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June 3, 2005
Senator Kemp Hannon
501 Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12247
Dear Senator Hannon:
The National Pediculosis Association
s (NPA) mission is to protect children from the misuse and abuse
of pesticides used for treating them for head lice and scabies and
it is accepted knowledge that normal use of these pesticidal
treatments is misuse. Lindane may be regarded as a highly
regulated pesticide, but its use by parents on their children and
themselves is anything but controlled. We first appealed to the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a ban of lindane in 1983 for
these reasons.
It is predictable that inordinate
amounts of lindane will be purchased and applied to children s
scalps and skin both in the home, the hospital and other
institutional settings. Lindane is not 100% effective against
Pediculosis and scabies, contributing to organism resistance and
chronic human infestations.
Lindane applied to the scalps
and skin of children and families puts them at substantial risk of
its harmful effects even before consideration of additional
exposures after it has been re-routed via the sewer system back to
a child s water, air and food.
We find that risk assessment for
lindane insufficiently considers the children, the population most
vulnerable to pesticides in general. Nor do assessments fully
consider the cumulative and unpredictable combined effects with
numerous other potentially harmful pesticides that are in their
lives but cannot be measure or prevented.
U.S. Government agencies must
resolve to work cooperatively with all available resources to
protect the public from the ill effects of lindane and the
chemical agents used to produce it. California s unique ability
to directly associate and measure lindane levels in water
resulting from its use as a pharmaceutical is a phenomenal
scientific opportunity on which to build. Moreover, the positive
documented impact of education and prevention strategies utilized
by the Sanitation District of Los Angeles County and the National
Pediculosis Association s Lindane Reduction Project, demonstrates
that success in protecting human health and our environments from
lindane can be cost-effective, immediate and far-reaching.
In the U.S., cancer kills more
children under the age of 15 than any other disease including
AIDS. It is estimated that 8,000 new cases of childhood cancer
will be diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Acute leukemia, a cancer
already associated with lindane, accounts for the highest
percentage. Twenty three million children under the age of 18
suffer from learning disabilities as reported by the Learning
Disabilities Association of America. Behavioral disorders such as
hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder are considered signs
of low-level chemical exposure and now affect one out of every six
U.S. children.
We can t remove every potentially
harmful chemical exposure from a child s life making it imperative
that we remove those that we can.
Eliminating or strictly controlling
use of lindane as a pharmaceutical is protection for our most
vulnerable population from one of the most toxic pesticides of
them all.
We appreciate your consideration of
our position and ask that you vote to remove this toxic pesticide
from the lives of our children and their families.
Sincerely,
Deborah Z. Altschuler
President
National Pediculosis Association
50 Kearney Road
Needham, MA 02494
npa@headlice.org
781.449.6487
Sent via e-mail and postal mail
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