Thanks Carolyn! - Passing this on

[Guest guest]

We started this here . . . it's great to know it's being passed along!

I pray every woman affected by breast implants will speak up NOW!

God Bless,

Rogene

----- Forwarded Message ----From: "carwol@..." <>crlyn_wlf@...Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 4:47:24 PMSubject: Fwd: Fw: Passing this onI do not know the origin of this message, but have been asked to pass it along by one of our trusted silicone sisters.Please read carefully -- and take action...all voices need to be heard..Congress needs to insist the FDA truly investigate reports of poisoning of food, medications, medical devices -- they should not be shielding those who would do harm to citizens.Carolyn=============Subject: Fw: Passing this onCarolyn <carwol@...> 1. Ladies, Passing along information that I have received --- Time to take some action and do what we can! Thanks in

advance for helping us fight the good fight! I received an urgent call from a silent sister who is desperately trying to get Congress to take action before they go on recess in five weeks. . . . Here is a link telling you how to contact your Congress members. Please use it! http://www.ams.org/government/howto.html. This must be done ASAP if there's any chance of getting a bill before Congress to make the FDA take action. Something that has been known, but not acknowledged for many years is the presence of Bisphenol A in breast implants. The presence of this chemical could account for many of the health issues implanted women have struggled to overcome. . . Canada is finally looking into this issue - But, so far, the States have ignored this . . . so I guess it's not surprising the FDA had documentation about the dangers of BPA many yearsago. Please pass this along to friends and

family, as well as other support leaders. Ask them to take action. It may to late to help you . . . but there are generations of women already affected with many more to come if action isn't taken now. The following article discusses the BPA issue . . . Please read it carefully. Copy it to your Congressman/woman. ------------------------------------- JS Online: Report cites chemical's risk Apr 16, 2008 ... Report cites chemical's risk. Bisphenol A may be harmful, federal agency says ... (Read the November-December 2007 Journal Sentinel report) ... http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=739923 - 55k - similar pages [ More results from www.jsonline.com ] Report cites chemical's risk Bisphenol A may be harmful, federal agency says By SUSANNE RUST and MEG KISSINGER srust@... Posted: April 15, 2008 For the first time, the federal government said Tuesday that a chemical found in commonly usedproducts such as dental sealants, baby bottles and aluminum cans is potentially dangerous to human development and reproduction. The new report by the National Toxicology Program heightens concern about bisphenol A, a chemical found in the bodies of 93% of Americans recently tested. It overrides conclusions reached by a panel in November that found minimal concern that bisphenol A could cause prostate and breast problems or early puberty for young children or those who were exposed to the chemical in the womb. "The possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed," the report says. The report is a compilation of the work of two panels convened last year by the National Institutes of Health. One was made up of scientists with expertise

in bisphenol A. The other was a panel of scientists with no direct expertise in the chemical. The new report prompted members of Congress to urge the federal government to reconsider the safetyof the chemical's use, particularly for infants and children. "It appears that NTP has really listened to the concerns of scientists in this field," said Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "This is an important public health issue, and we can't afford to get it wrong." Reps. D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, have been investigating the use of bisphenol A in the lining of infant-formula cans. They called on the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider its earlier determination that bisphenol A is safe. In its determination, the FDA considered

only two studies, both funded by chemical manufacturers, the congressional inquiry found. Dingell sees Tuesday's report as a chance to correct the FDA's conclusions. "These findings of (bisphenolA's) dangers are based on the totality of research around this chemical," Dingell said. "These assessments fly in the face of the FDA's determination that (the chemical) is safe." Advocates applaud report Environmental advocates applauded the Toxicology Program report, calling it significant and a breakthrough. "This is the first federal agency to raise significant concerns about bisphenol A, and it affirms our view that it is potentially harmful to fetuses and children," said Janssen, science fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "This goes beyond what the committee originally identified as problems." But an association of plastic manufacturers downplayed any significance of the panel's findings. "The findings in NTP's draft report

provide reassurance that consumers can continue to use products made from bisphenol A," said G. Hentges of the American Chemistry Council's Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group. "Importantly, thisconclusion has been affirmed by scientific and government bodies worldwide." Scientific experts on bisphenol A said the findings should force the FDA to reconsider an earlier ruling that the chemical is safe for all to use. "This leaves the FDA with little wiggle room," said Frederick vom Saal, a researcher at the University of Missouri and one of the nation's leading experts on bisphenol A. "Their position of no concern looks ridiculous in light of these new assessments." Bisphenol A was developed in 1891 as a synthetic estrogen. It came into wide use in the 1950s when scientists realized it could be used to make polycarbonate plastic and some epoxy resins to line food and beverage cans. With the advent of plastic products such as dental sealants and baby

bottles, the use of bisphenol A has skyrocketed. The chemical is used to make reusable water bottles, CDs, DVDs and eyeglasses. More than 6 billion pounds are produced each year in the United States .In recent years, scientists became concerned about the chemical when some researchers began noting changes in lab animals stored in cages made with high concentrations of bisphenol A. Rodents exposed to bisphenol A were more likely to have miscarriages, prostate problems and cancers. Studies later linked the chemical to obesity, infertility and behavioral changes in animals. Those findings prompted concern about effects on humans. For ethical reasons, scientists do not experiment with bisphenol A in humans. Their findings on the safety to humans is gauged by how the chemicals affect lab animals. Panels' separate conclusions But the government's examination of bisphenol A's safety has been fraught with controversy and charges of conflicts of interest.

Last year, two groups of scientists were appointed by the federal government to gauge bisphenol A's risks. One panel was purely academic, made up of 38 international experts on bisphenol A who work foruniversities or governments. In an August report, they found a strong cause for concern. The other group included 12 scientists. The members were chosen because of their lack of detailed knowledge about bisphenol A. The idea was that the group would serve as an impartial jury. That group found minimal concern for prostate effects and accelerated puberty, but some concern for children in neural and behavioral development. That panel hired Sciences International, a Virginia-based consulting firm, to choose and summarize research for panel members. It was later learned that Sciences International had clients that included bisphenol A producers. The company ultimately was fired. A Journal Sentinel investigation last fall found that the non-expert panel had

given greater weight to industry-funded studies that found little or no effect from the chemical. The newspaper analyzed more than 250 scientific studies on bisphenol A. An overwhelming majority of thestudies found the chemical was linked to cancer, obesity, diabetes and reproductive failures in laboratory animals. But a government panel considering the safety of bisphenol A relied on studies, which found no harm, that were paid for by the chemical industry. The panel had missed dozens of studies publicly available that the Journal Sentinel found using a medical research Internet search engine. The new report considered dozens of studies that the earlier panel had rejected, including those that examined the effect of the chemical on fetuses and newborns that were given the drug by injection, as opposed to getting it through the mouth or stomach. It also reviewed more than 400 studies published between April 2007 and February of this year.

Bucher, associate director of the National Toxicology Program, said Tuesday that the new report is based on much of the same literature considered by the non-expert panel. But Bucher said there is "sufficientscientific justification from studies in rodents to include effects on prostate and mammary development, and a more rapid attainment of puberty in females to the evidence supporting" their heightened concern. The National Toxicology Program will take comments on its initial report through May. A final version will be issued this summer. =============