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<br /> . FRCh1 POWEtHCUSE PHONE N0. ~ 8©88845190 Jun. 15 1997 19~18PM P2 <br /> J.T. Power, MD r,~ . <br /> PreventiveMedicine G1 <br /> Integral Health Care , 9~ JUid 16 Y$~818~'S-4325 <br /> .,r, <br /> June 15, 1997 COUNTY <br /> Finance Committee <br /> Hawaii County Council <br /> Re: Testimon}- .-ia facsimile on continuation of DEA marijuana eradication <br /> program. <br /> Dear Finance Committee Members: <br /> I understand tour committee is considering rene~e~al of its agreement <br /> with the DEA to continue aerial spraying for the eradication of marijuana on <br /> the $ig Island. I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the <br /> public health issues at stake in this debate. <br /> It mats seem to the casual observer that this program delivers an <br /> insignificant amount of toxic material into the environment, and that such <br /> potential health concerns are not worthy of consideration. However, I would <br /> ]ike to point out some medical issues that should be taken into account before <br /> dismissing this as inconsequential. <br /> First, there is the issue of hepatic dysfunction (various liver disorders) <br /> caused by chronic low- level exposure to a wide array of xenobiotics (unnatural <br /> synthetic chemicals which pose potential danger to biological systems) in the <br /> environment. Tn general, the liver has a remarkable capacity for detoxifying <br /> and removing these chemicals from the body. However, there is a great deal of <br /> individual genetic variability in the function of these detox mechanisms. This <br /> genetic, biochemical basis for the dramatic di.-ersity of functional detoxification <br /> capacities may help explain the wide ~~ariance of individual tolerances and <br /> reactions to environmental chemicals. Studies indicate that lipid•soluble <br /> pesticides and herbicides can concentrate in the liver and other fatey- tissues, <br /> where they- persist for long periods of rime and result in altered functional <br /> capacity. Nearly 53 billion is spent yearly in the U.S. on the treatment of `liver <br /> disorders of unknown origin'. It is likely that many of those liver disorders are <br /> due, at least in part, to non-specific effects from hepatotoxins, including those <br /> induced by xenobiodc exposure. \2etabolites of certain herbicides (glyphosate, <br /> P.O. Box 6582 • Ironwood Center, Suite Z • Kamue/a, Hawaii 96743 <br /> <br />