While reading of this strange story in today's (dead stump edition) NYT, I was struck by this paragraph:
A recruiting flier for the program, called the Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study, or Cheers, offered $970, a free camcorder, a bib and a T-shirt to parents whose infants or babies were exposed to pesticides if the parents completed the two-year study. The requirements for participation were living in Duval County, Fla., having a baby under 3 months old or 9 to 12 months old, and “spraying pesticides inside your home routinely.”The study was being paid for in part by the American Chemistry Council, a trade group that includes pesticide makers.
Who came up with such an experiment? Dr. Mengele? I wonder what the pre-ordained conclusions were going to be? Let me guess, studies have proven no link between spraying Raid on your infant and subsequent health problems. Yeah, right. Let's spray Stephen L. Johnson instead, right in the eyes for two years. I mean, science is science, right?
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E.P.A. Halts Florida Test on Pesticides:
A study of the effects of pesticides on infants was canceled after two Democratic senators threatened to block the confirmation of the E.P.A's acting administrator.
