Lessons from health hazards Part A Lessons from health hazards © iStockphoto/AVTG Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation 13 Lessons from health hazards Contents — Part A 2 The precautionary principle and false alarms — lessons learned ������������������������� 17 2.1 'False alarms', 'regulatory abuse' and 'regulatory false positives' ...........................18 2.2 Identifying regulatory false positives .................................................................19 2.3 Mistaken false positives ...................................................................................19 2.4 Identified false positives .................................................................................25 2.5 Swine flu .......................................................................................................26 2.6 Food irradiation and consumer health ................................................................29 2.7 Discussion ....................................................................................................31 References ............................................................................................................37 3 Lead in petrol 'makes the mind give way' ............................................................ 46 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................47 3.2 Lead toxicity: some early warnings ...................................................................48 3.3 Lead in petrol 1922–1925: the early warnings of hazards to the public ..................50 3.4 'Progress' or precaution? ................................................................................52 3.5 Lead contamination is 'normal and safe' ............................................................56 3.6 1966: US Congress asks awkward questions ......................................................58 3.7 Lead in petrol poisons catalytic converters — so it's got to go ..............................60 3.8 Public funding to study lead poisoning in children ..............................................60 3.9 1977–1995: the phase down of lead in petrol .....................................................61 3.10 The pros and cons of leaded petrol ...................................................................62 3.11 European reflections on phasing out leaded petrol ..............................................69 3.12 Some late but contemporary lessons .................................................................69 References .............................................................................................................72 4 Too much to swallow: PCE contamination of mains water ����������������������������������� 76 4.1 PCE linings in water mains ...............................................................................77 4.2 Foreseeable harm? .........................................................................................77 4.3 PCE and the chlorinated ethylenes ....................................................................78 4.4 Discovery of PCE's toxic effects ........................................................................79 4.5 Implications for PCE use in water supply infrastructure ........................................82 4.6 The view from 2013 ........................................................................................86 References .............................................................................................................89 5 Minamata disease: a challenge for democracy and justice ����������������������������������� 92 5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................93 5.2 Minamata disease in the period up to 1968 ........................................................94 5.3 Congenital Minamata disease: intrauterine methylmercury poisoning...................105 5.4 Chaos implementing the Minamata disease accreditation system (1968 to present) .. 107 5.5 What are the lessons of the Minamata disease story? ........................................111 References ...........................................................................................................116 From Minamata to global health risk ........................................................................121 Mercury science and policy since Minamata: four insights for policy .............................125 Mercury in fish — the need for better information about contaminant exposures ............130 6 Beryllium's 'public relations problem' ................................................................ 131 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................132 6.2 Early warnings and the first beryllium workplace exposure standard ...................132 6.3 The science and its use .................................................................................133 6.4 Lessons for policymakers ...............................................................................139 14 Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation Lessons from health hazards References ...........................................................................................................141 Corporate behaviour in the regulation of beryllium: could there have been a different outcome if the company had room to turn around? ....................................................145 7 Tobacco industry manipulation of research ....................................................... 151 7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................152 7.2 Scientific community knowledge about the hazards of second-hand smoke exposure ......................................................................................................... 153 7.3 Tobacco industry strategies to subvert scientific knowledge ................................153 7.4 Lessons learned ...........................................................................................167 References ...........................................................................................................172 8 Vinyl chloride: a saga of secrecy ........................................................................ 179 8.1 A veil of secrecy ...........................................................................................180 8.2 1930–1999: rapid growth in PVC output ..........................................................180 8.3 1930–1961: early warnings from animals and humans meet industry indifference .. 182 8.4 1974: governments swift response .................................................................186 8.5 1974–present: does VCM cause brain cancer, other cancers and reproductive effects? .......................................................................................................188 8.6 Some late lessons from vinyl chloride ..............................................................191 References ...........................................................................................................196 9 The pesticide DBCP and male infertility ............................................................ 203 9.1 The discovery 1977: 'our union members are sterile' .........................................204 9.2 Early warnings: 1961–1975 ...........................................................................204 9.3 Pesticide registration and inadequate 'hazard control' 1961–1977 .......................204 9.4 Actions to reduce exposure in DBCP manufacturing: 1977 and 1978 ...................206 9.5 DBCP and cancer? ........................................................................................207 9.6 DBCP risks: from manufacturing to pesticide spraying ......................................207 9.7 DBCP exports from 1969 to the 1980s: spreading sterility? ................................207 9.8 Banana workers bring compensation cases: 1990–2010 ....................................209 9.9 Environmental pollution of soils and water by DBCP ..........................................210 9.10 Some late lessons ........................................................................................210 9.11 Conclusion ..................................................................................................211 References ............................................................................................................. 212 10 Bisphenol A: contested science, divergent safety evaluations ........................... 215 10.1 The first known endocrine disruptor: early warnings..........................................216 10.2 A growing problem .......................................................................................216 10.3 Identifying the risk was an accident, not the result of a regulatory process ..........217 10.4 Bisphenol beyond Paracelsus..........................................................................217 10.5 The time makes the poison ............................................................................219 10.6 Concern or no concern: that is the question .....................................................220 10.7 BPA reviews and risk assessments ..................................................................220 10.8 EFSA and EU risk assessments .......................................................................221 10.9