[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2151-E2153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the issue of 
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as it relates to both our civilian 
population and our Gulf War veterans. I continue the submission for the 
Record the latest ``Recognition of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity'' 
newsletter which lists the U.S. federal, state and local government 
authorities, U.S. federal and state courts, U.S. workers' compensation 
boards, and independent organizations that have adopted policies, made 
statements, and/or published documents recognizing Multiple Chemical 
Sensitivity disorders for the benefit of my colleagues.

            U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

       In a letter from HUD Assistant Secretary Timothy Coyle to 
     Senator Frank Lautenberg, confirming HUD recognition of ``MCS 
     as a disability entitling those with chemical sensitivities 
     to reasonable accommodation under Section 504 of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973'' and also ``under Title VIII of 
     the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988'' [26 October 1990, 2 
     pages, R-13]. This was followed by a formal guidance 
     memorandum from HUD Deputy General Counsel G.L. Weidenfeller 
     to all regional counsel, detailing HUD's position that MCS 
     and environmental illness ``can be handicaps'' within the 
     meaning of section 802(h) of the Fair Housing Act and its 
     implementing regulations [1992, 20 pages, R-14]. Also 
     recognized in a HUD Section 811 grant of $837,000 to develop 
     an EI/MCS-accessible housing complex known as ``Ecology 
     House'' in San Rafael, CA, consisting of eleven one-bedroom 
     apartments in a two-story complex. This grant was pledged in 
     1991 and paid in 1993. [2 pages, R-15] (See also Recognition 
     of MCS by Federal Courts, Fair Housing Act, below.)


         U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service

       In response to a disability rights complaint filed against 
     the Baltimore County Parks and Recreation Department (BCPRD) 
     by Marian Arminger on behalf of her three children, which the 
     National Park Service (NPS) accepted for review pursuant to 
     both Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of 
     the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Acting Equal 
     Opportunity Program Manager of the NPS ruled that ``the BCPRD 
     must accept the determination of disability by the Baltimore 
     County Public Schools [BCPS, see US Department of Education, 
     above] regarding the children and their disability of MCSS 
     [MCS Syndrome]. This will eliminate possible retaliation with 
     a different conclusion by the same public entity.'' [Case 
     #P4217(2652), 1996, 4 pages, R-102]. The NPS further ruled 
     that ``With the determination that these children are 
     individuals with a disability (MCSS), it is necessary to make 
     reasonable modifications to program facilities. It appears 
     that discontinuing, temporarily or permanently, the use of 
     outside or inside pesticide application and toxic cleaning 
     chemicals is the basic reasonable modification necessary in 
     this case. . . . Therefore we believe that steps should be 
     taken by the BCPRD to provide the necessary communication 
     with other affected agencies such as the BCPS and develop, in 
     consultation with the parents and others deemed appropriate, 
     a plan for the reasonable modification of the program 
     environment for these children.''


                       U.S. Department of Justice

       In its enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act 
     of 1990, under the terms of which MCS may be considered as a 
     disability on a case-by-case basis, depending--as with most 
     other medical conditions--on whether the impairment 
     substantially limits one or more major life activities. The 
     Office of the Attorney General specifically cites 
     ``environmental illness (also known as multiple chemical 
     sensitivity)'' in its Final Rules on ``Non-Discrimination on 
     the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government 
     Services'' (28CFR35) and ``Non-Discrimination on the Basis of 
     Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial 
     Facilities'' (28CFR36), as published in the Federal Register, 
     Vol. 56, No. 144, pages 35699 and 35549 respectively [26 July 
     1991, 2 pages, R-16]. ``Environmental illness,'' also is 
     discussed in the ADA Handbook, EEOC-BK-19, 1991, p. III-21 
     [14 page excerpt, R-17], jointly published by the Department 
     and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The ADA 
     Handbook describes environmental illness as ``sensitivity to 
     environmental elements'' and, although it ``declines to state 
     categorically that these types of allergies or sensitivities 
     are disabilities,'' it specifically asserts that they may be: 
     ``Sometimes respiratory or neurological functioning is so 
     severely affected that an individual will satisfy the 
     requirements to be disabled under the regulations. Such an 
     individual would be entitled to all the protections 
     afforded by the Act.''


                  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

       In recognizing MCS as a medical diagnosis (although not as 
     a ``disability'') in the case of at least one Persian Gulf 
     War veteran [Gary Zuspann, October 1992, 3 pages, R-18].

[[Page E2152]]

     It is impossible to know exactly how many other Persian Gulf 
     veterans may have been diagnosed with MCS as the diagnostic 
     data recorded in the VA's Persian Gulf Registry are based on 
     the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9CM), which 
     does not yet include a specific code for MCS. In June 1997, 
     VA released its ``Environmental Hazards Research Centers' 
     Annual Reports for 1996.'' These included preliminary data 
     from the New Jersey EHRC showing that, of the 1161 veterans 
     randomly selected from the VA's Persian Gulf Registry (living 
     in NJ, NY, CT, MA, MD, DE, IL, VA, OH or NC) who completed 
     the center's questionnaire, 12.5% ``endorsed symptoms 
     compatible with a conservative definition of MCS'' [1997, 5 
     page excerpt, R-144]. When the NJ EHRC published its first 
     report on this study, however, in an abstract entitled 
     ``Preliminary prevalance data on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and 
     Multiple Chemical Sensitivity,'' it said 26% of 104 veterans 
     randomly selected from the VA Register ``were especially 
     sensitive to certain chemicals, and 4% reported that this 
     snsitivity produced at least 3 of 4 lifestyle changes . . . 
     suggesting that something about serving in the Gulf 
     substantially increased the risk of developing CFS and MCS'' 
     [1996, Journal of CFS, 2(2/3): 136-137; R-177]


 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution, Prevention 
   and Toxins, Health Effects Division, Occupational and Residential 
        Exposure Branch, Special Review and Registration Section

       In a peer-reviewed memorandum entitled ``Review of 
     Chlorpyrifos Poisoning Data'' from EPA's Jerome Blondell, 
     PhD, MPH, and Virginia Dobozy, VMD, MPH, to Linda Propst, 
     Section Head, Reregistration Branch. The memo discusses data 
     from several sources on acute and chronic health effects, 
     including MCS, associated with exposure to Dursban and other 
     chlorpyrifos-containing pesticides, and recommends many 
     changes (subsequently agreed to by DowElanco, the 
     manufacturer) in the use and marketing of these products, 
     including the phase out of all indoor sprays and foggers, 
     consumer concentrates, and all pet care products except flea 
     collars. Most significantly, the memo documents that of 101 
     cases of unambiguous chlorpyrifos poisoning reportedly 
     directly to EPA in 1995, 38 had chronic neurobehavioral 
     effects (including 4 who also had peripheral neuropathy), 
     while 50 ``reported symptoms consistent with multiple 
     chemical sensitivity'' [1977, 70 pages, R-145].


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation & Indoor Air, 
                          Indoor Air Division

       In its August 1989 Report to Congress on Indoor Air 
     Quality, entitled Assessment and Control of Indoor Air 
     Pollution (EPA/400/1-89/001C), the Environmental Protection 
     Agency's Indoor Air Division describes MCS as ``a subject of 
     considerable intra professional disagreement and concern 
     (Cullen, 1987). While no widely accepted test of physiologic 
     function has been shown to correlate with the symptoms, the 
     sheer mass of anecdotal data is cause of concern.'' [14 page 
     excerpt from Vol. 2, R-19]. In 1991, the Indoor Air Division 
     asked the National Research Council to sponsor a scientific 
     workshop on ``Multiple Chemical Hypersensitivity Syndrome'' 
     the proceedings of which are published in Multiple Chemical 
     Sensitivities: Addendum to Biologic Markers in 
     Immunotoxicology [National Academy Press, 1992].


 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research & Development

       Descries ``chemical sensitivity'' as an ``ill-defined 
     condition marked by progressively more debilitating severe 
     reactions to various consumer products such as perfumes, 
     soaps, tobacco smoke, plastics, etc.'' in The Total Exposure 
     Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study, Summary and Analysis: 
     Volume 1, by L. Wallace, Project Officer, Environmental 
     Monitoring Systems Division, EPA Office of Research and 
     Development [1987, 2 page excerpt, R-20]. The Office of 
     Research and Development (ORD) began conducting human 
     subjects chamber research at its Health Effects Research 
     Branch in Chapel Hill (NC) in 1992 to identify possible 
     diagnostic markers of MCS. (See also joint entry under U.S. 
     Consumer Product Safety Commission, above.) In the 
     justification for its fiscal year 1998 budget, ORD devotes 
     one paragraph to MCS in the section on Air Toxins, saying 
     that it plans to release ``information comparing individuals 
     who identify themselves as belonging to a particular subgroup 
     (multiple chemical sensitivity) against established norms for 
     a variety of health-related endpoints,'' and will make 
     ``recommendations for follow up to evaluate the potential 
     relationship between the signs/symptoms reported by these 
     individuals and objective/quantitative health endpoints'' 
     [1997, 3 page excerpt, R-160].


              U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

       In the ADA Handbook EEOC-BK-19 [1991], 14 page excerpt, R-
     17], jointly published by the EEOC and the Department of 
     Justice (see above) and in a Determination Letter signed by 
     Issie L. Jenkins, the director of the Baltimore District 
     Office, recognizing MCS as a disability under the Americans 
     with Disabilities Act requiring workplace accommodation, 
     consisting in this case of a private office with an air 
     filter, Mary Helinski v. Bell Atlantic, No. 120 93 0152, 17 
     May 1994 [2 pages, R-22].


Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, 
   Subcommittee on Risk Assessment, Working Party on Neurotoxicology

       In its Final Report: Principles of Neurotoxicology Risk 
     Assessment, published in the Federal Register by the US EPA's 
     Office of Health Research [17 August 1994, 45 pages for 
     entire report, R-161, or 3 page excerpt, R-162], which says 
     in Section 2.5.1 on ``Susceptible Populations'' that: 
     ``Although controversial [Waddell 1993], recent evidence 
     suggests that there may be a subpopulation of people who have 
     become sensitive to chemicals and experience adverse 
     reactions to low-level exposures to environmental chemicals 
     [Bell et al 1992].'' The report is ``the result of the 
     combined efforts of 13 Federal agencies comprising the ad hoc 
     Interagency Committee on Neurotoxicology,'' including ATSDR, 
     the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Center for 
     Biologies Evaluation and Research, Center for Drug Evaluation 
     and Research, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Dept of 
     Agriculture, Dept. of Defense, Environmental Protection 
     Agency, National Center for Toxicological Research, National 
     Institutes of Health, National Institute of Occupational 
     Safety and Health, and the National Toxicology Program.


     Federal Interagency Workgroup on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

       Formed in 1994 to review and coordinate the role of federal 
     agencies involved in research on multiple chemical 
     sensitivity [1 page agenda from 9/14/94 meeting, R-91]. The 
     Work Group is so-chaired by Dr. Barry Johnson, Assistant 
     Surgeon General and Assistant Administrator of the Agency for 
     Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and Dr. Richard 
     Jackson, Director of the National Center for Environmental 
     Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
     Other agencies represented include the Departments of Energy, 
     Defense, and Veterans' Affairs, the Environmental Protection 
     Agency and two other institutes within the Department of 
     Health and Human Services: the National Institute for 
     Occupational Safety and Health, and the National Institute of 
     Environmental Health Sciences. Draft report is expected to be 
     released by ATSDR in September 1998 for a 60-day public 
     comment period.


     National Council on Disability (an independent federal agency)

       In ADA Watch--Year One, its ``Report to the President and 
     Congress on Progress in Implementing the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act,'' which recommends that Congress and the 
     Administration ``should consider legialtion to address the 
     needs of people with ``emerging disabilities,'' such as those 
     . . . ``with environmental illness who are severely adversely 
     affected by secondary smoke or other pollutants in public 
     places'' [5 April 1993, 8 pages, R-23].


    President's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities

       In its report to the President, entitled Operation People 
     First: Toward a National Disability Policy, which recommends 
     that the federal government ``develop, refine and better 
     communicate methods of `reasonable accommodation,' in 
     particular, the accommodation needs of people with . . . 
     chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity'' 
     [1994, 5 pages, R-24] encouraging the Deputy Ministers of 
     Housing, Health Community and Social Services ``to begin a 
     consultative process and help to establish some guidelines'' 
     spelling out exactly what services and benefits are available 
     to provincial residents with MCS, including possible 
     admission to treatment facilities in the United States [27 
     October 1989, 2 page letter and 2 pages of press coverage 
     from the Globe & Mail, R-158].

            Recognition of MCS by 28 U.S. State Authorities


  Arizona Technology Access Program, Institute for Human development, 
                      Northern Arizona University

       In a report written for the general public entitled Topics: 
     Multiple Chemical Sensitivity with sections on What is MCS, 
     Symptoms of MCS, People Diagnosed with MCS, What Can Cause 
     MCS, Treatments, MCS and the Medical Community, MCS is Now 
     Recognized as a Disability, Accommodating Individuals with 
     MCS in the Workplace, MCS is Preventable, and a list 
     organizations and government agencies to contract for Help 
     and Information. Funding for this document was provided by 
     the US Dept of Education National Institute on Disability and 
     Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), grant #H224A40002, but a 
     disclaimer notes that the content does not necessarily 
     reflect the views of the US government [October 1996, 
     11pages, R-129].


   Arizona Department of Economic Security, Rehabilitation Services 
        Administration, and Statewide Independent Living Council

       In RSA's Interim Fiscal Year 1995 State Plan for 
     Independent Living, specifying that ``Services Related to 
     Housing'' include ``modifications to accommodate people with 
     EI/MCS'' [Attachment 12, 1 October 1994, 7 pages, R-31] and 
     in an administrative review decisions issued 22 June 1992 in 
     the case of a vocational rehabilitation client determined to 
     be ``severely disabled'' by ``environmental illness, 
     allergies.'' In addition, training on MCS was presented to 
     both Vocational Rehabilitation and ILRS counselors at the 
     1994 state staff conference.

[[Page E2153]]

                     Attorney General of California

       In the final report of the Attorney General's Commission on 
     Disability, recognizing environmental illness as a disabling 
     condition [1989, 8 page excerpt, R-33].


                     Attorneys General of New York

       Backed by 25 other Attorneys General from AL, AZ, CT, FL, 
     IA, KS, MA, MN, MO, ND, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, 
     TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WV.)
       In a thoroughly documented petition to the U.S. Consumer 
     Product Safety Commission, requesting the issuance of safety 
     standards and warning labels governing the sale of carpets, 
     carpet adhesives and paddings suspected of causing MCS and 
     other illness [1991, 1 page excerpt, R-32a, 350 pages total].


    California Department of Health Services, Environmental Health 
                         Investigations Branch

       In its extensive final report on ``Evaluating Individuals 
     Reporting Sensitivities To Multiple Chemicals,'' funded by 
     the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
     under Cooperative Agreement No. U61/ATU999794-01 [September 
     1995, 6 page excerpt including abstract, advisory panel 
     members, and table of contents, R-34]. A cover letter sent by 
     the EHIB to the project's Advisory Panel members notes the 
     extraordinary preliminary results obtained from an annual 
     survey of random Californians to which questions about MCS 
     were added for the first time in 1995. Of the first 2,000 
     people surveyed, 16% reported suffering from MCS symptoms 
     while 7% (``certainly far higher than any of us may have 
     expected'') claim they have been diagnosed with MCS by a 
     physician. [3 October 1995, 2 pages, R-100]. Citing personal 
     communication with Dr. R. Kreutzer, the acting chief of the 
     EHIB (also confirmed with Dr. Kreutzer by MCS R&R), Dr. Ann 
     McCampbell reported the study's final results in a letter to 
     the editor published by Psychosomatics (38(3): 300-301, May-
     June 1997): of 4,000 people surveyed, 15.9% reported chemical 
     sensitivity and 6.3% said they had been given the diagnosis 
     of MCS by a physician [1997, 1 page, R-141].


                      California Energy Commission

       In its report on California's Energy Efficiency Standards 
     and Indoor Air Quality (#P400-94-003), which says of MCS that 
     ``Its increasing incidence is suggested as accompanying the 
     increasingly wide-spread use of products manufactured with 
     potentially toxic chemical constituents. Available 
     information points to this condition as an acquired disorder 
     usually resulting from prior sensitization to chemicals in 
     the environment'' [1994, 2 page excerpt, R-35].


   California Legislature, Senate Subcommittee on the Rights of the 
                                Disabled

       In its final report on Access for People with Environmental 
     Illness/Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Other Related 
     Conditions, chaired by Senator Milton Marks, that summarizes 
     four years of investigations by the subcommittee, [30 
     September 1996, 26 pages, R-109]. The report addresses common 
     barriers to access in public buildings, transportation, 
     institutions, employment, housing, and present detailed 
     suggested solutions, both those required under law and others 
     recommended. It covers the work of the subcommittee, its 
     outside Advisory Panel, and its MCS Task Forces (on Building 
     Standards and Construction, Environmental Illness, Industry, 
     Medicine and Health).


                       Florida State Legislature

       In legislation that created a voluntary Pesticide 
     Notification Registry for persons with pesticide sensitivity 
     or chemical hypersensitivity, as long as their medical 
     condition is certified by a physician specializing in 
     occupational medicine, allergy/immunology or toxicology 
     [Florida Statute 482.2265(3)(c), 1989, 7 pages, R-38]. The 
     legislation requires lawn-care companies to alert registry 
     members 24 hours in advance of applying chemicals within a 
     half-mile of their home. Note that pesticide sensitivity 
     registries also have been adopted in CO, CT, LA, MD, MI, NJ, 
     PA, WA [1992, 6 pages, R-149], WV and WI, but these do not 
     refer specifically (by any name) to MCS-type illness, and 
     most require notification only of adjacent properties.

     

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