I am Jacob B. Berkson, a 68-year-old resident of Hagerstown, Maryland. I was a trial
lawyer for some 40 years. I am now retired and writing a book on Environmental Pollution
and Environmental Illness, titled A Canary's Tale. I was invited to speak to you as a
patient one who was poisoned by an organophosphate pesticide and who subsequently
developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS, or sometimes referred to as Environmental
Illness, EI).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ASHFORD, N.A. and MILLER, C.S. (1989). Chemical
Sensitivity: A Report to the New Jersey State Department of Health. Dec.
2.
ASHFORD, N.A. and MILLER, C.S.
(1991). Chemical Exposures: Low Levels and High Stakes.
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New
York.
3.
BERKSON, J. A Canary's Tale. Environmental Pollution
and Environmental Illness. Submitted.
4.
BRIGGS, S., ed. (1992).
Basic Guide to Pesticides: Their Characteristics and Hazards.
Rachel Carson Council.Washington,
D.C.
5.
DAVIDOF F, L.L.
(1991). Multiple Chemical Sensitivities: Research
on PsychiatricPsychosocial Issues. Paper presented at the
symposium Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and the Environment II: Diagnosis and Therapy.
American Public Health Association, Atlanta, Georgia,
Nov. 13.
6.
HEUSER, G. (1992).
Diagnostic markers in clinical immunotoxicology and
neurotoxicology. J. Occup. Med.
Toxicol.1(4):
vx.
7.
HILLEMAN, B. and WASHINGTON, O.
(1991). Multiple chemical sensitivity.
Chem. Engineering News, 22 July. pp.
2642.
8.
National research Council
(1992). Multiple Chemical Sensitivities: Addendum to Biologic
Markers in Immunotoxicology. National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C.
9.
PULLMAN, C. and SZYMANSKI, S.
(1993). Multiple Chemical Sensitivities at Work: A Training
Workbook for Working People. The Labor
Institute, New York.
10.
RANDOLPH, T.G. (1987).
Environmental Medicine Beginnings and Bibliographies of Clinical
Ecology. Clinical Ecology Publications, Inc.,
Fort Collins, CO.
11.
REINHOLD, R. (1990). When life is toxic: They suffer
agonizing reactions from contact with almost anything chemical, forcing them into
protective cocoons. They call it a disease, but is it Not all doctors are convinced. New
York Times Mag., 16 Sept. pp. 5051, 6570.
12.
ROSENTHAL, N. and CAMERON, C.L.
(1991). Letter to the editor: Exaggerated sensitivity to an
organophosphate pesticide. Am. J.
Psychiatry148(2):
270.
13.
ROUECH, B. (1988). Annals of medicine: The
fumigation chamber. New Yorker, 4 Jan. pp. 6065.
14.
SHERMAN, J.D. (1988).
Chemical Exposure and Disease: Diagnostic and Investigative Techniques.
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New
York.
15.
THRASHER, J.D. (1993).
Immunologic abnormalities in humans exposed to chlorpyrifos: Preliminary
observations. Arch. Environ.
Health48(2):
8993.
16.
WEISSKOPF, M. (1990).
Hypersensitivity to chemicals called rising health problem. Some cannot adapt to
low doses of toxics, study says.Washington Post,
10 Feb. p. A2.
17.
ZIEM, G. (1993).
Diagnosing and treating chemically injured people.
Pesticides and You SummerFall:
817.
