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CalOSHA: Going Down the Tubes?
Cal-OSHA is supposed to protect California's 17 million workers. This agency has only 187 active inspectors and has eliminated all doctors putting California workers at risk. Many new industries such as biotechnology and nanotechnology have no oversight and investigation into their practices.
Released by
California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day CCWMD
http://www.workersmemorialday.org
8/1/2008
CalOSHA: Going Down the Tubes?
There are over 17 million workers in California. The total number of active inspectors that are enforcing the health, and safety regulation are at present 187. The present ratio of 92,080 workers per safety inspector in California is over nine times the 10,000 workers per inspector ratio recommended by the International Labor's Organization's guidelines. Table A showes that other West Coast jurisdictions have come much closer than California to meeting that standard.
Table A: Number of Health and Safety Inspectors per Worker: Selected Jurisdictions
Jurisdiction Cali- Fornia (3/2007) Washing- ton state (5/2006) Oregon (5/2006) British Columbia (5/2006) ILO recommen-ded ratio (5/2006) Inspectors per Worker 92,080(a) 26,904(b) 22,239(b) 10,564(b) 10,000(b) Sources: a. Cal-OSHA Reporter/DOSH Program Office, as of March 9, 2007; b. Legislative Analyst’s Office, State of California, March 18, 2006. The trends at Cal-OSHA between 1992 and 2006 show a decrease of 32% in both the number of on-site inspections and cited violations from 1992-2006, despite a 20% increase in the number of workers in California. The decline in inspectors has led, not surprisingly, to failures by Cal-OSHA to meet the requirements in the labor code: inspections are not being initiated within the required 14-day post-complaint period, inspections are not being closed in a timely fashion, and many serious complaints are being declared "invalid" at the discretion of the 21 district managers. Worse yet, follow-up inspections for “serious” citations are not being carried out, and there are an increasing reluctance to effectively fight appeals by employers. Furthermore, existing programs, such as targeted inspections in "high hazard industries" are short changed, and a concomitant reduction in previously programmed inspections in high-risk industries such as agriculture, construction, garment, and restaurant industries has occurred. Over the years, CalOSHA has essentially eliminated the enforcement of health standards, especially for infectious diseases. At its inception under Governor Jerry Brown in the 1970s, CalOSHA had six physicians serving as public health medical officers, and several occupational health nurses enforce the occupational health standards. When I retired in 2006, I was the last physician working as a CalOSHA public health medical officer, and no one has been hired to replace me. Medical expertise is of enormous importance in protecting California's work force from a multiplicity of hazardous chemicals, infectious diseases, and repetitive strain motion injuries. At present there are only about 80 professionally-trained industrial hygienists, college-level post-graduate professionals primarily trained to measure various hazardous exposures and to apply mandated exposure limits to airborne hazards when issuing violation citations. Serious acute, and chronic long term illnesses are frequently caused by multiple chemical exposures. Unfortunately the existing health standards as defined in the labor code were set without reference to the possibility of multiple exposures to hazards. Worse yet, a whole universe of new hazards is inherent in nanotechnology, genetic engineering, biotechnology, indoor air quality exposures, and infectious diseases. Most new chemicals and pesticides have yet to be screened for for their potential to cause illness, at a time when an increasing proportion of workers and the public is becoming aware of long term threats to health, and the environment. Cal-OSHA has the legal authority under the Labor Code to establish new standards and procedures, and to require strict recording of all occupational illnesj, and the retention of all medical records for 30 years,as well as requiring medical surveillance with certain highly hazardous substance exposures is a important part of this program for worker protection, but it has refused to exercise this prerogative in most cases. Not surprisingly, employers record only a diminishing small proportion of occupational illnesses by setting it up so that most of them are only in need of first aid, and staying at work, or returning to the work place the next day, and therefore exempt from the official recording sheet.
The Tip of the Iceberg Examples
Several recent examples illustrate the dramatic failure of Cal-OSHA to effectively respond to serious threats to life and health in California’s workplaces: 1) Agriquest, a technology corporation, turned a naturally occurring microorganism into a pesticide which caused a life- threatening illness in a professional employee. That illness was recognized by the employee’s primary care medical practitioners as a workplace-induced illness. The Cal-OSHA investigator assigned to Agriquest totally failed to address the problem that also threatened the surrounding community, and issued only a "laboratory hood" citation. The real issue was the overall level of laboratory protection needed. Without knowing all the facts in the case, I would guess that Level 4 protection—the same required when working with any dangerous microorganism, (anthrax as an example), might have been considered in this investigation. Dealing with infectious disease hazards in the workplace requires the expertise of a physician, but CalOSHA sent over an industrial hygienist. 2) Over 80,000 new chemicals that have been released and have become are now in commercial circulation that have not been adequately tested for general public health safety. Only 15% of these chemicals have been barely adequately tested. Usually workers exposed to these untested chemicals are the equivalent of the "canary in the coal mine" who when exposed to dangerous mine gases, “sway noticeably on the perch” thus warning the miners of the danger of the odorless, poisonous gases. The shocking example of "popcorn lung disease" is a good example of a worker "body count" which has alerted the labor and public health communities to the dangers of a particular hazardous chemical. Of course the illness should have been called "chemical lung destruction disease." Diacetyl is used in processed food and beverages as an additive to give a buttery taste. It is part of the oily substance chemical mix that is put on commercial popcorn. A worker at the Foothill Ranch flavor manufacturing facility had been exposed to the heated fumes, and over a period of a year and a half developed devastating lung destruction called "bronchiolitis obliterans", and 80% of his lung function was destroyed, to the point that only a lung transplant offered any hope for restoring his health. It took CalOSHA over six months after the diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans” to fine the employer, and the penalty was only $40,000 for the destruction of a worker’s life, and the employer failed to report the illness. This fine was legally appealed. Nationally there were many more worker cases of lung disease reported from this exposure, and one documented case occurred in a consumer. It makes one wonder about the popcorn fumes that young theater workers are constantly exposed to. The Cal-OSHA response was to have an industry physician associated with the Food and Extract Manufacturers Association do the medical screening and evaluations at the 20+ workplaces which utilized diacetyl. The chemical manufacturers of diacetyl were not required to provide a list of all of the firms they supplied with diacetyl in California. To this day, CalOSHA is uncertain whether or not these employers comprised all of the industrial users of diacetyl in the state. Assembly Bill 816, which would have required that this information be provided by chemical manufacturers in California, was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger who declared it it an "invasion of privacy.” The Cal-OSHA response to the “popcorn lung” problem was dictated by Leonard Welsh, Acting Chief of Cal-OSHA, who sent in non-enforcement “Consultation” agents of Cal-OSHA to the incomplete list of twenty odd industrial users of diacetyl. CalOSHA’s treatment of this case illustrates how Mr. Welsh has developed an ever-expanding emphasis on so-called "voluntary compliance" for large corporations even in life-threatening cases. Large chemical and electronic companies in California have become effectively exempt from programmed “enforcement” inspections if they sign “voluntary compliance” agreements, even where they use dozens of notoriously toxic chemicals in their operations. Another example of Cal-OSHA incompetence are the ongoing increasing deaths from heat stress or hyperthermia in agriculture. Until the inevitable death occurs, CalOSHA essentially fails to enforce the requirements for rest periods, drinking water, and shade for agricultural workers even during record statewide heat waves. Addressing the Cal-OSHA Enforcement Disaster In 1975 Cal-OSHA had the strongest state OSHA program in the United States. Now, after enduring death by a thousand cuts, it is now one of the weakest state programs. despite the increasing numbers of workers and hazardous industries in the state. The insufficient level of enforcement staffing and the elimination of all Public Health Medical Officers has lead to a inability of the agency to meet its mandated responses to workplace health and safety problems as enumerated in the California Labor Code. The U.S. Court of Appeals decision in AFL-CIO v. Marshall, the established benchmark had been 805 inspectors for the State of California. Federal OSHA has recommended 334 safety, and 471 health compliance officers Instead under successive Republican California administrations the enforcement staff numbers have shrunk to a total of only 187 inspectors of all kinds. If an effective committed administration were operating, thirty vacant field positions would be filled immediately and trained on an emergency basis, and five times as many inspectors plus 5 physician medical officers would be presented to the legislators as urgently needed to accomplish an effective Cal-OSHA. Anti-labor administration policies, plus weak statewide labor support have contributed to this dysfunctional Cal-OSHA picture.
Author: Lawrence Rose M.D., M.P.H. 28 years as the senior Public Medical Officer for the statewide Cal-OSHA enforcement program (recently retired), Occupational/Environmental UCSF
LarryRoseM.D.,M.P.H.,
197LovellAve.
Mill Valley, CA 94941
larryrosemd [at] sbcglobal.net
California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day CCWMD
http://www.workersmemorialday.org
8/1/2008
CalOSHA: Going Down the Tubes?
There are over 17 million workers in California. The total number of active inspectors that are enforcing the health, and safety regulation are at present 187. The present ratio of 92,080 workers per safety inspector in California is over nine times the 10,000 workers per inspector ratio recommended by the International Labor's Organization's guidelines. Table A showes that other West Coast jurisdictions have come much closer than California to meeting that standard.
Table A: Number of Health and Safety Inspectors per Worker: Selected Jurisdictions
Jurisdiction Cali- Fornia (3/2007) Washing- ton state (5/2006) Oregon (5/2006) British Columbia (5/2006) ILO recommen-ded ratio (5/2006) Inspectors per Worker 92,080(a) 26,904(b) 22,239(b) 10,564(b) 10,000(b) Sources: a. Cal-OSHA Reporter/DOSH Program Office, as of March 9, 2007; b. Legislative Analyst’s Office, State of California, March 18, 2006. The trends at Cal-OSHA between 1992 and 2006 show a decrease of 32% in both the number of on-site inspections and cited violations from 1992-2006, despite a 20% increase in the number of workers in California. The decline in inspectors has led, not surprisingly, to failures by Cal-OSHA to meet the requirements in the labor code: inspections are not being initiated within the required 14-day post-complaint period, inspections are not being closed in a timely fashion, and many serious complaints are being declared "invalid" at the discretion of the 21 district managers. Worse yet, follow-up inspections for “serious” citations are not being carried out, and there are an increasing reluctance to effectively fight appeals by employers. Furthermore, existing programs, such as targeted inspections in "high hazard industries" are short changed, and a concomitant reduction in previously programmed inspections in high-risk industries such as agriculture, construction, garment, and restaurant industries has occurred. Over the years, CalOSHA has essentially eliminated the enforcement of health standards, especially for infectious diseases. At its inception under Governor Jerry Brown in the 1970s, CalOSHA had six physicians serving as public health medical officers, and several occupational health nurses enforce the occupational health standards. When I retired in 2006, I was the last physician working as a CalOSHA public health medical officer, and no one has been hired to replace me. Medical expertise is of enormous importance in protecting California's work force from a multiplicity of hazardous chemicals, infectious diseases, and repetitive strain motion injuries. At present there are only about 80 professionally-trained industrial hygienists, college-level post-graduate professionals primarily trained to measure various hazardous exposures and to apply mandated exposure limits to airborne hazards when issuing violation citations. Serious acute, and chronic long term illnesses are frequently caused by multiple chemical exposures. Unfortunately the existing health standards as defined in the labor code were set without reference to the possibility of multiple exposures to hazards. Worse yet, a whole universe of new hazards is inherent in nanotechnology, genetic engineering, biotechnology, indoor air quality exposures, and infectious diseases. Most new chemicals and pesticides have yet to be screened for for their potential to cause illness, at a time when an increasing proportion of workers and the public is becoming aware of long term threats to health, and the environment. Cal-OSHA has the legal authority under the Labor Code to establish new standards and procedures, and to require strict recording of all occupational illnesj, and the retention of all medical records for 30 years,as well as requiring medical surveillance with certain highly hazardous substance exposures is a important part of this program for worker protection, but it has refused to exercise this prerogative in most cases. Not surprisingly, employers record only a diminishing small proportion of occupational illnesses by setting it up so that most of them are only in need of first aid, and staying at work, or returning to the work place the next day, and therefore exempt from the official recording sheet.
The Tip of the Iceberg Examples
Several recent examples illustrate the dramatic failure of Cal-OSHA to effectively respond to serious threats to life and health in California’s workplaces: 1) Agriquest, a technology corporation, turned a naturally occurring microorganism into a pesticide which caused a life- threatening illness in a professional employee. That illness was recognized by the employee’s primary care medical practitioners as a workplace-induced illness. The Cal-OSHA investigator assigned to Agriquest totally failed to address the problem that also threatened the surrounding community, and issued only a "laboratory hood" citation. The real issue was the overall level of laboratory protection needed. Without knowing all the facts in the case, I would guess that Level 4 protection—the same required when working with any dangerous microorganism, (anthrax as an example), might have been considered in this investigation. Dealing with infectious disease hazards in the workplace requires the expertise of a physician, but CalOSHA sent over an industrial hygienist. 2) Over 80,000 new chemicals that have been released and have become are now in commercial circulation that have not been adequately tested for general public health safety. Only 15% of these chemicals have been barely adequately tested. Usually workers exposed to these untested chemicals are the equivalent of the "canary in the coal mine" who when exposed to dangerous mine gases, “sway noticeably on the perch” thus warning the miners of the danger of the odorless, poisonous gases. The shocking example of "popcorn lung disease" is a good example of a worker "body count" which has alerted the labor and public health communities to the dangers of a particular hazardous chemical. Of course the illness should have been called "chemical lung destruction disease." Diacetyl is used in processed food and beverages as an additive to give a buttery taste. It is part of the oily substance chemical mix that is put on commercial popcorn. A worker at the Foothill Ranch flavor manufacturing facility had been exposed to the heated fumes, and over a period of a year and a half developed devastating lung destruction called "bronchiolitis obliterans", and 80% of his lung function was destroyed, to the point that only a lung transplant offered any hope for restoring his health. It took CalOSHA over six months after the diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans” to fine the employer, and the penalty was only $40,000 for the destruction of a worker’s life, and the employer failed to report the illness. This fine was legally appealed. Nationally there were many more worker cases of lung disease reported from this exposure, and one documented case occurred in a consumer. It makes one wonder about the popcorn fumes that young theater workers are constantly exposed to. The Cal-OSHA response was to have an industry physician associated with the Food and Extract Manufacturers Association do the medical screening and evaluations at the 20+ workplaces which utilized diacetyl. The chemical manufacturers of diacetyl were not required to provide a list of all of the firms they supplied with diacetyl in California. To this day, CalOSHA is uncertain whether or not these employers comprised all of the industrial users of diacetyl in the state. Assembly Bill 816, which would have required that this information be provided by chemical manufacturers in California, was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger who declared it it an "invasion of privacy.” The Cal-OSHA response to the “popcorn lung” problem was dictated by Leonard Welsh, Acting Chief of Cal-OSHA, who sent in non-enforcement “Consultation” agents of Cal-OSHA to the incomplete list of twenty odd industrial users of diacetyl. CalOSHA’s treatment of this case illustrates how Mr. Welsh has developed an ever-expanding emphasis on so-called "voluntary compliance" for large corporations even in life-threatening cases. Large chemical and electronic companies in California have become effectively exempt from programmed “enforcement” inspections if they sign “voluntary compliance” agreements, even where they use dozens of notoriously toxic chemicals in their operations. Another example of Cal-OSHA incompetence are the ongoing increasing deaths from heat stress or hyperthermia in agriculture. Until the inevitable death occurs, CalOSHA essentially fails to enforce the requirements for rest periods, drinking water, and shade for agricultural workers even during record statewide heat waves. Addressing the Cal-OSHA Enforcement Disaster In 1975 Cal-OSHA had the strongest state OSHA program in the United States. Now, after enduring death by a thousand cuts, it is now one of the weakest state programs. despite the increasing numbers of workers and hazardous industries in the state. The insufficient level of enforcement staffing and the elimination of all Public Health Medical Officers has lead to a inability of the agency to meet its mandated responses to workplace health and safety problems as enumerated in the California Labor Code. The U.S. Court of Appeals decision in AFL-CIO v. Marshall, the established benchmark had been 805 inspectors for the State of California. Federal OSHA has recommended 334 safety, and 471 health compliance officers Instead under successive Republican California administrations the enforcement staff numbers have shrunk to a total of only 187 inspectors of all kinds. If an effective committed administration were operating, thirty vacant field positions would be filled immediately and trained on an emergency basis, and five times as many inspectors plus 5 physician medical officers would be presented to the legislators as urgently needed to accomplish an effective Cal-OSHA. Anti-labor administration policies, plus weak statewide labor support have contributed to this dysfunctional Cal-OSHA picture.
Author: Lawrence Rose M.D., M.P.H. 28 years as the senior Public Medical Officer for the statewide Cal-OSHA enforcement program (recently retired), Occupational/Environmental UCSF
LarryRoseM.D.,M.P.H.,
197LovellAve.
Mill Valley, CA 94941
larryrosemd [at] sbcglobal.net
For more information:
http://www.workersmemorialday.org
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http://www.labornet.org/news/0803/lastphys.htm
The Last Physician/Medical Officer Position is Eliminated at Cal/OSHA.
Save the PHMO Position!!
The Cal/OSHA public health physician position is an integral part of the
Cal/OSHA program. In the heyday of the program, there were three
occupational health physicians, as well as several nurse consultants. We are
now down to one physician and two nurse positions.
The occupational health physician:
1. Provides medical expertise to link exposures to employee illness,
particularly when those exposures are not already controlled by regulations.
Often, these investigations are in new technologies, or new uses of
chemicals, for example in the biotech industry.
2. Interprets medical records and provides medical testimony at hearings.
Medical record review is necessary in all repetitive motion injury cases. It
is also necessary to establish that an employee has sustained a "serious
injury" as defined by the Labor Code in order that accident-related
penalties are applied.
3. Recommends and evaluates medical surveillance programs both for chemical
hazards and biological agents. For example, the physician helped to
establish Cal/OSHA protocols for requiring control measures for
tuberculosis, in health care settings, prisons, and other high risk
situations. The physician evaluates the results of biological monitoring for
exposure to toxic agents.
4. The Cal/OSHA physician recommends special orders in workplaces where
there is no existing standard to address hazards. These special orders have
included protecting employees against Q-fever, tuberculosis, ergonomic
hazards, and heat stress.
There are many other functions that the physician provides, including
mentoring occupational medicine residents, serving as a resource in
regulatory development, interfacing the program with the medical community,
and providing advice in individual cases and in the development of programs
and publications.
It is critical to maintain this position, since once lost, it is unlikely to
be restored.
Larry Rose M.D., MPH
Cal/OSHA Medical Unit
Cal/OSHA Alert: Cal/OSHA Functions at Risk
The last remaining Occupational Medicine physician in the Cal/OSHA
program is being eliminated. This important position was selected for
elimination due to the reduction in the overall budget for the Division. It
is 50% funded by federal funds. This creates a crisis in the effectiveness,
and credibility of the entire Cal/OSHA compliance and consultation programs.
The Cal/OSHA Medical Unit Physician functions in close coordination
with the compliance safety and health officers whenever there is a medical
problem caused by workplace environmental exposures. This coordinated
investigation usually consists of on-site interviewing of affected employees
reviewing doctor¹s first reports, interviewing evaluating/treating
physicians, and obtaining all up to date relevant medical records.
There are several specific substance standards, (e.g. lead, asbestos,
arsenic, etc,) that require detailed medical surveillance when various
trigger exposure levels occur. Whether or not the requirements of these
standards are met needs the review of a health care professional.
At a certain high level of exposure to any toxic that is causing a serious
health reaction immediate, and ongoing medical surveillance can be required.
This can only be developed by interviewing all exposed employees, reviewing
all work related medical records, and looking at past and probable future
exposures to determine the initial and ongoing periodic medical surveillance
requirements.
The main investigations where participation of the Medical Unit physician
are critically important are:
1. The Ergonomic Standard (Title 8, 5110), where only the physician in the
Medical Unit can make the contacts to determine that each injury recorded is
a true repetitive motion injury primarily caused by job task factors.
2. The Bloodborne pathogen standard (Title 8, 5193). This complex, very
detailed standard requires a thorough up to date grasp of the rapidly
changing risks for transmission of HIV and hepatitis in hospitals, clinics,
and other health care settings where health care worker exposures occur. The
adequacy of the needlestick prevention programs, the needlestick post
exposure prophylactic programs, training, engineered sharps program, is a
constantly changing picture, and needs a health care professional¹s
evaluation in the course of any bloodborne pathogen investigation.
3. Infectious disease exposures such as tuberculosis, SARS, Q Fever,
Coccidiocycosis, rabies, Legionaire¹s disease, and bioterrorism organisms
such as anthrax, smallpox, need the input of the Medical Officer responses
for credibile effective response to employee concerns and complaints.
4. Indoor air quality health complaints, need Medical Officer reviews. True
building related illnesses such as asthma exacerbations, Legionaires¹s
Disease, upper respiratory infections, CNS reactions, need to be evaluated
using treating physician interviews, and medical records. Linking specific
health reactions to airborne conditions in various building areas needs
special medical input. Multiple Chemical Sensitive employees often need
special reviewing.
5. Often employees that are expose to carcinogens, reproductive hazards,
hormone disruptors, and CNS toxics, need detailed review to direct exposed
employees to selected health care specialists.
6. Clusters of cancers, adverse reproductive events, and other medical
diagnostic catagories frequently require epidemiologic screening.
In addition to the above six categories of frequent investigation
participation the Medical Officer:
1. Supervises the medical surveillance program of Cal/OSHA compliance
officers.
2. Participates in fatality investigations
3. Evaluations of new or emerging diseases, or health issues.
4. In legal appeal, and settlement proceedings gives input in depositions,
and as an expert witness.
5. Frequent telephone responses to employee, and employer inquiries about
health reactions and prevention as related to workplace exposures.
6. Develops health Hazard Alerts.
7. Advises health care professionals regarding Cal/OSHA requirements.
8. Helps screen health complaints for district offices (particularly
infectious diseases).
9. Responds to telephone inquires about health reactions, and prevention as
related to Cal/OSHA regulations.
10. Lectures to heath care workers when requested.
11. Consultations with employers when requested.
12. Developing and coordinating the residency training program at Cal/OSHA
as a member of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.
13. Liaison with infectious disease departments, and CDC.
14. Interacting with other state agencies such as DHS, EPA, Pesticide
enforcement.
15. Developing standards.
16. When Employees are exposed to high levels of toxic materials Cal/OSHA
can require a Medical Surveillance program. The development of this program
includes interviewing exposed workers, review of past and probable future
exposures, and a medical determination that includes items of appropriate
surveillance protocols such as: laboratory tests, X-rays. lung function
tests, and biologic tests.
If the Public Medical Officer position in Cal/OSHA is eliminated, no one in
CAL/OSHA will be able to effectively fill these critically important
functions.
Proposition 97 passed by the electorate in 1989 required that the state OSHA
program should be reinstated at the previous level of effectiveness. The
Cal/OSHA program is now responsible for protecting the health and safety of
more than 17 million workers in the State of California. In 1989 there were
two Medical Officer positions in the Cal/OSHA program.
Cal/OSHA, Decreasing Effectiveness Due To Staffing Level Failures
Cal/OSHA: Tiger Team Enforcement or Paper Tiger?
At present the Division has 193 field officers, covering compliance,
high-hazard industries, process safety management and mining and tunneling.
That is a ratio of one inspector for about every 91,191 workers and 6,100
workplaces. One or more of the top three leadership positions within DOSH
has been vacant for "significant periods" in the last several years.
Recently the vacant chief's post was filled by Len Welsh, who still has to
be officially nominated by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
That job was vacant for almost a year after the departure of John Howard.
The Division has had no deputy chief for health since 2000.
DOSH's "benchmark" for inspector staffing remains at l98, the level that
Fed-OSHA accepted in 1994. Previously the benchmark had been 805 inspectors,
based on a 1980 U.S. Court of Appeals decision in AFL-CIO v. Marshall. The
Benchmark constitutes the "fully effective" compliance staffing level of a
state program. OSHA had recommended to the court that California allocate
334 safety and 471 health compliance officers.
But in l993 the Department of Industrial Relations reassessed California's
staffing requirements and came up with a benchmark of 118 safety and 80
health officers.
Whether or not the 805 benchmark ws ever realistic, the new benchmark has
remained static for almost 10 years while the number of workplaces has risen
21 percent and the workforce has increased 13 percent. The ratio of
inspectors to workers has declined 6 percent since 2001 - from 1:86,212 to
1: 91,191
April 2003 California has more fish and game wardens than workplace safety
and health inspectors - 227 vs. 193.
See Chart 1 Staffing History, 1980 - Present
Chart 2 California vs. Western Neighborhoods, Nov. 2001
The Last Physician/Medical Officer Position is Eliminated at Cal/OSHA.
Save the PHMO Position!!
The Cal/OSHA public health physician position is an integral part of the
Cal/OSHA program. In the heyday of the program, there were three
occupational health physicians, as well as several nurse consultants. We are
now down to one physician and two nurse positions.
The occupational health physician:
1. Provides medical expertise to link exposures to employee illness,
particularly when those exposures are not already controlled by regulations.
Often, these investigations are in new technologies, or new uses of
chemicals, for example in the biotech industry.
2. Interprets medical records and provides medical testimony at hearings.
Medical record review is necessary in all repetitive motion injury cases. It
is also necessary to establish that an employee has sustained a "serious
injury" as defined by the Labor Code in order that accident-related
penalties are applied.
3. Recommends and evaluates medical surveillance programs both for chemical
hazards and biological agents. For example, the physician helped to
establish Cal/OSHA protocols for requiring control measures for
tuberculosis, in health care settings, prisons, and other high risk
situations. The physician evaluates the results of biological monitoring for
exposure to toxic agents.
4. The Cal/OSHA physician recommends special orders in workplaces where
there is no existing standard to address hazards. These special orders have
included protecting employees against Q-fever, tuberculosis, ergonomic
hazards, and heat stress.
There are many other functions that the physician provides, including
mentoring occupational medicine residents, serving as a resource in
regulatory development, interfacing the program with the medical community,
and providing advice in individual cases and in the development of programs
and publications.
It is critical to maintain this position, since once lost, it is unlikely to
be restored.
Larry Rose M.D., MPH
Cal/OSHA Medical Unit
Cal/OSHA Alert: Cal/OSHA Functions at Risk
The last remaining Occupational Medicine physician in the Cal/OSHA
program is being eliminated. This important position was selected for
elimination due to the reduction in the overall budget for the Division. It
is 50% funded by federal funds. This creates a crisis in the effectiveness,
and credibility of the entire Cal/OSHA compliance and consultation programs.
The Cal/OSHA Medical Unit Physician functions in close coordination
with the compliance safety and health officers whenever there is a medical
problem caused by workplace environmental exposures. This coordinated
investigation usually consists of on-site interviewing of affected employees
reviewing doctor¹s first reports, interviewing evaluating/treating
physicians, and obtaining all up to date relevant medical records.
There are several specific substance standards, (e.g. lead, asbestos,
arsenic, etc,) that require detailed medical surveillance when various
trigger exposure levels occur. Whether or not the requirements of these
standards are met needs the review of a health care professional.
At a certain high level of exposure to any toxic that is causing a serious
health reaction immediate, and ongoing medical surveillance can be required.
This can only be developed by interviewing all exposed employees, reviewing
all work related medical records, and looking at past and probable future
exposures to determine the initial and ongoing periodic medical surveillance
requirements.
The main investigations where participation of the Medical Unit physician
are critically important are:
1. The Ergonomic Standard (Title 8, 5110), where only the physician in the
Medical Unit can make the contacts to determine that each injury recorded is
a true repetitive motion injury primarily caused by job task factors.
2. The Bloodborne pathogen standard (Title 8, 5193). This complex, very
detailed standard requires a thorough up to date grasp of the rapidly
changing risks for transmission of HIV and hepatitis in hospitals, clinics,
and other health care settings where health care worker exposures occur. The
adequacy of the needlestick prevention programs, the needlestick post
exposure prophylactic programs, training, engineered sharps program, is a
constantly changing picture, and needs a health care professional¹s
evaluation in the course of any bloodborne pathogen investigation.
3. Infectious disease exposures such as tuberculosis, SARS, Q Fever,
Coccidiocycosis, rabies, Legionaire¹s disease, and bioterrorism organisms
such as anthrax, smallpox, need the input of the Medical Officer responses
for credibile effective response to employee concerns and complaints.
4. Indoor air quality health complaints, need Medical Officer reviews. True
building related illnesses such as asthma exacerbations, Legionaires¹s
Disease, upper respiratory infections, CNS reactions, need to be evaluated
using treating physician interviews, and medical records. Linking specific
health reactions to airborne conditions in various building areas needs
special medical input. Multiple Chemical Sensitive employees often need
special reviewing.
5. Often employees that are expose to carcinogens, reproductive hazards,
hormone disruptors, and CNS toxics, need detailed review to direct exposed
employees to selected health care specialists.
6. Clusters of cancers, adverse reproductive events, and other medical
diagnostic catagories frequently require epidemiologic screening.
In addition to the above six categories of frequent investigation
participation the Medical Officer:
1. Supervises the medical surveillance program of Cal/OSHA compliance
officers.
2. Participates in fatality investigations
3. Evaluations of new or emerging diseases, or health issues.
4. In legal appeal, and settlement proceedings gives input in depositions,
and as an expert witness.
5. Frequent telephone responses to employee, and employer inquiries about
health reactions and prevention as related to workplace exposures.
6. Develops health Hazard Alerts.
7. Advises health care professionals regarding Cal/OSHA requirements.
8. Helps screen health complaints for district offices (particularly
infectious diseases).
9. Responds to telephone inquires about health reactions, and prevention as
related to Cal/OSHA regulations.
10. Lectures to heath care workers when requested.
11. Consultations with employers when requested.
12. Developing and coordinating the residency training program at Cal/OSHA
as a member of the Department of Medicine at UCSF.
13. Liaison with infectious disease departments, and CDC.
14. Interacting with other state agencies such as DHS, EPA, Pesticide
enforcement.
15. Developing standards.
16. When Employees are exposed to high levels of toxic materials Cal/OSHA
can require a Medical Surveillance program. The development of this program
includes interviewing exposed workers, review of past and probable future
exposures, and a medical determination that includes items of appropriate
surveillance protocols such as: laboratory tests, X-rays. lung function
tests, and biologic tests.
If the Public Medical Officer position in Cal/OSHA is eliminated, no one in
CAL/OSHA will be able to effectively fill these critically important
functions.
Proposition 97 passed by the electorate in 1989 required that the state OSHA
program should be reinstated at the previous level of effectiveness. The
Cal/OSHA program is now responsible for protecting the health and safety of
more than 17 million workers in the State of California. In 1989 there were
two Medical Officer positions in the Cal/OSHA program.
Cal/OSHA, Decreasing Effectiveness Due To Staffing Level Failures
Cal/OSHA: Tiger Team Enforcement or Paper Tiger?
At present the Division has 193 field officers, covering compliance,
high-hazard industries, process safety management and mining and tunneling.
That is a ratio of one inspector for about every 91,191 workers and 6,100
workplaces. One or more of the top three leadership positions within DOSH
has been vacant for "significant periods" in the last several years.
Recently the vacant chief's post was filled by Len Welsh, who still has to
be officially nominated by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
That job was vacant for almost a year after the departure of John Howard.
The Division has had no deputy chief for health since 2000.
DOSH's "benchmark" for inspector staffing remains at l98, the level that
Fed-OSHA accepted in 1994. Previously the benchmark had been 805 inspectors,
based on a 1980 U.S. Court of Appeals decision in AFL-CIO v. Marshall. The
Benchmark constitutes the "fully effective" compliance staffing level of a
state program. OSHA had recommended to the court that California allocate
334 safety and 471 health compliance officers.
But in l993 the Department of Industrial Relations reassessed California's
staffing requirements and came up with a benchmark of 118 safety and 80
health officers.
Whether or not the 805 benchmark ws ever realistic, the new benchmark has
remained static for almost 10 years while the number of workplaces has risen
21 percent and the workforce has increased 13 percent. The ratio of
inspectors to workers has declined 6 percent since 2001 - from 1:86,212 to
1: 91,191
April 2003 California has more fish and game wardens than workplace safety
and health inspectors - 227 vs. 193.
See Chart 1 Staffing History, 1980 - Present
Chart 2 California vs. Western Neighborhoods, Nov. 2001
For more information:
http://www.labornet.org/news/0803/lastphys...
Official Statement of Sandi Trend, Mother of Injured Biotechnology microbiologist, David Bell
8/1/2008 Sacramento Press Conference and Hearing On The Collapse of Protection For Injured Workers, Workers Comp Cover-up and Crisis In Healthcare and the Environment
In August of 1998 my son was one semester away from receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree, with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry had accepted a position offered to him as an “Assistant Researcher” for a period of 6 months to one year by a former Monsanto scientist, founder and CEO Pam Marrone of the Research and Development biotechnology company, Agraquest in Davis California.
My son’s “project” was the Laginex project and he had also helped other personnel and scientists with their projects. Laginex, the trade name given to a strain of fungus by Agraquest, a water mold lagenidium giganteum used for mosquito control. (it ate mosquitos from the inside out). His job was to find a viable and stabilizing agent to extend the shelf life of Laginex and he ordered and tested several agents with success. He was told Lagenidium was safe but within the years that followed it was discovered it wasn’t, it caused debilitating disease and death in dogs and was a new human disease, Oomycocis.
Clinicopathologic findings associated with Lagenidium sp. infection in 6 dogs: initial description of an emerging oomycosis
http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:14529129
CHARACTERIZATION OF A PREVIOUSLY UNDESCRIBED LAGENIDIUM PATHOGEN
ASSOCIATED WITH SOFT TISSUE INFECTION: INITIAL DESCRIPTION OF A NEW
HUMAN OOMYCOSIS
http://www.doctorfungus.org/Educatio/conf_highlights/focus14/pdf/focus14_abs_42.pdf
Agraquest’s mission statement states: “AgraQuest discovers, develops and markets effective, safe, and environmentally-friendly natural products for farm, home and public health pest management.” (These microorganisms; bacteria, fungus, protozoans and viruses are searched for throughout the world)
Corporate Profile for AgraQuest, Inc., Dated August 11, 2000
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_August_11/ai_64053943
Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise - Google Books Result
http://books.google.com/books?id=LZhSSA5esXkC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=dorf++agraquest+%22mission
+statement%22&source=web&ots=6_Z6MHf9Wo&sig=BQOQdQQxQMNqElSnP_In0bbhiFY&hl=en&sa=
X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result
Agraquest products are called biopesticides, bioinsecticides, biofungicides, mycocides etc. and are used in the place of synthetic or natural chemicals for plant diseases, they’re sprayed on land and by air on plants, human and animal food crops and used for insect control. It should be noted that these products “active ingredient” are listed as “chemicals” by the EPA. According to the EPA the “active ingredient” is “the component which kills/controls the target pest.” The “active ingredient” is all that is required to be listed on the product label... NO listing of the “inert” or “other” ingredient/s are required and there is a small percentage of “active ingredient” that has to be identified on Agraquest’s product labels. What are the unknown ingredients? the numbers indicate the number of the microorganism that Agraquest has screened, e.g.; QST 713 is the Seven Hundred and Thirteenth microorganisms Agraquest screened, QST 20799 is the Twenty Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety Ninth microorganism Agraquest screened).
~EPA Pesticide Data Submitters List by Active Chemical Code
[ATTACHED - 1 page]
~Agraquest Relation (Patents and/or Products) to EPA Pesticide
Data Submitters List by Active Chemical Code
[ATTACHED - 2 pages]
When my son started working for Agraquest the company was located in an office park on the corner of J Street and Kennedy Place, in a residential neighborhood directly across the street from several apartment buildings and single family dwellings, The address was 1105 Kennedy Place, Suite B-4. This location was not in an industrial area and the laboratory, where several projects and experiments were being conducted by other Agraquest scientists at any given time, was contained within this small space. This is the same location where my son got sick.
This location is where my son was instructed to pick up a drum at an offsite farm (it had the word Germany on it), and clean it out for future use. It had liquid in it and when he asked if it was safe he was told yes and to dump the liquid down the drain. This broth was dumped in the hollowed out concrete drain that led directly onto the ground outside the lab.
ON THE PRESENTATION BOARD
My son started to become suspicious of several incidents that were taking place within the lab. Tea time was allowed and encouraged by the founder, Pam Marrone as it freed up the break room for presentations, he was told not to order biohazard signs as it “wouldn’t look good for tours”, he witnessed a green suitcase sitting on the lab counter with soil in it and he heard scientists laughing and talking about how it had been “smuggled” in on a commercial airliner, dirt from baggies were falling out of the lab cabinets, test tubes were blowing up, minors were allowed in the lab... the list goes on and on.
On January 18th 1999, after a workday and only working at Agraquest for 5 months 9 days, my son sought emergency medical care at Immediate Care Medical Clinic with bloody pus draining from his nose and half of his face including his teeth were numb, he had previously been sick at work and was throwing up blood. He was given a broad spectrum Antibiotic, Zithromax and told he needed to see an ear, nose and throat specialist immediately. The next day he saw Dr McKennan and two days later he saw Dr. Appelblatt, both practice at Sacramento ENT, and are Sutter Health Independent physicians (Pam Marrone of Agraquest sits on the Board of Trustees at Sutter Health - Sacramento and Sierra region).
On February 3, 1999, sixteen days after first seeking medical care my son had emergency sinus surgery which was performed at Health South Surgery Center in Sacramento.
Neither did Agraquest nor the Doctors who initially saw my son report to any Federal or state agency the infections and surgery my son had as a result from the workplace exposure at Agraquest. per CALIFORNIA LABOR CODES and HEALTH AND SAFETY CODES.
The willful concealment of Agraquest not reporting my son’s illness and surgery to the Insurance Rating Bureau, resulted in Agraquest getting a 74% reduction in their workers compensation premium and is in violation of Insurance Code Section 11760.
CALIFORNIA CODES HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 105200-105225, Code 105200
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=49514222342+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
CALIFORNIA CODES; LABOR CODE 5401
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/DWCPropRegs/predesignation_
Regulations/Predesignation_ISOR.doc.
Insurance Code Section 11760
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=49579325899+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
Additionally, Agraquest violated mandated Federal and state laws by not reporting “unreasonable adverse health effects” required for registration or re-registrations of pesticides (Biopesticides included) to assure that a pesticide’s use will not pose unreasonable risks of harm to human health and the environment. Had Agraquest complied with the law according to the Code of Federal Regulations, EPA Fungicide, Insecticide and Rodenticide Act and the California Department of Pesticides their past, present and future registrations of their products would be in jeopardy and closely scrutinized. Agraquest could not afford my son’s illness and surgery to be known as a result of a workplace exposure.
CFR Title 40: Protection of Environment | Laws & Regulations | US EPA
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/julqtr/40cfr180.31.htm
Adverse Effects Reporting: FIFRA 6(a)(2)
http://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/fifra6a2/
California Department of Pesticide Regulations [DPR] Chapter IX
F. ADVERSE EFFECTS DISCLOSURE;
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/registration/manual/chap9.htm#F.%20ADVERSE%20EFFECTS%20DISCLOSURE
On April 3, 1998 the EPA issued a Pesticide Registration Notice to Manufacturers, Formulators, Producers, Distributors and Registrants of pesticide products concerning the required reporting of unreasonable adverse health effects. Agraquest had no reason not to follow the law other than for willful concealment.
PESTICIDE REGISTRATION NOTICE 98-3
NOTICE TO MANUFACTURERS, FORMULATORS, PRODUCERS, DISTRIBUTORS
AND REGISTRANTS OF PESTICIDE PRODUCTS
ATTENTION: Persons Responsible for Federal Registration of Pesticides
SUBJECT: Guidance on Final FIFRA Section 6(a)(2) Regulations for Pesticide
Product Registrants
http://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/PR_Notices/pr98-3.pdf
On April 26, 1999, 2 months after my son’s emergency sinus surgery of 2/3/1999, Agraquest filed a “Petition for Tolerance Exemption” with the EPA for the bacteria, Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713 for use on all raw agricultural commodities.
EPA Biopesticide Federal Register Notices - 1999
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/biopesticides/regtools/frnotices1999.htm
My son had “knowingly” been exposed to QST 713 Technical Powder. He and another co-worker, who was hired after my son and had previously worked for Pam Marrone at the company Entotech (a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk in Denmark) "bagged" QST 713 Technical Powder from big drums to 20 (or 25) lb. bags.) to be distributed. The transfer of the Technical powder from large drums to bags took place in the hallway and also in the building’s bathroom where the only ventilation was a normal household fan. The co-worker wore a respirator and my son didn’t.
On June 1, 1999, my son was told his "position was being terminated", he was given $1441.00 in severance pay and told he could use Agraquest as a reference.
On June 16, 1999 Agraquest filed with the EPA an Application for a “new active ingredient” for QST 713 for use in formulating end use products to control various fungal plant pathogens and terrestrial use.
EPA Biopesticide Federal Register Notices - 1999
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/biopesticides/regtools/frnotices1999.htm
In response to Agraquest’s filings and submissions of April 26 and June 16 of 1999 and the EPA’s own evaluation of Agraquest’s QST 713 the U.S. EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division in Washington, D.C. issued a "Conditional Time-Limited Registration” on June 20, 2000. The EPA issued this expiring registration instead of a non-expiring registration to Agraquest because of product chemistry and exotoxicity data; storage stability, manufacturing process and Toxicity/pathogenicity Studies of Freshwater Fish, freshwater aquatic invertebrate, Shrimp, Non-target insect, and Honey Bees.
Also stated in this form: "After fermentation and prior to further process, each batch must be tested for the following microbial contaminates and have levels below those listed:
"e. coli/coliform bacteria"
"salmonella"
"shigella"
"staphylococci"
"vibrio"
"yeast”
"mold"
U.S. EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division in Washington, D.C.
FORM 8570-6
[ATTACHED - 4 pages]
I question “WHY” any level of the above pathogenic microorganism (disease producing), either bacteria and/or fungus would be allowed by the EPA in any type of biological or chemical control of plant diseases and insect control, especially when they are being used on food crops and sprayed for insect control. This was addressed in my June 9/2007 letter to Congressman Henry Waxman. There was never a response from him nor his office.
6/9/2007 letter to Henry Waxman
[ATTACHED - 9 pages]
Other than normal colds, seasonal allergies and a hernia operation when he was 6 my son had never been sick before he went to work for Agraquest. Because of his progressive declining health as a result of workplace exposure from working at Agraquest and the outbreaks of Salmonella and prior to this E-Coli I am extremely concerned for not only past, present and future employees of Agraquest’s employees but also the public at large.
In 2003, after my son’s second sinus surgery in 2002 and repeated infections, he was seen by a Dr. who was not affiliated with Sutter Health. The Dr. said, “something is wrong here, you need to get away from this group of Drs.” He referred my son to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. As my son had so much pressure in his sinus’s and couldn’t fly I drove him over. At the Mayo Clinic it was discovered that my son had histo-yeast in his blood. Histo-yeast is the cause of Histoplasmosis and can lead to death. It was at this time my son also searched the Mayo Clinic medical library and found that Bacillus Subtilis was not as safe as Agraquest had said it was. This was documented by several peer reviewed medical articles and dated back as far as 1969. It was later found that the 1997 EPA Final Risk Assessment on Bacillus Subtilis document there were human health risks from exposure to Bacillus Subtilis.
Respiratory disease in industry due to B. subtilis enzyme preparations
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1941390
US EPA, ATTACHMENT I--FINAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/biotech/pubs/pdf/fra009.pdf
It was discovered after my son had been told he had histo yeast in his blood, that within 4 days of my son’s 1/18/1999 Immediate Care Medical Clinic visit, 4 scientists from Agraquest, who were listed as inventors on US Patent #6,004,774 that lists “histoplasma”, had started signing over their interests to patent rights to the company, Agritope out of Oregon. Histoplasma is a fungus that can cause debilitating disease and even death as is reported by the CDC and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
US PATENT 6,004,774
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-arser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2
Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,004,774.PN.&OS=PN/6,004,774&RS=PN/6,004,774
US PATENT #6,004,774 Patent Assignment Abstract of Title
[ATTACHED - 4 pages]
My son had been questioning the Physician who did the 1st and 2nd sinus surgery if he could have a possible immune problem because he was always so sick with infections. He was told “no”. After my son’s 2003 evaluation at the Mayo Clinic and he had returned to Sacramento my son contacted the laboratory who had done some of his blood testing and demanded they fax him his results . The results were conclusive, he was not producing the required amount of B-cells to maintain an intact immune system. These findings and report had been sent to the same physician who said “no” to his questioning of a possible immune problem as well as another Physician. My son was never told of these findings.
My son then contacted the same Physician, who had said “no” who then referred my son to an Immunologist. At first my son was receiving immune injections and then it was ordered by the Immunologist that he start receiving Immunoglobulin Infusions every 28 days and my son was told that he may require these for life. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, for 7 - 8 hours he was hooked to an IV pump in the hospital, like those who receive chemo-therapy at a cost from $7,000 up to $15,000 for each infusion. He had violent reactions to these infusions.
After my son’s visit to the Mayo Clinic and finding out his immune system was no longer intact, my son realized that he had in fact gotten sick in 1999 from working at Agraquest. He filed a workers compensation claim form in October of 2003. Agraquest listed the wrong insurance carrier and Agraquest themselves were sent the letter of denial but made no attempt to send the claim form to the correct insurance carrier (this letter was found in my son’s employee file which was obtained through a subpoena in 2004). Request for my son’s employee file was requested to Agraquest’s attorney in 2000 in which my son cited legal codes for compliance, this was ignored. My son had to find out the correct insurance carrier himself by contacting the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau in San Francisco.
Although all of the 19 bacterium and fungi that has either been identified in my son’s blood, identified in sputum cultures (many had repeated positive cultures throughout the years) and/or have shown positive to HIGH POSITIVE in my son’s IgG levels can all be traced back to Agraquest and/or Agraquest scientists being listed as “inventors” on other company’s patents and/or Agraquest products, Agraquest has denied any and all responsibility. This cover-up has also been carried over to and through the workers compensation system.
What has followed though out the years after my son got sick from working at Agraquest;
~Repeated bacterial and fungal infections, Most have been identified in culture collections while others have not. Physicians have told him they don’t know what “it” is and “have never seen anything like this before”
~Depleted immune system from not being able to produce the required B-Cells resulting for the need for 3 years of IV Immunoglobulin infusions.
~Four sinus surgeries performed in surgical centers in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2006
~Numerous other sinus procedures that were performed in Physicians offices
~teeth, lungs, heart, spleen, liver, and gastrointestinal track have been affected.
~Refusal of Agraquest to accept responsibility for my son’s workplace exposure resulting in continual and cumulative/progressive illness and disease coupled with the sum of over $333,000.00 in medical bills (as of 2005) most of which has been paid by the American taxpayer in the form of Medicare. “COST SHIFTING” (Without this financial help from Medicare my son would no doubt be dead.)
~Agraquest informed employees after my son had been told that his position was being terminated that my son had be fired.
~At Agraquest’s instigation an ex-coworker filed a TRO 6 months after my son left the company against my son to keep him away from all employees at Agraquest as they knew he got sick from a workplace exposure and continued to be sick and didn’t want other employees at Agraquest to know the truth. The restraining order was denied by the Yolo County Court during the hearing as the judge said, “If you were so afraid why did it take you so long to file?” The co-worker said he’d been getting calls and the person on the other line would hang up.
~Agraquest sent a memo to all employees at the company implying my son was a threat to the company and possibly the employees
~Agraquest listed the wrong insurance carrier on the workers compensation form (Preferred Insurance) and denial from the correct insurance carrier, Golden Eagle/Liberty Mutual was 285 days after the workers compensation claim was filed. The statue of limitations was 90 days and should have been compensatable.
~Corruption at California Workers Compensation to ignore my son’s request for compliance of motion’s for discovery of biological hazards and other hazardous material at Agraquest. Agraquest and the defense attorney for Agraquest ignored the same requests in writing
~A status conference was turned into a Mandatory Settlement Conference without my son’s knowledge.
~The presiding judge of the workers compensation trial against Agraquest and Liberty Mutual had previously worked for a law firm that represented Liberty Mutual.
~The request to take the trial off calendar and reopen discovery was ignored by the Sacramento WCAB
~Refusal of the WCAB judge to accept new evidence or allow a witness for both parties to take the stand and testify
~Refusal of the WCAB judge to consider the QME reports as credible and instead said that two witnesses for the defense were the credible witnesses. One defense witness was a founding scientist who started Agraquest with Pam Marrone, had worked with Pam Marrone at another company , has a vested interest in Agraquest, is on Agraquest’s patents and is still with Agraquest. The other witness worked for Pam Marrone before she started Agraquest, had worked at Agraquest and is now employed at Pam Marrone's new company, Marrone Organic Innovations. It is not known if this witness has a financial interest in Agraquest
~Refusal of the WCAB judge to allow evidence or testimony that proved the defense witness’s were lying on the stand and committing perjury.
~WCAB Judge assigned the incorrect Occupational Group Code (111) to my son’s case. 111 is classified as “Professional and Clerical Occupations”., substantial use of keyboards, greater demands for standing and walking. Typical occupations: Accountant, Claims Clerk, Reservations Agent. The body part affected: Spine, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, Finger Motion, Grip, Leg and Psych.
~Acceptance of Motion for Reconsideration filed one day before the 25 day deadline by the Appeals Board in San Francisco, but denial of the 2nd Motion for Reconsideration filed 4 days before the 25 day deadline calling the filing untimely because the WCAB Appeals Board were rebutted on their denial of reconsideration in which they took the QME report and findings out of context and deleted following sentences to prior sentences by the QME that supported my son’s workplace exposure and findings that he did require the surgery of 1999 as a result. of workplace exposure
~Noncompliance of the State of California, the California Department of Insurance, the Sacramento County District Attorney and the Yolo County District Attorney to prosecute Agraquest and it's representatives for Federal and state violations AS MANDATED BY LAW
~Several members of the United States Congress have been addressed by many, either in person and/or in written material about the crimes committed and either were ignored and/or placated
SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF SANDI TREND
Excerpts from articles, interviews and a U.S. patent containing information about Agraquest and where they found some of their microorganisms
“For every 5000 microbes AgraQuest screens, the company discovers three product candidates that can compete with chemical pesticides on performance”
Corporate Profile for AgraQuest, Inc., Dated August 11, 2000
Business Wire, August 11, 2000
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_August_11/ai_64053943
“we have screened over 23,000 microorganisms, enabling us to identify more than 20 product candidates ..... all of which compete favorably with existing pest management products on efficacy, cost effectiveness, pest resistance, shelf life, ease of use, food and worker safety and environmental impact.”
AgraQuest, Inc. : AgraQuest : About Us :Technology
http://www.agraquest.com/about-agraquest/technology.html
"Everyday, scientists at AgraQuest, Inc. make their rounds, carefully checking and rechecking various biological experiments and meticulously recording their findings."
"They'll check out new samples of soils or plant roots or lichen arriving from across the globe, hoping that one eventually will lead to the next breakthrough natural, environmentally safe pesticide or fungicide"
"PAM MARRONE: "We're doing a lot of interesting things here that are cutting edge. They haven't been done before."
Press Articles
AgraQuest Growing its Own Success
From the Sacramento Bee, August 11, 1997
by Gilbert Chan, Bee Staff Reporter
Problem: How to reduce usage of chemical pesticides. Solution: Develop natural products based on killer bacteria.
The search for a few good microbes has taken Marrone and her team from the Honduran rain forest to the dry creek beds of northern California.
Wanted: A Few Good Microbes
Fast Company, November, 2003 by Loch Adamson
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/76/socialcapital.html
"..AgraQuest has moved with lightening-like speed” “It has filed for seven patents in two years”.
"We move very fast. We focused on getting things to the market quickly, "Marrone said."
"AgraQuest’s team of scientists have traveled the world searching for tiny microbes that effectively fight against the important diseases and pests that plague farmers everywhere. These microorganisms are then studied, cultivated and manufactured in AgraQuest’s facilities and sold in powder or liquid form to growers around the
globe."
AgraQuest Growing its Own Success
From the Sacramento Bee, August 11, 1997
by Gilbert Chan, Bee Staff Reporter
"In 1995, the company was founded with the concept of scouring the natural world for microorganisms that produce natural compounds that could compete with chemical pesticides on performance, cost and ease of use."
Press Release
Contacts: Pamela G. Marrone, Ph.D., Founder and President,
(530) 750-0150, ext. 15
Julie Versman, Marketing Director, 530-750-0150 ext 13
Mike Miille, Ph.D., CEO, (530) 750-0150, ext. 29
10-year Anniversary Marks Milestone for AgBio Pioneer, AgraQuest
AgraQuest Celebrates a Decade of Scientific Innovation,
Commercial Success
DAVIS, Calif. (September 27, 2005)
"Today, she [Pam Marrone] is founder and president of AgraQuest, one of a rising number of companies promoting biopesticides--substances that kill bugs with selectively bred microorganisms, rather than chemical concoctions.”
“The microbe for root-knot nematodes studied at AgraQuest was discovered in an Eastern European creek by scientists once associated with a bio weapons lab in Siberia.”
“The company's first product, Serenade, derives from a microorganism found in a peach orchard near Fresno, Calif.”
“..the active ingredient in a fungicide called Sonata is a patented strain of Bacillus pumilus, originally found in a garden in Micronesia."
"One of the more intriguing specimens for commercial exploitation is a novel fungus called Muscador, discovered by Montana State University professor emeritus Gary Strobel. The microorganism, which lives naturally in the bark of a type of spice tree found in Central America and other tropical regions, emits a cocktail of about 30 gases that kills a variety of pests.”
“Muscador, which dies without spreading spores, could also be sprayed on drywall and building materials to kill mold spores sealed inside crawl spaces and walls during construction.”
“Thus, that familiar loose-leaf lettuce in the organic bins at the grocery store was probably sprayed with products like Agraquest's Serenade...”
Recruiting microbes to do the dirty work
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 11, 2006
U.S. patent #5,645,831 assigned to Bio Discovery in New Zealand and Aqraquest :
“The present invention provides a novel isolate of a Bacillus thuringiensis strain which exhibits pesticidal activity. This strain is designated BD#32 and was isolated from mud taken from Opito Bay, Coro Mandel Peninsula, New Zealand.”
U.S. Patent # 5,645,831
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2F
srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,645,831.PN.&OS=PN/5,645,831&RS=PN/5,645,831
There is a complete breakdown of Cal/OSHA given the fact there was only one Medical Doctor for 17 million workers in California. and more inspectors in people for fish and game than there is for OSHA.
Dr. Larry Rose who was the last Cal/OSHA Public Health Medical Officer in the state of California gave these statements during the taping of Labor on the Job in San Francisco, CA on May 13, 2008:
**“when I started there were 11 million California workers and they were all covered except for Agricultural workers.”
“There were six Doctors in the medical, called the Medical Unit and there were well over 2 to 3 hundred, what we call Compliance Officers - Industrial Hygienists.”
“it was always a very political agency and as republican's came into office.”
“as the Doctors retired or left they would not replace them. And finally, at the last 5 to 8 years I was the only Doctor there.“
“there were 2 nurses too, somewhat trained, but not with the same.... couldn't operate with the same authority that a Doctor could.”
“What they [Cal/OSHA] were doing was they were shrinking the compliance force, the compliant officers who were the industrial hygienists. They were allowing... not hiring, doing new hires and now we're down to really, well below any standard, either the Fed OSHA standard or the adjacent state standards, like the number of inspectors per worker, say in Washington or Oregon... we're well below that now. We're just a skeletal crew “
“When I first came onboard.... it's almost like night and day when I first came onboard during the Jerry Brown administration we were the prime OSHA... state OSHA program. We were setting new standards. We were out there really doing excellent work. Gradually, that diminished and with political appointees from the various governors.“
**The need a Medical Doctor’s at Cal/OSHA
“it's critical “
“the Compliance Officers, or Industrial Hygienists, and they're not trained at all in medicine. They don't know how to read a medical record, they know nothing about infectious diseases.... and we also inspect hospitals and medical facilities”
**The safety of microorganisms in biotech industry
“First off, if you're using pathogenic organisms that's not exactly organic.... that's a risk not only the environment, the workers... but also possibly the food consumers as well.”
“the way they classify biosafety in labs is they classify it 1 through 4. Say the most hazardous, say like anthrax would be a 4 so you have to have like space suits and total control. Now if these were pathogens he was
working with it sounds that should rate very high in biosafety requirements.”
“If they're using potentially pathogenic microorganisms to spread on... you know, vast areas of the environment in relation to say, specific what they call pests the first thing you would have to determine if OSHA went in there... and what I can.... I'll get the record but from what I can tell first thing they would've had to have was either a microbiologist or a Doctor, a public health Doctor to look at how pathogenic are these organisms. Are they as bad as, say Anthrax? Could they be? And then you have to determine do they have the proper level of bio safety? And then you don't go and just look at the face velocity of a vertical lamenter flow hood... that's nonsense! What you do is then you go back and you say, "you've got the wrong level". you cite them and you require them to get the right level of bio safety and the other things... not spread the agent around in the neighborhood and that would be the approach.... and if they don't have a Doctor at Cal/OSHA to do that or.... you know.... then ... they're going in blind.”
“When you're called in and a worker has possibly picked up a very serious infectious disease from the work process, you don't just go in and measure a face velocity and give a tag. You've gotta do some... you know real investigation. Go over all the medical records and you've got to get the organism and submit it to the proper lab to determine it's patogenicity. In other words, there's a series of steps you would take because you're not only trying to protect all the workers there now and future workers, but you also have to protect the community when you're talking about an infectious disease, this is a serious public health matter. So looking at what OSHA did and I'm just astounded that they had that kind of very weak response, inappropriate response according to the law. The law states that you have to have to go through this kind of process and you certainly can't fire a worker whose complaining. Also, OSHA should have responded within 72 hours, that's required by law in this kind of.. you know, complaint. I don't know what they were doing, but they obviously handled the thing illegally.“
For Agraquest to say such statements as they use “natural, environmentally safe pesticide/s or fungicide/s" and “compete with chemical pesticides” or that they promote biopesticides--substances that kill bugs with selectively bred microorganisms, rather than chemical concoction/s” are misstatements. The microorganisms used in Agraquest’s processes , are used with chemicals or other microorganisms and/or can be combined with the novel bacteria or fungus.
The EPA DEFINES biopesticides in 3 major classes. One is Microbial pesticides.
[QUOTE FROM EPA]
“Microbial pesticides consist of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium, fungus, virus or protozoan) as the active ingredient.“
“EPA always conducts rigorous reviews to ensure that pesticides will not have adverse effects on human health or the environment. FOR EPA TO BE SURE THAT A PESTICIDE IS SAFE, the Agency requires that registrants submit a variety of data about the composition, toxicity, degradation, and other characteristics of the pesticide.“
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/types.htm
In viewing Agraquest patents or patents that have Agraquest scientist/s that are listed as “inventors” you find such wordage as: (this is only two examples)
“The invention also relates to fungicidal compositions comprising this novel Streptomyces strain and the antibiotics and metabolites produced by this strain either alone, or in combination with other chemical and biological pesticides.”
“Streptomyces strain and the antibiotics and metabolites produced by this strain either alone, or in combination with other chemical and biological pesticides.“
“A composition comprising the strain of claim 1, and at least one chemical or biological pesticide.
4. A composition comprising the strain of claim 3, and at least one chemical or biological pesticide.“
“The present invention provides a novel compound, Streptomyces galbus, NRRL Accession No. 30232, and mutants thereof which retain the same activity, for use as an insecticide against Lepidoptera. The invention encompasses the use of supernatants and metabolites from the strain for use as an insecticide. The invention also includes methods of treating plants or fruit to control Lepidoptera infestations using the claimed strain, either alone, or in combination with other chemical or biological pesticides. Further provided are methods to ferment the claimed strain to increase its bioactivity as an insecticide“
“obtain such mutants the parental strain may be treated with a chemical such as N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, ethylmethanesulfone, or by irradiation using gamma, x-ray, or UV-irradiation, or by other means well known to those practiced in the art.“
"Positive control" means a compound known to have pesticidal activity.“
"Positive controls" include, but are not limited to commercially available chemical pesticides“
“Also provided by this invention are compositions comprising at least one of the biologically pure cultures, supernatants or the isolated metabolite described above and a carrier. In another aspect, the composition further contains at least one chemical or biological pesticide. The compositions are formulated as any one or more of a wettable powder, a granule, an aqueous suspension, and emulsifiable concentrate and a microencapsulated formulation“
“the antibiotic/metabolite produced by the novel Bacillus subtilis strain or a combination thereof, optionally further comprising another antibiotic-producing bacterial strain and/or a chemical pesticide.“
“The invention also includes methods of preventing or treating fungal and bacterial infections using whole broth cultures or supernatants obtained from cultures of the novel Bacillus subtilis stain alone or in combination with chemical pesticides and/or other biocontrol agents.“
“Biological control offers an attractive alternative to synthetic chemical fungicides. Biopesticides (living organisms and the naturally produced compounds produced by these organisms) can be safer, more biodegradable, and less expensive to develop.“
“These isolated compositions can be combined with other known pesticides or insecticides and may be formulated as described above for AQ713 and applied as wettable powders, granules, flowables or microencapsulated“
How then can these biological controls be considered natural and safe? The public is led to believe that biological control (instead of the use of chemicals) commercialized for plant diseases and/or insect control is “natural” and “safe”, this is not always the case.
Given the fact that the EPA “Pesticide Submitters list” clearly shows Agraquest’s bacteria and fungus as being “Active Chemicals”, how can it be said that these bacterium and fungi are NOT chemicals?
8/1/2008 Sacramento Press Conference and Hearing On The Collapse of Protection For Injured Workers, Workers Comp Cover-up and Crisis In Healthcare and the Environment
In August of 1998 my son was one semester away from receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree, with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry had accepted a position offered to him as an “Assistant Researcher” for a period of 6 months to one year by a former Monsanto scientist, founder and CEO Pam Marrone of the Research and Development biotechnology company, Agraquest in Davis California.
My son’s “project” was the Laginex project and he had also helped other personnel and scientists with their projects. Laginex, the trade name given to a strain of fungus by Agraquest, a water mold lagenidium giganteum used for mosquito control. (it ate mosquitos from the inside out). His job was to find a viable and stabilizing agent to extend the shelf life of Laginex and he ordered and tested several agents with success. He was told Lagenidium was safe but within the years that followed it was discovered it wasn’t, it caused debilitating disease and death in dogs and was a new human disease, Oomycocis.
Clinicopathologic findings associated with Lagenidium sp. infection in 6 dogs: initial description of an emerging oomycosis
http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:14529129
CHARACTERIZATION OF A PREVIOUSLY UNDESCRIBED LAGENIDIUM PATHOGEN
ASSOCIATED WITH SOFT TISSUE INFECTION: INITIAL DESCRIPTION OF A NEW
HUMAN OOMYCOSIS
http://www.doctorfungus.org/Educatio/conf_highlights/focus14/pdf/focus14_abs_42.pdf
Agraquest’s mission statement states: “AgraQuest discovers, develops and markets effective, safe, and environmentally-friendly natural products for farm, home and public health pest management.” (These microorganisms; bacteria, fungus, protozoans and viruses are searched for throughout the world)
Corporate Profile for AgraQuest, Inc., Dated August 11, 2000
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_August_11/ai_64053943
Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise - Google Books Result
http://books.google.com/books?id=LZhSSA5esXkC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=dorf++agraquest+%22mission
+statement%22&source=web&ots=6_Z6MHf9Wo&sig=BQOQdQQxQMNqElSnP_In0bbhiFY&hl=en&sa=
X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result
Agraquest products are called biopesticides, bioinsecticides, biofungicides, mycocides etc. and are used in the place of synthetic or natural chemicals for plant diseases, they’re sprayed on land and by air on plants, human and animal food crops and used for insect control. It should be noted that these products “active ingredient” are listed as “chemicals” by the EPA. According to the EPA the “active ingredient” is “the component which kills/controls the target pest.” The “active ingredient” is all that is required to be listed on the product label... NO listing of the “inert” or “other” ingredient/s are required and there is a small percentage of “active ingredient” that has to be identified on Agraquest’s product labels. What are the unknown ingredients? the numbers indicate the number of the microorganism that Agraquest has screened, e.g.; QST 713 is the Seven Hundred and Thirteenth microorganisms Agraquest screened, QST 20799 is the Twenty Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety Ninth microorganism Agraquest screened).
~EPA Pesticide Data Submitters List by Active Chemical Code
[ATTACHED - 1 page]
~Agraquest Relation (Patents and/or Products) to EPA Pesticide
Data Submitters List by Active Chemical Code
[ATTACHED - 2 pages]
When my son started working for Agraquest the company was located in an office park on the corner of J Street and Kennedy Place, in a residential neighborhood directly across the street from several apartment buildings and single family dwellings, The address was 1105 Kennedy Place, Suite B-4. This location was not in an industrial area and the laboratory, where several projects and experiments were being conducted by other Agraquest scientists at any given time, was contained within this small space. This is the same location where my son got sick.
This location is where my son was instructed to pick up a drum at an offsite farm (it had the word Germany on it), and clean it out for future use. It had liquid in it and when he asked if it was safe he was told yes and to dump the liquid down the drain. This broth was dumped in the hollowed out concrete drain that led directly onto the ground outside the lab.
ON THE PRESENTATION BOARD
My son started to become suspicious of several incidents that were taking place within the lab. Tea time was allowed and encouraged by the founder, Pam Marrone as it freed up the break room for presentations, he was told not to order biohazard signs as it “wouldn’t look good for tours”, he witnessed a green suitcase sitting on the lab counter with soil in it and he heard scientists laughing and talking about how it had been “smuggled” in on a commercial airliner, dirt from baggies were falling out of the lab cabinets, test tubes were blowing up, minors were allowed in the lab... the list goes on and on.
On January 18th 1999, after a workday and only working at Agraquest for 5 months 9 days, my son sought emergency medical care at Immediate Care Medical Clinic with bloody pus draining from his nose and half of his face including his teeth were numb, he had previously been sick at work and was throwing up blood. He was given a broad spectrum Antibiotic, Zithromax and told he needed to see an ear, nose and throat specialist immediately. The next day he saw Dr McKennan and two days later he saw Dr. Appelblatt, both practice at Sacramento ENT, and are Sutter Health Independent physicians (Pam Marrone of Agraquest sits on the Board of Trustees at Sutter Health - Sacramento and Sierra region).
On February 3, 1999, sixteen days after first seeking medical care my son had emergency sinus surgery which was performed at Health South Surgery Center in Sacramento.
Neither did Agraquest nor the Doctors who initially saw my son report to any Federal or state agency the infections and surgery my son had as a result from the workplace exposure at Agraquest. per CALIFORNIA LABOR CODES and HEALTH AND SAFETY CODES.
The willful concealment of Agraquest not reporting my son’s illness and surgery to the Insurance Rating Bureau, resulted in Agraquest getting a 74% reduction in their workers compensation premium and is in violation of Insurance Code Section 11760.
CALIFORNIA CODES HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 105200-105225, Code 105200
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=49514222342+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
CALIFORNIA CODES; LABOR CODE 5401
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/DWCPropRegs/predesignation_
Regulations/Predesignation_ISOR.doc.
Insurance Code Section 11760
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=49579325899+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
Additionally, Agraquest violated mandated Federal and state laws by not reporting “unreasonable adverse health effects” required for registration or re-registrations of pesticides (Biopesticides included) to assure that a pesticide’s use will not pose unreasonable risks of harm to human health and the environment. Had Agraquest complied with the law according to the Code of Federal Regulations, EPA Fungicide, Insecticide and Rodenticide Act and the California Department of Pesticides their past, present and future registrations of their products would be in jeopardy and closely scrutinized. Agraquest could not afford my son’s illness and surgery to be known as a result of a workplace exposure.
CFR Title 40: Protection of Environment | Laws & Regulations | US EPA
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/julqtr/40cfr180.31.htm
Adverse Effects Reporting: FIFRA 6(a)(2)
http://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/fifra6a2/
California Department of Pesticide Regulations [DPR] Chapter IX
F. ADVERSE EFFECTS DISCLOSURE;
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/registration/manual/chap9.htm#F.%20ADVERSE%20EFFECTS%20DISCLOSURE
On April 3, 1998 the EPA issued a Pesticide Registration Notice to Manufacturers, Formulators, Producers, Distributors and Registrants of pesticide products concerning the required reporting of unreasonable adverse health effects. Agraquest had no reason not to follow the law other than for willful concealment.
PESTICIDE REGISTRATION NOTICE 98-3
NOTICE TO MANUFACTURERS, FORMULATORS, PRODUCERS, DISTRIBUTORS
AND REGISTRANTS OF PESTICIDE PRODUCTS
ATTENTION: Persons Responsible for Federal Registration of Pesticides
SUBJECT: Guidance on Final FIFRA Section 6(a)(2) Regulations for Pesticide
Product Registrants
http://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/PR_Notices/pr98-3.pdf
On April 26, 1999, 2 months after my son’s emergency sinus surgery of 2/3/1999, Agraquest filed a “Petition for Tolerance Exemption” with the EPA for the bacteria, Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713 for use on all raw agricultural commodities.
EPA Biopesticide Federal Register Notices - 1999
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/biopesticides/regtools/frnotices1999.htm
My son had “knowingly” been exposed to QST 713 Technical Powder. He and another co-worker, who was hired after my son and had previously worked for Pam Marrone at the company Entotech (a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk in Denmark) "bagged" QST 713 Technical Powder from big drums to 20 (or 25) lb. bags.) to be distributed. The transfer of the Technical powder from large drums to bags took place in the hallway and also in the building’s bathroom where the only ventilation was a normal household fan. The co-worker wore a respirator and my son didn’t.
On June 1, 1999, my son was told his "position was being terminated", he was given $1441.00 in severance pay and told he could use Agraquest as a reference.
On June 16, 1999 Agraquest filed with the EPA an Application for a “new active ingredient” for QST 713 for use in formulating end use products to control various fungal plant pathogens and terrestrial use.
EPA Biopesticide Federal Register Notices - 1999
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/biopesticides/regtools/frnotices1999.htm
In response to Agraquest’s filings and submissions of April 26 and June 16 of 1999 and the EPA’s own evaluation of Agraquest’s QST 713 the U.S. EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division in Washington, D.C. issued a "Conditional Time-Limited Registration” on June 20, 2000. The EPA issued this expiring registration instead of a non-expiring registration to Agraquest because of product chemistry and exotoxicity data; storage stability, manufacturing process and Toxicity/pathogenicity Studies of Freshwater Fish, freshwater aquatic invertebrate, Shrimp, Non-target insect, and Honey Bees.
Also stated in this form: "After fermentation and prior to further process, each batch must be tested for the following microbial contaminates and have levels below those listed:
"e. coli/coliform bacteria"
"salmonella"
"shigella"
"staphylococci"
"vibrio"
"yeast”
"mold"
U.S. EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division in Washington, D.C.
FORM 8570-6
[ATTACHED - 4 pages]
I question “WHY” any level of the above pathogenic microorganism (disease producing), either bacteria and/or fungus would be allowed by the EPA in any type of biological or chemical control of plant diseases and insect control, especially when they are being used on food crops and sprayed for insect control. This was addressed in my June 9/2007 letter to Congressman Henry Waxman. There was never a response from him nor his office.
6/9/2007 letter to Henry Waxman
[ATTACHED - 9 pages]
Other than normal colds, seasonal allergies and a hernia operation when he was 6 my son had never been sick before he went to work for Agraquest. Because of his progressive declining health as a result of workplace exposure from working at Agraquest and the outbreaks of Salmonella and prior to this E-Coli I am extremely concerned for not only past, present and future employees of Agraquest’s employees but also the public at large.
In 2003, after my son’s second sinus surgery in 2002 and repeated infections, he was seen by a Dr. who was not affiliated with Sutter Health. The Dr. said, “something is wrong here, you need to get away from this group of Drs.” He referred my son to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. As my son had so much pressure in his sinus’s and couldn’t fly I drove him over. At the Mayo Clinic it was discovered that my son had histo-yeast in his blood. Histo-yeast is the cause of Histoplasmosis and can lead to death. It was at this time my son also searched the Mayo Clinic medical library and found that Bacillus Subtilis was not as safe as Agraquest had said it was. This was documented by several peer reviewed medical articles and dated back as far as 1969. It was later found that the 1997 EPA Final Risk Assessment on Bacillus Subtilis document there were human health risks from exposure to Bacillus Subtilis.
Respiratory disease in industry due to B. subtilis enzyme preparations
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1941390
US EPA, ATTACHMENT I--FINAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/biotech/pubs/pdf/fra009.pdf
It was discovered after my son had been told he had histo yeast in his blood, that within 4 days of my son’s 1/18/1999 Immediate Care Medical Clinic visit, 4 scientists from Agraquest, who were listed as inventors on US Patent #6,004,774 that lists “histoplasma”, had started signing over their interests to patent rights to the company, Agritope out of Oregon. Histoplasma is a fungus that can cause debilitating disease and even death as is reported by the CDC and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
US PATENT 6,004,774
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-arser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2
Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,004,774.PN.&OS=PN/6,004,774&RS=PN/6,004,774
US PATENT #6,004,774 Patent Assignment Abstract of Title
[ATTACHED - 4 pages]
My son had been questioning the Physician who did the 1st and 2nd sinus surgery if he could have a possible immune problem because he was always so sick with infections. He was told “no”. After my son’s 2003 evaluation at the Mayo Clinic and he had returned to Sacramento my son contacted the laboratory who had done some of his blood testing and demanded they fax him his results . The results were conclusive, he was not producing the required amount of B-cells to maintain an intact immune system. These findings and report had been sent to the same physician who said “no” to his questioning of a possible immune problem as well as another Physician. My son was never told of these findings.
My son then contacted the same Physician, who had said “no” who then referred my son to an Immunologist. At first my son was receiving immune injections and then it was ordered by the Immunologist that he start receiving Immunoglobulin Infusions every 28 days and my son was told that he may require these for life. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, for 7 - 8 hours he was hooked to an IV pump in the hospital, like those who receive chemo-therapy at a cost from $7,000 up to $15,000 for each infusion. He had violent reactions to these infusions.
After my son’s visit to the Mayo Clinic and finding out his immune system was no longer intact, my son realized that he had in fact gotten sick in 1999 from working at Agraquest. He filed a workers compensation claim form in October of 2003. Agraquest listed the wrong insurance carrier and Agraquest themselves were sent the letter of denial but made no attempt to send the claim form to the correct insurance carrier (this letter was found in my son’s employee file which was obtained through a subpoena in 2004). Request for my son’s employee file was requested to Agraquest’s attorney in 2000 in which my son cited legal codes for compliance, this was ignored. My son had to find out the correct insurance carrier himself by contacting the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau in San Francisco.
Although all of the 19 bacterium and fungi that has either been identified in my son’s blood, identified in sputum cultures (many had repeated positive cultures throughout the years) and/or have shown positive to HIGH POSITIVE in my son’s IgG levels can all be traced back to Agraquest and/or Agraquest scientists being listed as “inventors” on other company’s patents and/or Agraquest products, Agraquest has denied any and all responsibility. This cover-up has also been carried over to and through the workers compensation system.
What has followed though out the years after my son got sick from working at Agraquest;
~Repeated bacterial and fungal infections, Most have been identified in culture collections while others have not. Physicians have told him they don’t know what “it” is and “have never seen anything like this before”
~Depleted immune system from not being able to produce the required B-Cells resulting for the need for 3 years of IV Immunoglobulin infusions.
~Four sinus surgeries performed in surgical centers in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2006
~Numerous other sinus procedures that were performed in Physicians offices
~teeth, lungs, heart, spleen, liver, and gastrointestinal track have been affected.
~Refusal of Agraquest to accept responsibility for my son’s workplace exposure resulting in continual and cumulative/progressive illness and disease coupled with the sum of over $333,000.00 in medical bills (as of 2005) most of which has been paid by the American taxpayer in the form of Medicare. “COST SHIFTING” (Without this financial help from Medicare my son would no doubt be dead.)
~Agraquest informed employees after my son had been told that his position was being terminated that my son had be fired.
~At Agraquest’s instigation an ex-coworker filed a TRO 6 months after my son left the company against my son to keep him away from all employees at Agraquest as they knew he got sick from a workplace exposure and continued to be sick and didn’t want other employees at Agraquest to know the truth. The restraining order was denied by the Yolo County Court during the hearing as the judge said, “If you were so afraid why did it take you so long to file?” The co-worker said he’d been getting calls and the person on the other line would hang up.
~Agraquest sent a memo to all employees at the company implying my son was a threat to the company and possibly the employees
~Agraquest listed the wrong insurance carrier on the workers compensation form (Preferred Insurance) and denial from the correct insurance carrier, Golden Eagle/Liberty Mutual was 285 days after the workers compensation claim was filed. The statue of limitations was 90 days and should have been compensatable.
~Corruption at California Workers Compensation to ignore my son’s request for compliance of motion’s for discovery of biological hazards and other hazardous material at Agraquest. Agraquest and the defense attorney for Agraquest ignored the same requests in writing
~A status conference was turned into a Mandatory Settlement Conference without my son’s knowledge.
~The presiding judge of the workers compensation trial against Agraquest and Liberty Mutual had previously worked for a law firm that represented Liberty Mutual.
~The request to take the trial off calendar and reopen discovery was ignored by the Sacramento WCAB
~Refusal of the WCAB judge to accept new evidence or allow a witness for both parties to take the stand and testify
~Refusal of the WCAB judge to consider the QME reports as credible and instead said that two witnesses for the defense were the credible witnesses. One defense witness was a founding scientist who started Agraquest with Pam Marrone, had worked with Pam Marrone at another company , has a vested interest in Agraquest, is on Agraquest’s patents and is still with Agraquest. The other witness worked for Pam Marrone before she started Agraquest, had worked at Agraquest and is now employed at Pam Marrone's new company, Marrone Organic Innovations. It is not known if this witness has a financial interest in Agraquest
~Refusal of the WCAB judge to allow evidence or testimony that proved the defense witness’s were lying on the stand and committing perjury.
~WCAB Judge assigned the incorrect Occupational Group Code (111) to my son’s case. 111 is classified as “Professional and Clerical Occupations”., substantial use of keyboards, greater demands for standing and walking. Typical occupations: Accountant, Claims Clerk, Reservations Agent. The body part affected: Spine, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, Finger Motion, Grip, Leg and Psych.
~Acceptance of Motion for Reconsideration filed one day before the 25 day deadline by the Appeals Board in San Francisco, but denial of the 2nd Motion for Reconsideration filed 4 days before the 25 day deadline calling the filing untimely because the WCAB Appeals Board were rebutted on their denial of reconsideration in which they took the QME report and findings out of context and deleted following sentences to prior sentences by the QME that supported my son’s workplace exposure and findings that he did require the surgery of 1999 as a result. of workplace exposure
~Noncompliance of the State of California, the California Department of Insurance, the Sacramento County District Attorney and the Yolo County District Attorney to prosecute Agraquest and it's representatives for Federal and state violations AS MANDATED BY LAW
~Several members of the United States Congress have been addressed by many, either in person and/or in written material about the crimes committed and either were ignored and/or placated
SUPPLEMENT TO OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF SANDI TREND
Excerpts from articles, interviews and a U.S. patent containing information about Agraquest and where they found some of their microorganisms
“For every 5000 microbes AgraQuest screens, the company discovers three product candidates that can compete with chemical pesticides on performance”
Corporate Profile for AgraQuest, Inc., Dated August 11, 2000
Business Wire, August 11, 2000
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_August_11/ai_64053943
“we have screened over 23,000 microorganisms, enabling us to identify more than 20 product candidates ..... all of which compete favorably with existing pest management products on efficacy, cost effectiveness, pest resistance, shelf life, ease of use, food and worker safety and environmental impact.”
AgraQuest, Inc. : AgraQuest : About Us :Technology
http://www.agraquest.com/about-agraquest/technology.html
"Everyday, scientists at AgraQuest, Inc. make their rounds, carefully checking and rechecking various biological experiments and meticulously recording their findings."
"They'll check out new samples of soils or plant roots or lichen arriving from across the globe, hoping that one eventually will lead to the next breakthrough natural, environmentally safe pesticide or fungicide"
"PAM MARRONE: "We're doing a lot of interesting things here that are cutting edge. They haven't been done before."
Press Articles
AgraQuest Growing its Own Success
From the Sacramento Bee, August 11, 1997
by Gilbert Chan, Bee Staff Reporter
Problem: How to reduce usage of chemical pesticides. Solution: Develop natural products based on killer bacteria.
The search for a few good microbes has taken Marrone and her team from the Honduran rain forest to the dry creek beds of northern California.
Wanted: A Few Good Microbes
Fast Company, November, 2003 by Loch Adamson
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/76/socialcapital.html
"..AgraQuest has moved with lightening-like speed” “It has filed for seven patents in two years”.
"We move very fast. We focused on getting things to the market quickly, "Marrone said."
"AgraQuest’s team of scientists have traveled the world searching for tiny microbes that effectively fight against the important diseases and pests that plague farmers everywhere. These microorganisms are then studied, cultivated and manufactured in AgraQuest’s facilities and sold in powder or liquid form to growers around the
globe."
AgraQuest Growing its Own Success
From the Sacramento Bee, August 11, 1997
by Gilbert Chan, Bee Staff Reporter
"In 1995, the company was founded with the concept of scouring the natural world for microorganisms that produce natural compounds that could compete with chemical pesticides on performance, cost and ease of use."
Press Release
Contacts: Pamela G. Marrone, Ph.D., Founder and President,
(530) 750-0150, ext. 15
Julie Versman, Marketing Director, 530-750-0150 ext 13
Mike Miille, Ph.D., CEO, (530) 750-0150, ext. 29
10-year Anniversary Marks Milestone for AgBio Pioneer, AgraQuest
AgraQuest Celebrates a Decade of Scientific Innovation,
Commercial Success
DAVIS, Calif. (September 27, 2005)
"Today, she [Pam Marrone] is founder and president of AgraQuest, one of a rising number of companies promoting biopesticides--substances that kill bugs with selectively bred microorganisms, rather than chemical concoctions.”
“The microbe for root-knot nematodes studied at AgraQuest was discovered in an Eastern European creek by scientists once associated with a bio weapons lab in Siberia.”
“The company's first product, Serenade, derives from a microorganism found in a peach orchard near Fresno, Calif.”
“..the active ingredient in a fungicide called Sonata is a patented strain of Bacillus pumilus, originally found in a garden in Micronesia."
"One of the more intriguing specimens for commercial exploitation is a novel fungus called Muscador, discovered by Montana State University professor emeritus Gary Strobel. The microorganism, which lives naturally in the bark of a type of spice tree found in Central America and other tropical regions, emits a cocktail of about 30 gases that kills a variety of pests.”
“Muscador, which dies without spreading spores, could also be sprayed on drywall and building materials to kill mold spores sealed inside crawl spaces and walls during construction.”
“Thus, that familiar loose-leaf lettuce in the organic bins at the grocery store was probably sprayed with products like Agraquest's Serenade...”
Recruiting microbes to do the dirty work
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 11, 2006
U.S. patent #5,645,831 assigned to Bio Discovery in New Zealand and Aqraquest :
“The present invention provides a novel isolate of a Bacillus thuringiensis strain which exhibits pesticidal activity. This strain is designated BD#32 and was isolated from mud taken from Opito Bay, Coro Mandel Peninsula, New Zealand.”
U.S. Patent # 5,645,831
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2F
srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,645,831.PN.&OS=PN/5,645,831&RS=PN/5,645,831
There is a complete breakdown of Cal/OSHA given the fact there was only one Medical Doctor for 17 million workers in California. and more inspectors in people for fish and game than there is for OSHA.
Dr. Larry Rose who was the last Cal/OSHA Public Health Medical Officer in the state of California gave these statements during the taping of Labor on the Job in San Francisco, CA on May 13, 2008:
**“when I started there were 11 million California workers and they were all covered except for Agricultural workers.”
“There were six Doctors in the medical, called the Medical Unit and there were well over 2 to 3 hundred, what we call Compliance Officers - Industrial Hygienists.”
“it was always a very political agency and as republican's came into office.”
“as the Doctors retired or left they would not replace them. And finally, at the last 5 to 8 years I was the only Doctor there.“
“there were 2 nurses too, somewhat trained, but not with the same.... couldn't operate with the same authority that a Doctor could.”
“What they [Cal/OSHA] were doing was they were shrinking the compliance force, the compliant officers who were the industrial hygienists. They were allowing... not hiring, doing new hires and now we're down to really, well below any standard, either the Fed OSHA standard or the adjacent state standards, like the number of inspectors per worker, say in Washington or Oregon... we're well below that now. We're just a skeletal crew “
“When I first came onboard.... it's almost like night and day when I first came onboard during the Jerry Brown administration we were the prime OSHA... state OSHA program. We were setting new standards. We were out there really doing excellent work. Gradually, that diminished and with political appointees from the various governors.“
**The need a Medical Doctor’s at Cal/OSHA
“it's critical “
“the Compliance Officers, or Industrial Hygienists, and they're not trained at all in medicine. They don't know how to read a medical record, they know nothing about infectious diseases.... and we also inspect hospitals and medical facilities”
**The safety of microorganisms in biotech industry
“First off, if you're using pathogenic organisms that's not exactly organic.... that's a risk not only the environment, the workers... but also possibly the food consumers as well.”
“the way they classify biosafety in labs is they classify it 1 through 4. Say the most hazardous, say like anthrax would be a 4 so you have to have like space suits and total control. Now if these were pathogens he was
working with it sounds that should rate very high in biosafety requirements.”
“If they're using potentially pathogenic microorganisms to spread on... you know, vast areas of the environment in relation to say, specific what they call pests the first thing you would have to determine if OSHA went in there... and what I can.... I'll get the record but from what I can tell first thing they would've had to have was either a microbiologist or a Doctor, a public health Doctor to look at how pathogenic are these organisms. Are they as bad as, say Anthrax? Could they be? And then you have to determine do they have the proper level of bio safety? And then you don't go and just look at the face velocity of a vertical lamenter flow hood... that's nonsense! What you do is then you go back and you say, "you've got the wrong level". you cite them and you require them to get the right level of bio safety and the other things... not spread the agent around in the neighborhood and that would be the approach.... and if they don't have a Doctor at Cal/OSHA to do that or.... you know.... then ... they're going in blind.”
“When you're called in and a worker has possibly picked up a very serious infectious disease from the work process, you don't just go in and measure a face velocity and give a tag. You've gotta do some... you know real investigation. Go over all the medical records and you've got to get the organism and submit it to the proper lab to determine it's patogenicity. In other words, there's a series of steps you would take because you're not only trying to protect all the workers there now and future workers, but you also have to protect the community when you're talking about an infectious disease, this is a serious public health matter. So looking at what OSHA did and I'm just astounded that they had that kind of very weak response, inappropriate response according to the law. The law states that you have to have to go through this kind of process and you certainly can't fire a worker whose complaining. Also, OSHA should have responded within 72 hours, that's required by law in this kind of.. you know, complaint. I don't know what they were doing, but they obviously handled the thing illegally.“
For Agraquest to say such statements as they use “natural, environmentally safe pesticide/s or fungicide/s" and “compete with chemical pesticides” or that they promote biopesticides--substances that kill bugs with selectively bred microorganisms, rather than chemical concoction/s” are misstatements. The microorganisms used in Agraquest’s processes , are used with chemicals or other microorganisms and/or can be combined with the novel bacteria or fungus.
The EPA DEFINES biopesticides in 3 major classes. One is Microbial pesticides.
[QUOTE FROM EPA]
“Microbial pesticides consist of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium, fungus, virus or protozoan) as the active ingredient.“
“EPA always conducts rigorous reviews to ensure that pesticides will not have adverse effects on human health or the environment. FOR EPA TO BE SURE THAT A PESTICIDE IS SAFE, the Agency requires that registrants submit a variety of data about the composition, toxicity, degradation, and other characteristics of the pesticide.“
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/types.htm
In viewing Agraquest patents or patents that have Agraquest scientist/s that are listed as “inventors” you find such wordage as: (this is only two examples)
“The invention also relates to fungicidal compositions comprising this novel Streptomyces strain and the antibiotics and metabolites produced by this strain either alone, or in combination with other chemical and biological pesticides.”
“Streptomyces strain and the antibiotics and metabolites produced by this strain either alone, or in combination with other chemical and biological pesticides.“
“A composition comprising the strain of claim 1, and at least one chemical or biological pesticide.
4. A composition comprising the strain of claim 3, and at least one chemical or biological pesticide.“
“The present invention provides a novel compound, Streptomyces galbus, NRRL Accession No. 30232, and mutants thereof which retain the same activity, for use as an insecticide against Lepidoptera. The invention encompasses the use of supernatants and metabolites from the strain for use as an insecticide. The invention also includes methods of treating plants or fruit to control Lepidoptera infestations using the claimed strain, either alone, or in combination with other chemical or biological pesticides. Further provided are methods to ferment the claimed strain to increase its bioactivity as an insecticide“
“obtain such mutants the parental strain may be treated with a chemical such as N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, ethylmethanesulfone, or by irradiation using gamma, x-ray, or UV-irradiation, or by other means well known to those practiced in the art.“
"Positive control" means a compound known to have pesticidal activity.“
"Positive controls" include, but are not limited to commercially available chemical pesticides“
“Also provided by this invention are compositions comprising at least one of the biologically pure cultures, supernatants or the isolated metabolite described above and a carrier. In another aspect, the composition further contains at least one chemical or biological pesticide. The compositions are formulated as any one or more of a wettable powder, a granule, an aqueous suspension, and emulsifiable concentrate and a microencapsulated formulation“
“the antibiotic/metabolite produced by the novel Bacillus subtilis strain or a combination thereof, optionally further comprising another antibiotic-producing bacterial strain and/or a chemical pesticide.“
“The invention also includes methods of preventing or treating fungal and bacterial infections using whole broth cultures or supernatants obtained from cultures of the novel Bacillus subtilis stain alone or in combination with chemical pesticides and/or other biocontrol agents.“
“Biological control offers an attractive alternative to synthetic chemical fungicides. Biopesticides (living organisms and the naturally produced compounds produced by these organisms) can be safer, more biodegradable, and less expensive to develop.“
“These isolated compositions can be combined with other known pesticides or insecticides and may be formulated as described above for AQ713 and applied as wettable powders, granules, flowables or microencapsulated“
How then can these biological controls be considered natural and safe? The public is led to believe that biological control (instead of the use of chemicals) commercialized for plant diseases and/or insect control is “natural” and “safe”, this is not always the case.
Given the fact that the EPA “Pesticide Submitters list” clearly shows Agraquest’s bacteria and fungus as being “Active Chemicals”, how can it be said that these bacterium and fungi are NOT chemicals?
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