option can be pursued legitimately under compulsory licensing, a principle in international commerce that permits countries to "use patents without permission of the patent holder in return for a reasonable royalty on sale," says the Human Development Report 2001, released Tuesday by the UN Development Programme. (Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service, 10 July 2001) 

Medical journals give free access to poor: Six of the world's leading medical publishers pledged yesterday to allow free access to their scientific journals, via the internet, to those in the poorest countries who could not otherwise afford them. (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 10 July 2001)

UNDP: New Report Cites Importance Of Technology To Poor States - Opposition to genetically modified crops by wealthy countries threatens the ability of poor countries to feed their growing populations, the UN Development Program warns in its Human Development Report 2001, scheduled for release tomorrow in Mexico. (UN Wire, 9 July 2001)

The Scorecard on Globalization 1980-2000: Twenty Years of Diminished Progress (Mark Weisbrot, Dean Baker, Egor Kraev and Judy Chen; Center for Economic and Policy Research, 9 July 2001)

Pollution on the rise in Hyderabad: More than 80 per cent diseases people suffer in the state are due water borne diseases, according to Principal Secretary, Environment and Forests, V P Jauhari....In spite of more than 200 laws on it, the environment is being destroyed, Mehta [Supreme Court advocate and environmental activist M C Mehta] said adding that when a case is filed against an industry, there was powerful lobbying for the industry but no lobbying for the environment. (Times of India, 7 July 2001)

TUBERCULOSIS: WHO, Drug Firms To Provide Low-Cost Drugs: The World Health Organization is teaming with drug makers including Eli Lilly and Co. and Jacobus Pharmaceutical Co. to provide five drugs for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis at slashed prices to poor countries, New Scientist reported yesterday. Months of talks led to an agreement to cut prices by 60% to 90% in poor countries. (UN Wire, 6 July 2001)

FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] probes plant that made chips with StarLink corn: Federal regulators said yesterday they were investigating a plant that produced white corn tortilla chips to determine how the snack food was contaminated with traces of genetically altered StarLink corn, a variety that triggered a massive food recall last autumn. (Julie Vorman, Reuters, 6 July 2001) 

States [in USA] ask Ford to remove mercury switches: Ford Motor Co. has been asked by 26 state attorneys general to remove mercury light switches from vehicles getting replacements for their Firestone Wilderness AT tires. (Reuters, 4 July 2001)

ARESE Launches New European Sustainability Index: ARESE, a Paris-based firm that conducts research on corporate social, environmental and sustainability performance, recently announced the introduction of the first of a series of new indexes.  The first index, the ASPI Eurozone, will track the financial performance of companies in the Eurozone that are leaders in sustainability.  ARESE's ratings for corporate sustainability performance are based on five criteria: community and international civil society; corporate governance; customers and suppliers; health, safety and the environment; and human resources and international labor standards. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 3 July 2001)

Co-op to ban pesticides in food amid health fears: The Co-operative Group, a major UK farmer and retailer, said yesterday it would ban more than 20 pesticides used to produce food worldwide amid fears about their impact on health and the environment. (Elizabeth Piper, Reuters, 3 July 2001) 

ExxonMobil sued for MTBE spill in Long Island, NY: One of the largest suppliers of drinking water on Long Island sued Exxon Mobil Corp. last week for water contamination by a gasoline additive that was first used to help the environment. (Soo Youn, Reuters, 2 July 2001)

ICI pulls out of cocaine war: ICI [British chemicals company] has pulled out of the controversial US project to spray vast areas of Colombia with herbicides in an attempt to eradicate its cocaine and heroin trade.  ICI does not want its name dragged into such a programme, particularly as there have been reports of children in Colombia who have inhaled the chemicals falling ill.  (Antony Barnett and Solomon Hughes, Observer [UK], 1 July 2001)

Toxics on the Hudson: The Saga of GE, PCBs and the Hudson River (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, July/Aug. 2001)

Sowing Technology: The ecological argument against genetic engineering down on the farm (Craig Holdrege and Steve Talbott, Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club, July/Aug. 2001)

Spinning Science into GOLD: In the pursuit of profit, the biotech industry is manipulating more than genes (Karen Charman, Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club, July/Aug. 2001)

A Nation of Lab Rats: Is genetically engineered food bad for you? Maybe. Maybe not. (Barbara Keeler, Sierra Magazine, Sierra Club, July/Aug. 2001)

New Monsanto and GMO Propaganda: Seeds of Irreversible Change: Multinationals like Monsanto are facing real grassroots opposition in the world, especially over agro-chemicals and GMOs. Monsanto has led the big corporations towards diversionary tactics: they have issued codes of conduct and ethical charters to conceal their real objective of creating value for their shareholders. They are promoting their products as cures for third world hunger and disease, and as an alternative to the dangers of pesticides. They hope to win over a hostile public with advertising. (Agnès Sinai, Le Monde diplomatique, July 2001)