What I would really love to see is an absolute flood of mail into ATSDR before the deadline: December 15, 1998.

The postcards or letters could be as-neatly-as-possible-hand-written messages, typed, computer generated, even remarks given directly via their website comments forms (http://web.health.gov/environment/
scriptehpc/comment.cfm?sec=I.+Background+and+Historical+Review).

Just remember, when you respond, do not disclose any information you do not want made public. Our responses will become public record.

Do get that snail-mail in to:

ATSDR's Information Center
1600 Clifton Road, Mail Stop E57
Atlanta, GA 30333

attention Alice Knox

The MCS research experts are handling that aspect very nicely. There are also responses reflecting the views of various organizational boards, such as EHN's letter.

As I see it, for us to be effective, the Interagency Workgroup must be overwhelmed by a ton of mail from John and Jane MCS-Public.

Several ideas follow -- for postcard or letter -- but the views expressed only reflect my personal opinions. If any inspire you to write to ATSDR, please feel free to use them as a "jumping off point." For example:

Dear Alice Knox and
Members of the Interagency Workgroup:

I find this report is unacceptable. This project was undertaken in 1995, as stated in your Foreword, " . . . because of concern for the health and well-being of persons with symptoms of MCS . . ."

However, it is clear that this report is written to avoid the ". . . challenging policy issues . . ." Clearly, it's written keep business as usual, best serving the chemical industry.

The price paid for continuing business as usual will not be able to be calculated as typically done in "Cost Benefit Analysis." The cost will be exacted in terms of human suffering and death. Cost Benefit Analysis never takes into account the toll on humanity and therefore it will not see the true "bottom line."

This country will not be able to afford continuous study of MCS, while allowing restriction-free chemicals to flood the market. If you must look only at the financial "bottom line," fix your gaze upon burgeoning health care costs, as well as the costs of people being forced from gainful employment because of MCS.

Sincerely,

Or

Describe how you were poisoned.

Were you poisoned at work? Have you lost your job because your employer does not tolerate MCS in the workplace? Was your poisoning do to pesticides? Was it do to perfume? Do you know the brand(s)?

Do you have liver damage? Or a virus such as polio? (The government is looking at this as theory. Express your pain at that point of view.)

Or

Please go back to the drawing boards and rework, starting without the biases of the chemical industry in place.

This report is a sorry waste of our tax dollars.

Or
I believe that the industry has been protected too long and now it is past time to protect human health. Before it is much too late.

Or

Perhaps you could explain the obvious to the members of the workgroup: various chemicals have various target organs and they manifest themselves with a variety of symptoms. After repeated exposures, it takes less of that chemical to set reactions in place. This is documented in NIOSH's book on chemicals.

Tie this into your reactions to perfumes, to pesticides, to tobacco smoke, to paints, roofing solvents, contact adhesives, . . .

Or

You could protest being labled psychosomatic and all other pejorative phrases without benefit of analysis that would prove that you are quite mentally healthy -- remarkably so considering all you has been put through just so the mulitbillion dollar industry can continue to grow out its economy / your employer could continue to have an odorivecting workforce . . .

Or

Protest the fact that we've such a short time to turn around our responses -- a six week's extension isn't sufficient for our responses, nor does it allow enough time to spread the word about this report. We are the ones who are ill and yet they have put unrealistic deadlines upon us to respond to a report, which they have taken three years to write, serving industry, which will further consign growing numbers of people to a living hell. And it will cost dearly in tax-payer's dollars.

Or

Write of your own experiences, or those of your children or other family members. Just don't write anything you don't want made public.

hugs -- barb