------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Dec. 6, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
LETERS TO THE EDITOR COCA-COLA AND GUATEMALA Rebeca Toledo's article "Cite Coca-Cola in death-squad killings" comes as no surprise. The same criminal acts were committed by Coca-Cola in Guatemala during the dirty war there. Company terrorism and murder of union people at Coke in Guatemala was reported early on by Workers World. Then years later I saw a corroborating article in the Baltimore Sun. They did the same thing on the massacre of half a million leftists in Indonesia in 1965. The Sun waited to report on it until the mid 1990s. Maybe in 10 years or so the Sun's subscribers will be able to read the important information Ms. Toledo has passed on to us in the last issue of Workers World. If one wants to get the news now instead of a decade later, read Workers World. And next time you're in the soda aisle at the grocery remember this--Terrorism goes better with Coke. -- Kermit Leibensperger Sykesville, MD TOXIC DANGERS UNREPORTED Thank you for your recent article about the continuing dangers faced by workers and residents in and around lower Manhattan. This is a subject that has been purposely swept under the rug by officials, requiring the initiative of the private sector to keep things "honest." Private individuals and companies obtained more complete data through independent toxicological testing and through FOIA requests of government-sponsored testing results. I am sending you a copy of a press release prepared by myself and others who have been injured/disabled by toxic substances in our homes and workplaces. This was issued early last month since the sequelae of the WTC explosions and collapses were completely predictable. Based upon what is known about the tower construction and normal hazards presented by fires and building debris, such a conclusion was inescapable. Please continue your coverage of this important issue which affects workers all over the world on a daily basis. Injury from chemical exposure and particulate matter pollutants is preventable, but only if the public is kept informed and realizes they are responsible for their own health and safety. In the end, economics will always delay dissemination of such health warnings. Only when injury/illness has befallen large enough numbers of persons to make the concern impossible to hide any longer. -- Barbara Rubin FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: Over the past several weeks official, but largely unsubstantiated, claims of "safety" for those breathing in the dust and smoke still emanating from the WTC recovery site, became a call to action for a group of people who suffer from a range of serious health problems brought on by overexposure to toxic chemicals. Calling themselves the 911 ASH organization, the acronym refers to issues of "air safety hazards." Spokespersons Barbara Rubin (New York) and Cyndi Norman (California) are part of an international internet network of people sharing experiences and scientific data about environmentally induced injuries and autoimmune diseases. "As the story unfolded," said Rubin, "we began to realize the implications for adverse short and long-term health effects to unprotected rescue workers and residents in the path of the dust and smoke." Officials have minimized the risks faced by New Yorkers and issued claims of safety; claims made even prior to the completion of many tests being run. That was sufficient for Rubin to want to get out a strong message to her fellow New Yorkers. "Most of us were injured--and many permanently disabled--by chemical exposures which industry and the government kept assuring us were 'safe.'" Rubin suffers from the aftermath of pesticide poisoning. News footage of the WTC rescue efforts confirmed their worst fears. Many rescue workers and others at Ground Zero wore paper or cloth masks, inadequate protection for fine particulate matter or gasses, including asbestos, soot, and volatile chemicals. "We think workers and residents should assume the worst about what is in their air, water and the dust and use the right safety equipment from the beginning," said Norman. "Doesn't that make more sense than assuming it is safe and finding out 20 years from now that the official statements were wrong?" There are no scientific papers detailing the creation, dispersion, and long and short-term effects of a tragedy of this magnitude. Asbestos and fiberglass are clearly present, as is soot; fine particles known to increase the incidence and symptoms of asthma, heart disease, and other medical conditions. What are rarely mentioned are the myriad toxins in the smoke itself. Since no one knows exactly what this particular combination of plastics, PVC, office furniture, carpet, freon, natural gas, jet fuel, metals, asbestos, glass, fiberglass, and other components of the office buildings do when incinerated, it is impossible to fully test for toxic exposures. The Environmental Protection Agency, along with the New York City Department of Public Health and others, have released test results for only a few of the better known toxins, such as asbestos, radiation, carbon monoxide, and bacterial/infectious materials. They have ignored most of the components of the smoke and toxins bound to dust particles. When they say the air is "safe," they mean that the chemicals they tested for fall within limits they consider acceptable for the general population. However, it should be emphasized that these "acceptable limits" for hazardous levels of substances are meant to apply to healthy adults, not to children, elderly, or infirm persons. To aid the public in educating themselves in such matters, 911 ASH has put together a website with information about World Trade Center toxins, health risks, and safety equipment. The website address is http://www.immuneweb.org/911. Readers are urged to discuss these issues with their physicians and elected officials. Barbara Rubin [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cyndi Norman [EMAIL PROTECTED] - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
