根據美國環保署、公衛團體、農場工人權益促進團體及環保團體所達成的新協議，未來美國有關殺蟲劑人體試驗的聯邦法規必須加以修正，且內容須公開以接受外界檢驗。
此擬議改革方案將解決上述團體確立的三大範疇－－ 法規的範圍、是否合乎2004年國家科學院的政策評估以及「紐倫堡守則」（Nuremberg Code）。所謂紐倫堡守則，是因為二戰期間納粹醫生對罪犯做人體實驗，而制定出一套對人體醫學試驗的管制標準
美國環保署必須在2011年1月16日前，在聯邦公報上發布修法訊息，並同時開啟公眾評論期。預定相關修訂於2011年12月16日完成。
「人們不應該被當作測試殺蟲劑的實驗室老鼠。」，邁克華爾（Michael Wall）律師在6月16日與自然資源保護委員會（Natural Resources Defense Counci）達成協議時說。「根據協議，環保署將提出更強有力的保障措施，以防止不道德、不科學的殺蟲劑人體實驗。」
2006年布希執政期間，環保署允許用人實驗來界定殺蟲劑的化學毒性，並藉此設定人體可耐受的暴露劑量。在這類實驗中，受雇的受試者吃進或喝進殺蟲劑、進入殺蟲劑蒸氣室、以殺蟲劑噴上眼睛或擦在皮膚上。殺蟲劑業者則以這些實驗結果，爭取當局對有害化學品採取較寬鬆的管制辦法。
通過聯邦研究倫理規範的提案變更，環保署就不可以再接受這樣的研究實驗。如果環保署不接受這類實驗，化工廠將無法藉此獲得報酬。
「用殺蟲劑作人體實驗是不道德且錯誤的，必須制止」，參與此案的地球正義（Earthjustice）律師哈塞爾曼律師說，「環保署作出了正確的決定，改善規範以防止不道德實驗，也阻止了以往為鬆綁法規取得正當性的不科學實驗。」
環保署在其網站上解釋說，「環保署期望此項強硬的規範將可減少有系統地殺蟲劑人體實驗；我們期望系統性的毒性研究數目會盡可能降到零，或是一年只有一件。」
Federal rules governing pesticide experiments using people as test subjects must be rewritten and issued for public comment under a new agreement reached between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and public health groups, farm worker advocates and environmental organizations.
The proposed changes will address the three principal areas identified by the groups - the scope of the rule, its consistency with recommendations issued by the National Academy of Sciences in 2004, and its consistency with the Nuremberg Code.The Nuremberg Code, a set of standards governing medical experiments on humans, was put in place after World War II following criminal medical experiments performed by Nazi doctors.
EPA will publish the proposed amendments in a Federal Register notice before January 16, 2011, and open a public comment period at the same time. The amendments will be finalized by December 16, 2011.
"People should never have been used as lab rats for testing pesticides," said attorney Michael Wall with the Natural Resources Defense Council after the June 16 agreement. "Under the settlement, EPA will propose far stronger safeguards to prevent unethical and unscientific pesticide research on humans."
In 2006, during the Bush administration, the EPA imposed a rule that allows experiments in which people are intentionally dosed with pesticides to assess the chemicals' toxicity and allows EPA to use such experiments to set allowable exposure standards.In these experiments, people have been paid to eat or drink pesticides, to enter pesticide vapor chambers, and to have pesticides sprayed into their eyes or rubbed onto their skin.The pesticide industry has used such experiments to argue for weaker regulation of harmful chemicals.
Under the proposed changes to federal research ethics standards, the EPA would no longer accept such studies. If the EPA stops accepting them, corporations have nothing to gain by conducting them.
"Unethical testing of pesticides on humans is wrong and has to be stopped," said Jan Hasselman, an attorney with Earthjustice involved in the case. "EPA made the right decision to improve its rules to prevent the ethical abuses and unscientific experiments used in the past to justify weaker regulation."
"EPA expects its tougher new rules will decrease the number of systemic intentional dosing toxicity studies conducted for pesticides," explains the EPA on its website. "We expect the number of systemic toxicity studies to drop to as few as zero or one per year."
作者
In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
