FoE demands clean environment

Thousands of people in the UK are dying from environmental pollution every year, and millions more are suffering from exposure to pollutants according to a new discussion paper from Friends of the Earth (FoE) entitled Prescription for Change. The poor and most vulnerable suffer most, and are least able to take action to protect themselves. Charles Secrett, Director of FoE, accused the government of not delivering on its promises to improve the environment and the health of the people.
    FoE argues that the benefits of real action to reduce environmental pollution would more than cover their cost. Implementation of some improvements would generate work thereby reducing unemployment and replacing public expenditure with tax revenue—and improved health would be reflected in savings in the health care budget.
    The paper highlights the presence of pesticides in water and food, and refers to oestrogen mimicking synthetic chemicals in the environment, many of which derive from pesticides. One in four people in the UK receive water contaminated with pesticides at concentrations exceeding the legally permitted limits, and FoE calls for a ban on these pesticide-contaminants. To eliminate the hazard from pesticide residues in food and occupational exposure, FoE concludes that use of chemical pesticides should be limited to exceptional circumstances. Farming systems using minimum pesticide application techniques, integrated pest management and organic methods should be expanded.
    Oestrogen mimicking chemicals are widespread in our environment. Recent research has indicated that some drinking water supplies may contain oestrogen mimics at up to five times the level shown to cause transsexual characteristics in fish. This may be causing reduced sperm counts and increased sperm deformities in men (see below and PN23 p6).
    Prescription for Change is a bold attempt to put a range of environmental issues into a single framework. FoE accepts there is a lack of conclusive proof of causal relationships between many pollutants and health problems, but argues that the government should adopt the precautionary approach where there is uncertainty.

Prescription for change: health and the environment, FoE, 26-28 Underwood Street, London, N1 7JQ, July 1995, £5.95, 203pp.