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Winter 03-04 index CivAb index previous page

Europeans unite for responsible

toxicity testing

The European Union has, like the United States, become aware that many of the toxic products used in homes, industry , and agriculture have never been adequately tested for human safety. Like the US, the EU plans to conduct animal tests that will probably poison 500 million animals at an estimated cost of 20 billion euros, an expensive exercise that will not yield reliable information about the effect of these substances on humans.

Three organizations, Pro Anima in Paris, Comitatio Scientifico Antivivisezionista in Rome, and Doctors and Lawyers for Responsible Medicine (DLRM) in London, have formed the Alliance for Responsible Science (ARS). They have appealed to the EU to abandon conducting tests on animals on the basis that they are irrelevant for humans.

Instead, they call upon the EU to adopt "truly scientific testing, using methods derived from modern biology, which enable the reliable assessment of short and long term toxic risks in mankind. This science-based toxicology produces faster, cheaper and far more reliable results than the animal tests. The immediate adoption of these methods will add significantly to consumer safety, and should therefore be considered by the EU as an absolute priority, in compliance with the precautionary principle."

Health records indicate that over one million Europeans die prematurely every year from exposure to toxic chemicals in their food, homes and workplaces. Cancer is now the number one cause of death in Europeans aged 35 to 65. Many scientists blame this on carcinogens in the environment.

Also, the fourth leading cause of death overall is from reactions to toxic drugs which kill 120,000 people annually.

In spite of this poor track record, the EU has announced its intention of continuing to use animals to test for toxicity, a process which will go on for years. Meanwhile, people as well as animals continue to die prematurely from exposure to toxins in drugs, household and agricultural chemicals, and general air and water pollution.

The EU recognized the danger of pesticides back in the 1980's but so far, due to poisoning animals and waiting for them to get sick and die, has only been able to assess toxicity in 10% of these chemicals leaving 90% still in general use.

The Scientific Board of Pro Anima has surveyed new methods in toxicology assessment that have occurred over the last 30 years, methods that allow "observation and measurement of toxic effects at the molecular level as well as at the level of cells, tissues, perfused organs, and even at the systemic level, by means of non-invasive techniques imaging, scanning biochemical analysis, etc. Furthermore, these methods are able to elucidate the mechanisms of action of noxious substances, revealing possible long-term effects, which is of paramount importance from a consumer protection point of view. In addition to being a science-based toxicology, these methods are much faster and cheaper, when compared to animal testing."

Because the European Community lacks the infrastructure to embark on this scientific venture, ARS has embarked on a Scientific Toxicology Programme to prove the effectiveness of the methods it proposes. To start with, they propose to test drugs that have had to be recalled in order to show how more accurate scientific methods could have identified these problem drugs and prevented human harm and suffering.

This will be an enormously expensive undertaking for these non-profit, non-government organizations. For one thing, it will involve establishing a lab (estimated cost $150,000) with the necessary equipment to analyze the effects of the suspected chemicals on humans. Technicians from all over Europe can be trained here.

The expense of currency exchange rates make it impracticable for individuals to contribute amounts of less than, say, $100, to this important ARS project. (The banks charge a similar fee for each transaction regardless of the amount involved.) Civitas has been granted access to a British account that will make it possible to issue equivalent checks in British pounds to Doctors and Lawyers for Responsible Medicine for any contributions to the campaign it receives in American dollars. Donations can also be sent directly to

Pro Anima

16, rue Vezelay

75008 Paris, FRANCE

Comitato Scientifico Antivivisezeionista

Via Pietro Antonio Micheli, 62

I-00197 Roma, ITALY

DLRM

PO Box 302

London N89HD

Winter 03-04 index CivAb index continued