Dear Senators:

We, the undersigned scientists and health professionals, are gravely concerned about the continued spraying of herbicides in drug-producing areas of Colombia.  Reports from Colombia suggest that the spray campaigns have been associated with adverse health effects in both people and farm animals, and with extensive damage to food crops.  The spraying has also caused significant ecological damage.  Far from simply affecting the illegal drug trade, the spray campaigns threaten the nutrition and health of Colombian citizens.  We strongly urge an immediate suspension of the spraying, the release of crucial and detailed information about the spraying protocol and methods, and a comprehensive evaluation of the health and environmental impacts of the crop-eradication program.

We are concerned that the precise formulation of the herbicide mixture used has not been made public in the United States. According to the Colombian government, the product that has been used in Colombia is Roundup Ultra,  an herbicide that includes not only the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate but also a surfactant that, for some health endpoints, is more toxic than glyphosate and thus contributes significantly to the toxicity of the mixture.   This must be considered when evaluating claims about the safety of glyphosate herbicides, as these often refer only to the active ingredient, glyphosate.  Further, the Roundup product is reformulated in Colombia to incorporate additional additives with unknown health and environmental effects.  It is telling that ICI, the manufacturer of such additional ingredients, recently refused permission for its products to be used in the spraying program.   Unless we know all the ingredients of the herbicide mixture, and unless these have been fully evaluated for health and environmental impacts, we have no basis for assuming that these products are safe when sprayed in the vicinity of rural populations, their food crops and water sources.

We are also concerned that the spraying protocol may violate EPA requirements and restrictions on herbicide use. Though failure to follow pesticide label instructions is a violation of federal law under FIFRA, the US government may be promoting such unauthorized use in Colombia.  Information provided to the Congress of Colombia  indicates that the Colombian crop-eradication program uses significantly more concentrated solutions of herbicide than approved for aerial application in the United States.  From an environmental perspective, applying a concentrated broad-spectrum herbicide over delicate tropical ecosystems is almost certain to cause significant damage.  Moreover, human health impacts from a concentrated mixture are obviously more likely.  The aerial application in Colombia is also reportedly carried out from high altitude with limited visibility. Thus, aerial drift and accidental spraying are likely to contaminate surface waters, food crops, field workers, residents, and animals, despite specific label instructions warning against aerial spraying in ways and under weather conditions that favor drift.  Finally, the rural population almost certainly lacks important information about precautionary measures to prevent exposure, and appropriate treatment for those who become contaminated.  Under such conditions, the spraying program would not be approved in the United States.  Because no detailed information identifying concentrations, the total application dose per area, or measures to ensure compliance with label restrictions has been officially released in the United States, it is impossible to determine the extent of potential harm in Colombia.

The US Department of State justification for the decision to use aerial spraying is that “herbicide application by airplane is the most cost-effective way of coping with the magnitude of the problem and ensuring that eradication operations do not turn violent.”  Human health or environmental protection considerations have not played any significant role to date. This is a situation that must be rectified. It is imperative that the United States suspend all financing and support of the fumigation program until comprehensive, independent, and peer reviewed scientific and health studies have determined whether the environmental and public health impacts of this program are acceptable.  These studies must consider the specific conditions of herbicide use in Colombia and whether or not the spraying protocol meets EPA label requirements for use of the herbicide.

While glyphosate and the additives it is used with have quite different toxicological properties from the herbicides that made up Agent Orange, the concerns are the same: we are exposing ecosystems and citizens of another country to a toxic chemical mixture, while failing to disclose the composition of the mixture and the conditions of exposure.  Peer reviewed scientific studies support the plausibility of reports of significant illness related to human exposures and damage to farm crops and animals.  Essentially, we are conducting an uncontrolled experiment in crop destruction, with impacts that are likely to extend beyond non-target vegetation.

It is crucial to take action to avoid more extensive harm resulting from aerial application of a poorly characterized and unidentified mixture of toxic chemicals under conditions likely to result in widespread exposures.  To prevent any further threats to Colombian citizens, we therefore request you and your colleagues to:

· Suspend further herbicide spraying;
· Make public full and specific information about the spraying protocol;
· Verify whether the spraying protocol meets the US EPA label requirements for the herbicide used; and
· Ensure that a comprehensive evaluation of environmental and health impacts of the program is undertaken.

We are aware of reports that the US EPA and CDC are working with the US embassy in Bogota to develop a study to evaluate the safety of the spraying program.  Although we applaud this investigation, we must emphasize that we do not believe continued spraying during the long period of planning and executing the investigation is ethical or justified.
 
 

Lisa M. Alexander Environmental Engineer Department of Environmental Protection Boston, MA	Neal Langerman, Ph.D. Advanced Chemical Safety San Diego CA
Dorothy L. Anderson, MD Midwest Regional Director Physicians for Social Responsibility President, Champaign-Urbana Chapter Urbana, IL	Jack K. Leiss, Ph.D. Adjunct Assistant Professor Department of Maternal and Child Health School of Public Health University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
Molly Anderson, Ph.D. Ecologist Tufts University Boston, MA	Stephen Lester, MS Science Director Center for Health,  Environment and Justice Falls Church, VA
Elisha H. Atkins, MD, MS Medical Director Occupational Health Service Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA	Heather Machen, MD, MPH Pediatric Resident Fairfax Children's Hospital  Falls Church, VA
Catherine Badgley Museum of Paleontology  Director Environmental Studies Program University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	Patricia C. Matteson, Ph.D. Integrated Pest ManagementOfficer FAO Community IPM Programme United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Hanoi, Vietnam
Carolyn Beeker, Ph.D. Director, Urban Research Centers Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	Michael McCally, MD, Ph.D. Professor of Community and  Preventive Medicine Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY
Ronald G. Bieselin, MD Physicians for Social Responsibility Vallejo, CA	Rob McConnell, MD Associate Professor Department of Preventive Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
Alison Boshes, M.E.M. (Environmental Management)  Associate  The Cadmus Group  Washington, DC	Krista McGuire Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
Kent J. Bransford, MD Environment and Health Program Physicians for Social Responsibility Carmel, CA	Michael Melampy, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Baldwin-Wallace College Berea, OH
Bruce Burdick, MD Department of Pathology Kaiser Hospital Sacramento, CA	Rafael Moure-Eraso, Ph.D., CIH  Professor of Work Environment Policy  University of Massachusetts, Lowell  Lowell, MA
Lesley M. Butler, MSPH Department of Epidemiology University of North Carolina  School of Public Health Chapel Hill, NC	Meryl Nass, MD Parkview Hospital Brunswick, ME
Richard Campbell, Sc.D. School of Public Health Boston University Boston, MA	Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D.  Research Associate  Department of Herpetology  California Academy of Sciences  San Francisco, CA
Patricia Canessa, Ph.D. Executive Director  Midwest Hispanic Health Coalition Chicago, IL	Mary O'Brien, Ph.D. Ecosystem Projects Director Science and Environmental  Health Network Eugene, OR
Eric Carlson, Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering) Formulations and Dispersions Group Symyx Technologies Santa Clara, CA	Peter Orris, MD, MPH Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences School of Public Health University of Illinois Chicago, IL
Maria Castro Research Assistant Physics Department Wayne State University Detroit, MI	Robert M. Park MS Epidemiologist National Institute for Occupational  Safety and Health Cincinnati, OH
Anna Cederstav, Ph.D. Staff Scientist Earthjustice  Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Medio Ambiente (AIDA) (Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense) San Francisco, CA	Lew Pepper, MD, MPH Environmental Health Department Boston University  School of Public Health Boston, MA
Ignacio H. Chapela, Ph.D. Assistant Professor (Microbial Ecology) Ecosystem Sciences Division Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Mangement University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Ivette Perfecto Associate Professor School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
Lin Kaatz Chary, Ph.D., MPH Environmental Strategies and Consulting School of Public Health  University of Illinois at Chicago  Gary, IN	Frederick W. Plapp, Jr. Professor Emeritus of  Insecticide Toxicology Texas A&M University College Station, TX
Mark Chernaik, Ph.D. Environmental Scientist Eugene, OR	Laura Punnett, Sc.D. Department of Work Environment University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA
Hillel W. Cohen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Social Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, NY	Patty Quinlan, MPH, CIH Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Anthony Cortese, Sc.D. President Second Nature Boston, MA	Richard Rabin, MSPH Lead Registry Coordinator Massachusetts Division of  Occupational Safety Arlington, MA
Cathy Crumbley Program Director Lowell Center for Sustainable Production University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA	Bill Ravanesi MA, MPH Boston Campaign Director Health Care Without Harm Boston, MA
Jim Dalling Tropical Forest Ecologist University of Illinois Urbana, IL	Susheetha Reddy, MS Department of Work Environment University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA
Gail Dubinsky, MD  Physicians for Social Responsibility San Francisco Bay Area Chapter San Francisco, CA	Margaret Reeves, Ph.D. Staff Scientist  Pesticide Action Network North America San Francisco, CA
Gwen L. DuBois MD, MPH Occupational and Preventive Medicine Committee Maryland Medical Society Baltimore, MD	Ann Reichsman, MD Family Physician and Medical Director  Neighborhood Family Practice Cleveland, OH
Tracey Easthope, MPH Director, Environmental Health Project Ecology Center Ann Arbor, MI	Beth Rosenberg, Sc.D., MPH Assistant Professor Department of Family Medicine & Community Health Tufts University School of Medicine Boston, MA
Karen L. Eckert, Ph.D.  Executive Director  WIDECAST, Inc.  San Diego, CA	Barbara Rubin, MA Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist Locust Valley, NY Adam Safir, Ph.D.  Scientist  Symyx Technologies  Santa Clara, CA
Samuel S. Epstein, MD Professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine School of Public Health University of Illinois at Chicago Chairman, Cancer Prevention Coalition Chicago, IL	Ted Schettler MD, MPH Department of Internal Medicine Boston Medical Center Boston, MA
Cathey E. Falvo, MD, MPH Program Director  International & Public Health New York Medical College Graduate School of Health Sciences Valhalla, NY	Amy Schulz, Ph.D. Assistant Research Scientist University of Michigan  School of Public Health Ann Arbor, MI
Jennifer Flattery Research Scientist California Department of Health Services Oakland, CA	Chris Shuey, MPH candidate Environmental Health Specialist Southwest Research and  Information Center Albuquerque, NM
David L. Fox, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Geology and Geophyics University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	C. Eduardo Siqueira MD, Sc.D Assistant Professor Department of Work Environment University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA
Lee Francis, MD, MPH Chicago, IL	Carol Skinner, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Ecology, Retired Edinboro University Edinboro, PA
John Frazier, Ph.D. Conservation and Research Center Smithsonian Institution  Front Royal, VA	Craig Slatin, Sc.D., MPH Assistant Professor Department of Health and  Clinical Sciences University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell, MA
Chris A. Geiger, Ph.D. Associate Environmental Research Scientist California Department of  Pesticide Regulation Oakland, CA	Gina M. Solomon, MD, MPH Senior Scientist Natural Resources Defense Council Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine U.C. San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Roberta Goldman, Ph.D. Clinical Associate Professor Brown Medical School Providence, RI	Martha Soto, Ph.D. University of Massachusetts  Medical Center Worcester, MA
Dennis Goode, Ph.D. Department of Biology University of Maryland College Park, MD	John C. Suter, CIH, CSP, ARM Industrial Hygiene Consultant Philadelphia, PA
Robert M. Gould, MD President SF-Bay Area Chapter Physicians for Social Responsibility Berkeley, CA	Patrice Sutton, MPH Research Scientist Public Health Institute Oakland, CA
Amy Hagopian, MHA Dean’s Office of Regional Affairs and Rural Health, School of Medicine Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Health Services School of Public Health and Community Medicine University of Washington Seattle, WA	Khai V. Tran MD USC Department of Family Medicine Los Angeles, CA
Molly Tan Hayden, MD Physicians for Social Responsibility San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco, CA	Michael Tullius, Ph.D.  Postdoctoral Fellow  University of California Los Angeles  Los Angeles, CA
Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Ph.D Assistant Professor Department of Environmental Health School of Public Health Boston University Boston, MA	David Wallinga, M.D., MPA Senior Scientist Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Minneapolis, MN Ruth Wilson, Ph.D. Research Scientist Department of Comparative Medicine. University of Washington Seattle, WA
Ron Hess, MD Neurologist Mountain View, CA	Steve Wing Associate Professor Department of Epidemiology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
Brian J. Holmes, MD Radiologist Parkland Hospital Dallas, TX	Anne S. Wise, MD, MPH Occupational Health Program Community Health Partners Lorain, OH
Sal Insogna Industrial Hygienist Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development Newton, MA	David Kriebel, Sc.D. Professor of Epidemiology Department of Work Environment University of Massachusetts, Lowell Lowell, MA
Altair Juarez Research Specialist in Health Sciences Department of Neurosurgery University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
Ron Kaplan, ARNP,COHN-S Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner VA Seattle, WA
Susan Kegley, Ph.D. Staff Scientist Pesticide Action Network North America San Francisco, CA
Sarah Kemble, MD, MPH Medical Director Community Health Center of  Franklin County Turners Falls, MA

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