The NPA's efforts to eliminate lindane get a huge boost

NPA Press Release
11/01/01

The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) and Los Angeles County Sanitation District's (LACSD) efforts to eliminate lindane got a huge boost from an impressive list of other organizations during the time for public comment on the EPA's Preliminary Risk Assessment for Lindane.

Lindane, first used as a smoke bomb during WWI, is an endocrine disrupting, bio-accumulative and toxic chemical.  It is a known health risk to humans, especially children, with potential adverse effects ranging from learning disabilities, to birth defects, to breast cancer, to leukemia, to seizures, to death.  Lindane is an unnecessary risk to all forms of life and for this reason has been banned in pharmaceutical products the state of California.  The goal is not just to eliminate lindane, but also to ensure it is not replaced with yet another poison.

Advising the EPA in their risk assessment, The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Senior Scientist Gina M. Solomon, M.D., M.P.H., submitted comments on behalf of NRDC, Commonweal, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles & San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington Toxics Coalition.  Their joint statement strongly advises the EPA to correct the major flaws in their lindane risk assessment.  Dr. Solomon summarizes, "On reviewing the literature on lindane's persistence, bioaccumulation in the environment and in human tissues, and toxicity, we do not believe that this chemical can safely be registered for use in the United States."

Also participating in this effort were The Alaska Community Actions on Toxics, Breast Cancer Action, Environmental Health Coalition, KidSource, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, The Sierra Club, Tri-TAC, and the World Wildlife Fund.

The NPA and LACSD received the most prestigious pollution prevention award in the country for 2001.  Senator Diane Feinstein commended the NPA and LACSD stating, "Your commitment to reducing lindane at the source represents a unique and innovative approach to protecting the environment. Lindane is a persistent bio-accumulative and toxic chemical that is dangerous to the environment, harmful to human health and threatening to the food chain. I was appalled to learn that lindane is still used to treat head lice."

The links below will take you to some examples of these letters.