Biomonitoring and Senate Bill 1379:
Myths vs. Facts
MYTH: SB 1379 is not based on sound science.
FACT: Biomonitoring is an established scientific research tool which has been used for
many years in many countries for public health information campaigns and disease control.
Biomonitoring research helps identify and reduce exposures that are toxic to human health.
For example, biomonitoring studies that tested for lead levels in people's blood resulted in
policy changes that have dramatically reduced lead exposure in children. Biomonitoring of
breastmilk in Germany and Sweden led to policy changes that reduced levels of toxic
chemicals, protecting the health of the youngest, most vulnerable population. The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it conducts national biomonitoring
surveys because it will “provide unique exposure information to scientists, public health
officials, and physicians to help prevent disease that results from exposure to environmental
chemicals.” The laboratory techniques and protocols proposed in SB 1379 are the same
ones utilized by CDC.
MYTH: Biomonitoring results won’t tell us anything – there are better methods of
research.
FACT: We have very little information about chemicals in the environment. More than 90
percent are untested before being approved for commerce. Information about chemical
exposures is helpful for environmental health decision makers. There is no more precise
way to measure exposures in the body than through biomonitoring. We already measure
what’s in our air, food, and water – but only biomonitoring tells us what’s in people. The
information collected through the Healthy Californians Biomonitoring Program provides
essential data on community exposures to toxic chemicals of concern. Along with research
on health outcomes, as well as existing local and state health information, biomonitoring
gives us a more accurate picture of the environmental health in our communities.
MYTH: Biomonitoring will just scare the public.
FACT: Just as individuals have a right to informed consent before undergoing medical
procedures, we have a right to know what industrial chemicals are in our bodies that could
be harmful to our health. Many people want to know their level of personal pollution, so
they can take personal or political action to protect themselves and their families from
harmful exposures. In a 2004 statewide poll, 90 percent of Californians identified
biomonitoring as a community health issue of high concern and supported the establishment
of a state program. A large majority wanted to know what was in their bodies.
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In no other circumstance would it be suggested that people are better off not knowing about
the state of their health. As biologist Sandra Steingraber has commented, "I don’t think
public health is ever served by keeping secrets, and the idea that nursing mothers should be
protected against knowledge of what’s in their milk is profoundly condescending. Certainly,
as a nursing mother myself, I want to know what’s in my milk – in the same way I want to
know about infant car seat recalls." (from NPR’s “Living on Earth”)
MYTH: It’s normal for people to have chemicals in their bodies.
FACT: Human bodies are able to metabolize and excrete most (but not all) chemicals
which occur naturally in the environment. Since World War II, however, the vast increase in
the petrochemical industry means there are now some 100,000 synthetic chemicals registered
for use. These chemicals simply did not exist during the childhoods of many people alive
today. Shockingly, fewer than 10 percent of synthetic chemicals have been tested for their
effects on human health.
Today, we are learning that very low levels of chemical exposure can cause impacts in the
body which may contribute to rising disease rates. It is time to take a 21st century approach
to public health and chemicals policy based on science. The presence of hundreds of
industrial chemicals in the body does not mean it is "normal." Californians have not given
permission to put untested chemicals in their bodies and we want to know more about what
harm these chemicals may cause, what products contain these chemicals, and how people
become exposed to them.
MYTH: Animal experiments don't provide useful data for human health.
FACT: Animal studies examining the links between chemical exposure and diseases like
cancer do not always provide information that can be extrapolated to humans. But there is a
large and growing scientific literature that has found substances causing disease in animals
also cause disease in humans. The development of organ systems in laboratory animals often
mirrors the same developmental process in humans. To ignore this evidence goes against
the scientific record and common sense. The International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) of the World Health Organization takes a precautionary approach and recommends
that, "In the absence of adequate data on humans, it is biologically plausible and prudent to
regard agents and mixtures for which there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in
experimental animals as if they presented a carcinogenic risk to humans.”
MYTH: People are living longer, which shows that widespread chemical exposure is
benign.
FACT: An estimated 125 million Americans, 43 percent of the population, have at least one
chronic disease. Approximately 60 million of these have multiple chronic conditions. The
lifetime risk of cancer is 1 in 3 for women and 1 in 2 for men, and cancer is the second most
common cause of death. People are living longer in part because of costly medical
procedures and the development of new medicines to treat increasing rates of cancer and
other chronic diseases. Furthermore, mounting evidence links environmental toxicants to
diseases that are becoming more common, such as asthma, Alzheimer’s Disease, autism,
birth defects, impaired fertility, developmental disabilities, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s
Disease.
MYTH: We can’t afford a new program in California right now.
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FACT: Biomonitoring is a public health measure that can save California enormous
resources in healthcare. It is estimated that reducing environmentally-related diseases by just
one percent would save the state over $100 million annually. Chronic diseases, by contrast,
cost the state billions of dollars per year. The estimated total annual cost of asthma in
California is $1.27 billion. The estimated lifetime costs of medical and other treatments, plus
lost productivity for all affected individuals born in 1988 with one or more of the 18 most
common birth defects, exceeds $1 trillion. Special education for the estimated one million
California children with learning disabilities carries an annual price tag of $12 billion. The
overall cost of chronic diseases is staggering. Establishing a biomonitoring program could
save California millions of dollars in health care costs, reduced costs for employers,
environmental cleanups, and future public health expenditures.
MYTH: SB 1379 is a "job killer." If passed, it will be bad for California business.
FACT: Exposures to hazardous chemicals in the workplace result in the premature death of
over 60,000 U.S. workers each year. There are more than 800,000 new cases of occupational
disease each year. The annual cost of occupational disease in the U.S. is $25.5 billion,
representing a substantial drain on the U.S. economy, not to mention the impact on the lives
of workers and their families. With biomonitoring information, we can better protect
workers and communities from disease and illness. Establishing a biomonitoring program
could save millions of dollars in health care costs and associated economic costs for
employers. SB 1379 is good for business because biomonitoring data can tell us who is
highly exposed to industrial chemicals and pollutants in the workplace, enabling employers
to design create effective solutions that increase productivity, cut costs, and protect the
health of workers, their families, and the wider community.
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