Some human studies ruled OK

In a draft report, the Human Studies Review Board decided that a pesticide industry study that exposed humans to chloropicrin is fundamentally ethical and could be used by EPA in its review of the pesticide. Chloropicrin is used as a substitute for methyl bromide to fumigate soil and in empty grain and potato storage facilities. The board also decided that human studies are necessary for evaluating the efficacy of insect repellents and that studies involving researchers who volunteer to be their own subjects are also ethical and, under certain conditions, valid scientifically. However, it rejected five generic protocols submitted by industry for studying effects of pesticides on occupational handlers. The protocols failed to meet ethical requirements established in EPA rules, the board said. The board was set up this year to advise EPA on issues posed by human testing.