& The Environment By Audrey Lenhart |
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| Dinner to inaugurate the Colloquium. Pictured from left to right are: Dr. Mauricio Calero, Dr. Victor Sidel and Dr. Ignacio Paniagas, the President of MESARES, the Salvadoran branch of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. |
This year’s theme, Health and the Environment, attracted a variety of speakers and panelists. Dr. Victor Sidel, Co-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Professor of Social Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and DGH Advisory Council member, gave the keynote address. His speech, The Importance of Social Justice, Environmental Protection and Peace for Sustainable Development and Health, emphasized the detrimental effects that physical and environmental violence have on the health of people worldwide. He explained that, "Environment has a broad meaning, which encompasses not only the physical environment but also the social, cultural and economic environment...Indeed, it is widely recognized that the environment in which people live, rather than medical care, is the most important factor in the promotion and protection of health." He went on to remind those present of the World Health Assembly’s resolution that, “The role of physicians and other health workers in the preservation and promotion of peace is the most significant factor for the attainment of health for all.”
Also in attendance was Dr. Hector Silva, the Mayor of San Salvador. He participated in a roundtable discussion that debated the impact of globalization. Representatives from CESTA and the Unidad Ecologica Salvadoreña (two environmentally-oriented non-governmental organizations), joined him on the panel. All of the roundtable participants agreed that thus far the impact of globalization on the environment of El Salvador has been negative. As Dr. Sidel explained it, many developing countries, at the insistence of the United States and world financiers, have established systems of ‘globalization’ that, in the name of economic development, promote the grossly uneven distribution of income, leading to large amounts of poverty and, therefore, to poor health. These policies, which strive to boost private industry and investments at all costs, have led to the neglect of environmental control laws, thus increasing pollution as well as poverty. In fact, 94 percent of forested areas in El Salvador have been destroyed and air pollution in San Salvador is fast approaching the record-breaking conditions found in Mexico City.
Dr. Silva acknowledged the difficulties involved in passing and implementing laws concerned with environmental conservation. He proposed that El Salvador try to focus more on local problems and maximize resources at the local level to solve specific problems. However, he also emphasized that such local initiatives are becoming increasingly more difficult because El Salvador is part of a “globalized world,” meaning that El Salvador’s decisions concerning its environment no longer affect only the people of El Salvador, they also affect the multi-national interests of the foreign businesses in El Salvador–interests that are often in direct opposition to those of the local citizenry. Specifically, he cited World Bank policies that make the tax laws in El Salvador extremely unfair by giving large tax breaks to the wealthy, thus exacerbating the poverty associated with so many health problems.
Another hot topic discussed throughout the colloquium was industrial pollution–specifically air pollution–and its effects on public health. Participants discussed how factory workers often have little or no protection from chemicals and other pollutants inside factories, as well as the fact that factories themselves are not required to have equipment that monitors toxic output. As a result, air, soil, and water pollution from factories continues to increase dramatically. Furthermore, trash is not collected from the most populated areas of El Salvador, which creates very unsanitary conditions amongst those least able to afford health care. Where trash is collected in large quantities, it is burned, which drastically increases air pollution. In fact, the capital of El Salvador may soon have the dubious distinction of having the worst air quality in the world.
To illustrate the negative effect all this has had on health, it was noted that there has been an increase in patient consults in the areas of highest contamination. Most of these patients experience respiratory problems resulting from air pollution, or skin problems caused by a variety of environmental contaminants. In addition, Dr. Mauricio Calero, a Salvadoran physician living in Ontario, Canada, whose attendance was sponsored by DGH, painted a clear picture of the economic repercussions of such environmental degradation, including the cost of treating related diseases and work time lost.
Overall, the colloquium provided an effective forum for leading researchers and authorities to discuss the environmental crisis facing El Salvador and its public health implications–a problem also looming over most developing nations. The overriding sentiment was one of genuine concern. People seemed very engaged in the subject matter.
Unfortunately, the environmental crisis in El Salvador has only recently begun to receive the serious attention it requires and the problem continues to escalate. It is encouraging, however, that an organization as large and influential within El Salvador as the National University, chose 1997 to focus on environmental concerns in their annual colloquium. Dr. Lanny Smith, President of DGH, who was on the colloquium’s planning committee, felt, “The colloquium was a resounding success, both in bringing people together and in helping to focus attention on the need for passage of environmental protection legislation.” In fact, after much debate, a law was passed in early March of this year. While critics maintain that it falls far short of what is needed, it is an important first step.
In This Issue
Regulations recently announced by President Clinton would cut levels of the pollutant by about half over the next decade. Yet a number of influential members of Congress have vowed to overturn the decision with strong backing from industries that would bear the brunt of the pollution reduction.
–Joint report of The Environmental Working Group and Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Evidence that these chemicals affect our health is growing: Children born to mothers exposed to PCBs before and during pregnancy show reduced IQs and other developmental delays; and human populations severely or chronically exposed to dioxin show increased incidences of cancers, immune deficiencies, and developmental problems.
–Report of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). To receive action alerts about environmental health issues contact Karen Perry at PSR, 1101 14th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005, 202-898-0150 x249, kperry@psr.org.
For example, since there are 70,000 chemicals in use today in commercial quantities, and since roughly only a thousand of those have ever been studied in any detail, it will take decades, maybe centuries, before we fully understand the characteristics of all the chemicals that are currently in use.
Then there is the problem of combinations of multiple chemicals. If you took the 1,000 chemicals that we use most often and wanted to study those in combinations of three, you can get something like 150 million different combinations of three. We study something like 10 to 20 chemicals each year. That’s the capability of the entire federal government’s research apparatus.
So where should the burden of proof lie? Should you and I have the burden to prove that chemical x, y or z is going to harm us? The chemical dumpers get to dump whatever they want, and you and I have to line up the dead bodies and prove that harm has occurred. Since we don’t have a government that is interested in doing the research, the dumping continues.
–Excerpt from an interview with Peter Montague, Ph.D., Environmental Research Foundation, in the HBO documentary Rachel’s Daughters: Searching for the Causes of Breast Cancer.
