 |
 |
Nic, Sorry to hear about your early onset PD. TCE seems to be still in common use, and i'd imagine there are many PWP throughout the country who were exposed to it. If we had a nationwide Parkinson's registry it would help to identify these clusters and help prove that certain environmental toxins can cause PD. The registry is one of the issues that PAN will be advocating for this year. There is a video of a local TV report about Ed Abney at: http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/38310524.html -- Nic Marais <[log in to unmask]> wrote: I had plenty of exposure to TCE during the 70's and 80's and was diagnosed with PD in 1994 at age 42. Nic 56/14 On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 3:22 PM, Arnie Kuzmack <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Greenberg" <[log in to unmask] > > > To: "Occ-Env-Med-L" <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 6:45 AM > Subject: [occ-env-med-l] NYT: Parkinson's & TCE debate > > > Exposed to Solvent, Worker Faces Hurdles > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/25toxic.html?_r=1&ref=health > [Please visit the original website to view the whole article. - Mod.] > > By FELICITY BARRINGER > Published: January 24, 2009 > > BEREA, Ky. — When the University of Kentucky published new research in > 2008 suggesting that exposure to a common industrial solvent might > increase the risk for Parkinson's disease, the moment was a source of > satisfaction to Ed Abney, a 53-year-old former tool-and-die worker. > > Mr. Abney, now sidelined by Parkinson's, had spent more than two > decades up to his elbows in a drum of the solvent, trichloroethylene, > while he cleaned metal piping at a now-shuttered Dresser Industries > plant here. > > The university study had focused on him and his factory co-workers who > worked near the same 55-gallon drum of the vaguely sweet-smelling > chemical. It found that 27 workers had either the anxiety, tremors, > rigidity or other symptoms associated with Parkinson's, or had motor > skills that were significantly impaired, compared with a healthy peer > group. The study, Mr. Abney thought, was the scientific evidence he > needed to claim worker's compensation benefits. > > He was wrong. The medical researchers would not sign the form > attesting that Mr. Abney's disease was linked to his work. > > Individuals like Mr. Abney are caught between the conflicting > imperatives of science and law — and there is a huge gap between what > researchers are discovering about environmental contaminants and what > they can prove about their impact on disease. The gap has ensured that > only a tiny fraction of worker's compensation payments are received by > those who were exposed to harmful substances at work. > > "It's awfully difficult for any doctor or researcher to say to an > individual: 'You have this disease because you were exposed at this > time,' " said J. Paul Leigh, a professor of public health sciences at > the University of California, Davis. > > ... > > -- > Gary N. Greenberg, MD MPH Sysop / Moderator Occ-Env-Med-L MailList > Univ. N. Carolina School Public Health > Medical Director http://www.UrbanMin.org > Urban Ministries of Wake County Open Door Clinic > http://www.OpenDoorDocs.org > [log in to unmask] http://occhealthnews.net > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto: > [log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn