Also see:
AOL/Microsoft-Hotmail Preventing Delivery of Truthout Communications •
Go to Original
CDC Under Investigation Over Katrina Cancer Risk
By Alison Young
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday 09 February 2008
Congressional committee also looks into
whether agency retaliated against scientist.
A congressional committee is investigating "disturbing allegations"
that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suppressed
critical information about cancer dangers posed by trailers housing Hurricane
Katrina victims.
The committee also is looking into whether the Atlanta scientist who sought
to make the risks public has been the subject of retaliation by the agency.
In a letter this week to CDC Director Julie Gerberding, committee members warned
that they expect her to protect the scientist, Christopher De Rosa.
"The agency's conduct has called into question its ability to investigate
public health hazards accurately and appropriately in the future," wrote
the chairman and two subcommittee chairmen from the House Committee on Science
and Technology in a letter Wednesday to Gerberding.
"Apparently in retaliation, Dr. De Rosa was removed from his post and
given a job ... that appears to include no real responsibilities," the
letter said.
CDC spokesman Glen Nowak said Friday the agency has not suppressed any science,
nor has it retaliated against De Rosa. "The integrity of CDC's science
is paramount to everything we do," Nowak said.
De Rosa had been head of the division of toxicology and environmental medicine
in CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry since 1992. He was
removed from that job last fall and assigned the title of "special assistant."
Though CDC said De Rosa was simply reassigned, he said in an interview that
he's been demoted. De Rosa said the public should be concerned about what's
transpired.
"The very people they're looking to for answers have been censored,"
he said.
At issue is whether the agency intentionally delayed or avoided examining the
long-term cancer threat posed by formaldehyde fumes in trailers purchased by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house victims of the August 2005
hurricane. FEMA initially said air quality in the trailers was safe if they
were properly ventilated.
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a pungent smell. It is used in the production
of plywood and resins. Some studies have linked exposure to formaldehyde with
nose and throat cancer.
The committee also is investigating whether CDC abruptly stopped publication
of another report involving De Rosa, detailing "disturbing potential health
issues" in the Great Lakes region of the U.S., the letter said. The report
examined areas with environmental pollution and found elevated levels of certain
cancers and other health problems but did not make any cause-and-effect link.
"I want to find out what really happened," said Rep. Brad Miller
(D-N.C.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Friday
evening.
It's the latest incident involving allegations that CDC's scientific findings
on environmental issues are being watered down.
In October, another committee investigated the White House's involvement in
the cutting of nearly seven pages of information about the health consequences
of climate change. The deletions were from written testimony Gerberding had
planned to give to Congress. Gerberding, however, was adamant she had not been
censored.
Nowak said CDC's actions were focused on maintaining high standards of science.
He said the Great Lakes report was pulled from publication because parts of
it were misleading and didn't meet standards of scientific rigor. The committee
is investigating whether agency managers "intentionally circumvented"
De Rosa in an initial review of potential dangers associated with the trailers.
FEMA wanted ATSDR to look only at the health effects of short-term formaldehyde
exposure - defined as less than two weeks. Yet many Katrina residents have
lived in the trailers for months and years, the committee said in its letter.
De Rosa, the committee's letter said, already had raised questions about the
long-term health effects and agency managers knew he would insist the report
not be confined to short-term effects. Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen
that has no safe level set for long-term exposure, the letter said.
"De Rosa was then specifically and consciously excluded in the health
assessment," said Miller, referring to information provided to the committee.
Miller said information reviewed by the committee indicates FEMA's requests
of CDC were driven by concerns about legal liability, not public health.
FEMA officials declined to be interviewed Friday. But in written statements,
they have said the agency didn't ignore, hide or manipulate research. They said
the health and safety of hurricane victims was their top priority at all times.
Nowak, the CDC spokesman, said the agency initially focused solely on short-term
effects because that's what FEMA asked CDC to look at. But he said the agency
later issued a supplemental report with information about long-term health effects.
"Nobody was ignoring the fact that formaldehyde had longer-term health
consequences," Nowak said. The agency has been sampling the air quality
in more than 500 trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi and is now in the process
of analyzing the data.
Congressional investigators, however, said CDC only amended the report to include
long-term exposure warnings eight months later - after De Rosa "persistently
demanding" they be included.
De Rosa said Friday that he raised his concerns about formaldehyde, the Great
Lakes report and other issues through proper channels within the CDC.
"It's sort of like speaking truth to authority. I knew I was doing it
at my peril," he said.
Then, in what investigators said was apparently retaliation, De Rosa was removed
from his managerial job and in October given an "unsatisfactory" job
performance assessment. Before, De Rosa said, he had received good to excellent
ratings.
-------
Jump to today's Truthout Issues:
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
Print This Story
E-mail This Story