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TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE PREGNANT WOMAN'S CLINICAL CONDITION.

IN THIS SITUATION, THE WOMAN AND HER ATTENDING PHYSICIAN ASSESS

THE RELATIONSHIP OF HER WORK AND HER PREGNANCY.

TODAY.

I LEAVE QUESTIONS 4, 5, AND 6 TO THE OTHER PANELISTS HERE

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I CONCLUDE WITH A COMMENT CONCERNING THE MOST RECENT AND

EXTREME EXAMPLE OF WORKPLACE EXPOSURE FOR WOMEN

IN THEIR HOMES IN NIAGERA FALLS NEAR LOVE CANAL. AS A STUDY
POPULATION, THEY DIFFERED VERY LITTLE IN TERMS OF EXPOSURE TO
TOXIC SUBSTANCES, AGE AND PROCREATION EXPERIENCE FROM

IN A JEWELRY FACTORY IN PROVIDENCE,

THE SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL SYSTEM COULD NOT PROVIDE ONE APPROPRIATE REPRODUCTIVE (OR ANY OTHER) END-POINT UPON WHICH

THERE COULD BE AGREEMENT THAT IT WOULD HAVE SCIENTIFIC LEGITIMACY. TO THIS DAY, NOT ONE STUDY HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT THAT HAS MET THE FLUCTUATING ARRAY OF CRITERIA THAT IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT SCIENTIFIC ACCORD.

I WOULD SUBMIT TO YOU THIS COUNTRY'S SCIENTIFIC ESTABLISHMENT HAS HAD A MASSIVE RESEARCH BUDGET FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS. YET IT WAS UNABLE TO AGREE SUFFICIENTLY ON EVEN ONE SINGLE SOLITARY TEST APPROPRIATE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF RISK TO THE HEALTH (INCLUDING REPRODUCTION) OF THAT WORKING POPULATION IN LOVE CANAL. LET US NOT HIDE OUR HEADS IN THE SAND AND EXCUSE OUR PARALYSIS WITH THE EXTERNALITIES OF THE SOCIAL CRISIS BLINDING THE SCIENTIFIC

LEGITIMACY OF TESTS. LET US ADMIT THE REALITY THAT OUR SCIENTIFIC/ MEDICAL SYSTEM DOES NOT EVEN NOW HAVE A TEST OR STUDY DESIGN: WHICH CAN BE AGREED UPON THAT WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWERS YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR TODAY, WHETHER YOU ARE CONCERNED WITH HAZARDS IN THE

WORKPLACE OR THE ENVIRONMENT.

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IF THE LITERATURE WE TURN TO IS REPLETE WITH POTENTIAL TESTS AND STUDY DESIGNS WAITING FOR VALIDATION - A CRITICAL CRITERION FOR GETTING OVER THE HURDLE OF CREDIBILITY - WHO IS GOING TO SUPPORT THE VALIDATION PROCESS? WHEN APPLIED DIRECTLY TO HUMAN POPULATIONS, IT INVOLVES EXPENSIVE EPIDEMIOLOGIC METHODS. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ARE THERE TO DO THE BASIC RESEARCH AND TO DEVELOP TESTS. CURRENTLY I SEE NO VISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OR THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FOR GETTING US OVER THAT HURDLE OF VALIDATION.

NEXT TIME IN THE WORKPLACE OR THE ENVIRONMENT AT LARGE

WILL WE BE PARALYZED AGAIN OR WILL THE CRITERIA FOR SCIENTIFIC LEGITIMACY CHANGE?

Bibliography and Commentary.
Northwestern

173 pp. Occasional Papers No. 2, Program on Women. University, 1977.

Hunt, V.R.: Occupational Radiation Exposure of Women Workers, Preventive Medicine I: 296-310, 1978.

Hunt, V.R.: A Brief History of Women Workers and Hazards in the Workplace. Feminist Studies, 5: 274-285, 1979.

Hunt, V.R.: Work and the Health of Women, 1979 - CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 236, 1979.

Hunt, V.R.: The Emergence of the Workers' Right to Know Health Risks, in "Strategies for Public Health Promoting Health and Preventing Disease," L.K.Y. Ng, D.L. Davis (Ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1981.