Export of Hazardous Products from the United States

"On Federal Policy Regarding the Export of Banned or Significantly Restricted Substances," Federal Register. (January 16, 1981) vol. 46, pp. 4659-4664. (Executive Order 12264 signed by President Carter days before leaving office.)

"Role of the Information System on Transnational Corporations Regarding the Exchange of Information on Banned Hazardous Chemical or Unsafe Pharmaceutical Products: Report Prepared by the Secretariat," United Nations Commission on Transnational Corporations Seventh Session, E/C.10/90, Geneva, 1981. (This report highlights the role of multinational corporations in the production, sale and use of hazardous products; it describes the role of various U.N. agencies in this area; and suggests the possible role of the Commission on Transnational Corporations in information exchange processes.)

Alston, Phillip. "International Regulation of Toxic Chemicals," Ecology Law Quarterly. (1978) vol. 7, pp. 397-456. (Discusses the role of the major international organizations, the technical and institutional problems, and the economic and trade implications of international regulation.)

Dowie, Mark et.al. "The Corporate Crime of the Century," Mother Jones, (November, 1979) vo1 4, pp. 23-49. (Discusses the "dumping" of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, medical devices, and other hazardous products.)

Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Consumer Affairs. "Export of Banned or Significantly Restricted Substances: Background Report on Executive Order 12264," Federal Register (January 23, 1981) vol. 46, pp. 7805-7820. (A very useful summary document, explains the U.S. policy during the Carter administration.)

Norris, Ruth (ed.) Pills, Pesticides and Profits: The International Trade in Toxic Substance. North River Press, Inc., Croton-on- Hudson, New York, 1982: (Provides a good summary of the situation. Included in the book is the complete transcript of the Public Broadcasting Service documentary film "Pesticides and Pills: For Export Only," produced by Robert Richter.)

Schulberg, Francine. "United States Export of Products Banned for Domestic Use," Harvard International Law Journal (Spring, 1979) vol. 20, pp. 331-383. (A detailed discussion on the U.S. policy until early 1979. Describes the regulatory network, the approach to export regulation, the implications of U.S. policy, the role of international organizations, and develops a mcdel export program.)

Wyrick, Bob. "Hazards for Export," Newsday, the Long Island Newspaper (December 13-22, 1981)(A series of 10 articles on the export of hazardous factories and products.)

PESTICIDES

Bull, David. "A Growing Problem: Pesticides and the Third World Poor." Oxfam Public Affairs Unit, Oxfam, Oxford. U.K. 1982. (A detailed and careful study of international trade in pesticides, and the impact of pesticide (over)use on people, environment, wildlife, and pests.)

U.S General Accounting Office. "Better Regulation of Pesticide Exports and Pesticide Residues in Imported Food Is Essential." U.S. General Accounting Office, CED 79-43, Washington, D.C., 1979. (In this important study the GAO estimated that roughly one-third of the pesticides exported from the U.S. were either unregistered or banned pesticides. The GAO also argued that FDA procedures for monitoring pesticide residues in imported food are not very good.)

Weir, David and Mark Shapiro. Circle of Poison: Pesticides and People in a Hungry World, Institute for Food and Development Policy, San Fransisco, 1981. (Written in a popular style, this book has had great impact, and has been translated into many languages. It discusses international trade in hazardous pesticides, and residues of banned pesticides in food imported in the U.S.)

Malathion Poisoning in Pakistan

Baker, Edward L. Jr. et al. "Epidemic Malathion Poisoning in Pakistan Malaria Workers," Lancet (1978) vol. i: 8054f, pp. 31 -34. (Five persons died and 2800 suffered from malathion poisoning due to exposure to a bad formulation of malathion. The malaria control program was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The bad formulations of malathion had been purchased from Italy.)

Baker, Edward L. et al. "Follow-up study of Epidemic Organophosphate Insecticide Poisoning in Pakistan," Journal of Environmental Toxicology and Pathology. (1982, in press) (A year later, the authors found that working conditions were much improved and only good formulations were being used. However, a significant number of workers still had depressed cholinesterase levels.)

Roberts, Wade. "Phosvel: A Tale of Missed Clues," Columbia Journalism Review. (July-August, 1977) pp. 23-28. (Discusses how the press took almost two years to report or investigate the Phosvel tragedy.)

Methyl Mercury Poisoning in Iraq

"Conference on Intoxication due to Alkyl Mercury Treated Seeds," Baghdad, Iraq. 9-13 September, 1974. Bulletin of the World Health Organization (1976) vol. 54, Supplement.

Bakir, F. et al. "Methyl Mercury Poisoning in Iraq," Science (1973) vol. 181, pp. 230-241. (The methyl mercury poisoning incident in Iraq is the most tragic of all environmental disasters. According to official figures, of the 6530 hospitalized victims, 459 died. Unofficial figures are much higher: 6,000 deaths and 100,000 injured. The Iraqi government had purchased and distributed wheat and barley seeds treated with methyl mercury fungicides. Peasants used flour made from the treated seeds to bake bread for human consumption. However, many other aspects of this tragedy have not been documented.)

Hughes, Edward. "How the Pink Death Came to Iraq," The Sunday Times (London) (September 9, 1973) p. 17. (A detailed and careful look at the mercury poisoning epidemic in Iraq.)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Braithwaite, John. Corporate Crime in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London 1984.

Medawar, Charles. Insult or Injury? An Inquiry into the Marketing and Advertising of British Food and Drug Products in the Third World. Social Audit Ltd., London, 1979.

Silverman, Milton M. The Drugging of the Americas: How Multinational Drug Companies Say One Thing About Their Products to Physicians in the United States and Another Thing to Physicians in Latin America. University Of California Press, Berkeley, 1976.

Silverman, Milton, Phillip R. Lee and Mia Lydecker. Prescriptions for Death: The Drugging of The Third World. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1982. (Describes how multinational corporations often give incomplete or misleading information with pharmaceuticals marketed in the Third World, and some of the solutions being developed to combat these problems.)

Depo-Provera

"Export of Hazardous Products. Hearings before the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade of the Committee on Foreign Affairs," U.S. House of Representatives, 96th Congress, 2d Session, Washington, D.C. 1980. (See the statements by Rochat, Senanayake, Minkin and Duncan, and see appendixes 6,7,8,9,22, and 23.)

"The Depo-Provera Debate. Hearings before the Select Committee on Population," 95th Congress, 2d Session, Washington, D.C., 1978. (An earlier hearing on Depo-Provera.)

"Depo-Provera and the Drug Approval Process: Science, Values, and the Burden of Proof," by Amy Goodman. (Thesis by Harvard Radcliffe, anthropology student, April 1984.)

"Report of the Public Board of Inquiry on Depo-Provera," by Judith Weisz, MB Chir., Chairperson, Griff T. Ross, M.D., Ph.D., Paul D. Stolley, M.D., M.P. H. (Most recent argument against the marketing in the U.S. of depo-provera.)

CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Tris-Treated Baby Garments

Blum, A. and B.N. Ames. "Flame Retardant Additives a Possible Cancer Hazard: The Main Flame Retardant in Childrens Pajama is a Mutagen and Should Not be Used," Science (1977) vol. 195, pp. 17-23.

Hosenball, Mark. "Export of Tris Exceeds Estimates." Women's Wear Daily (May 2, 1978) p.1. (Hosenball talks to a number of industry officials and determines that the export of Tris garments would exceed the estimates.)

"Tris Export Deals Rushed as Ban Looms," Womens Wear Daily (May 1, 1978) p. 1. (Discusses how the differences of opinions within the Consumer Product Safety Commision led to a delay in action on Tris exports, giving industry time to export Tris treated garments.)

The Infant Formula Controversy

International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. WHO Chronicle (1981) vol. 35, pp. 112-117. (This is the code.)

Baumslag, Naomi, Claudia Kinsey and Edward Sabin. Breast is Beast: A Bibliography on Breast Feeding and Infant Health in Developing Countries. Prepared for U.S., A.I.D., Contract No. 782-77-0138 KS,DSB Nutrition-OIH RSSA, Office of International Health, U.S. Department of Health, Washington, D.C. 1978. (A useful bibliography, contains asbtracts of many of the articles cited. Lists sources on breast feeding, weaning, lactation and reproduction, maternal nutrition, quality and contamination of breast milk, the infant food formula market and promotion.)

Joseph, Stephen C. "The Anatomy of the Infant Formula Controversy," American Journal of Diseases of Children (1981) vol. 135, pp. 889 -892. (A good summary of the issues involved in the controversy, written by one of the A.I.D. officials who resigned when the U.S. decided to vote against the code.)

Besides these sources, the major newspapers had good coverage of the issue, especially during 1981. Also, the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115). the Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT) (130218th Street, N. W. Washington, D.C. 20036), and many church based organizations and other citizen groups, which were very active in the campaign, compiled and wrote much useful information.

EXPORT OF FACTORIES

Castleman, Barry. "Export of Hazardous Factories to Developing Nations," International Journal of Health Services (1979) vol. 9, pp. 589-606. (Castleman argues that "as hazardous and polluting industries come under increasing regulation in the industrial nations, some of the affected processes are exported, without improvements to make them less hazardous, to nonregulating countries where cheap and uninformed labor is abundant.")

Hassan, Amin et al. "Mercury Poisoning in Nicaragua: A Case Study of the Export of Environmental and Occupational Health Hazards by a Multinational Corporation," International Journal of Health Services (1981) vol. 11, pp. 221-226. (The article describes contamination due to a chlor-alkali plant on lake Managua, Nicaragua. The plant was operated by a U.S. based multinational company, Pennwalt, Inc. The lake became heavily contaminated with mercury, and 37% of the workers suffered mercury poisoning.)

HAZARDOUS WASTES

"Waste Export Incident Causes U.S. Policy Appraisal," Hazardous Waste Report. (1981) vol. 2, no. 18, pp. 6-8. (Impact of the arrest of a U. S. citizen in Mexico for importing hazardous wastes in that country.)

Grieder, Wendy. "Hazardous Wastes and U.S. Export Policy," EPA Journal (1981) vol. 7, no. 18, pp. 8-19.

Several times, U.S. industry has approached Third World countries to set up hazardous wastes disposal sites or recylcing plants. Some examples of such attempts can be found in the following articles: (New York Times. Dec. 28, 1980; Jan 19,1981; March 20, 1981. Washington Star. April 21,1980; Sept 13,1980. Washington Post. July 29,1980; Jan 26, 1980; July 21, 1981. Science Vo. 211, pp. 367, 1981)

Rashid A. Shaikh is a Research Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. The above resource guide is an edited excerpt of one prepared by Mr. Shaikh.