Sign-on letter on Bush Admin's rejection of CDC nominees

Sign-on letter on Bush Admin's rejection of CDC nominees to the Advisory Committee on Lead in favor of industry nominees

October 28, 2002

The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20201

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations from the public health, pediatric, environmental, public interest, and affected communities, are disappointed and concerned that you overruled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in appointing individuals selected by the lead industry to the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (ACCLPP).  We ask you to remove Dr. William Banner from this panel immediately.  We urge you to rely on CDC’s recommendations in making future appointments.

At the recent meeting of the ACCLPP, one new member stated publicly that a representative of the lead industry approached him and had him appointed to the Advisory Committee.  We find it troubling that the nation’s chief health agency would accept the counsel of the lead industry, which has a long, sordid, and well-documented history of distorting and misrepresenting health issues related to lead. Your recent appointments undermine public confidence in HHS’s commitment to end childhood lead poisoning in the U.S. by 2010.

Of all of the industry-supported appointments, it is most illogical for you to call on Dr. William Banner for advice about lead poisoning prevention. According to his recent court deposition on behalf of the lead industry, Dr. Banner believes that blood lead levels below 70 ug/dL pose no health problems for children.  This position is at least 40 years out of step with contemporary medical thought and counter to all existing federal policies and standards.  In our collective judgment, such a position should disqualify Dr. Banner as an advisor on prevention policy.

In securing advice on lead poisoning prevention, CDC has a demonstrated track record of success in selecting qualified individuals with varied experience, perspective, and opinion.  Over the years, ACCLPP members have expressed a range of viewpoints, which have ultimately yielded sound public health policy recommendations.  In the future, we urge you to rely on CDC – not the lead industry – to select individuals who can provide the best possible advice for protecting children from lead poisoning, including reducing its disproportionately adverse effects on low-income African-American children.

Sincerely,

Norris McDonald
African American Environmentalist Association

Don Ryan
Alliance To End Childhood Lead Poisoning

Mohammad Akhter
American Public Health Association

Rick Blum
Center for Science in the Public Interest

Daniel Swartz
Children’s Environmental Health Network

Claire L. Barnett
Healthy Schools Network, Inc.

Hilary O. Shelton
NAACP

Kathleen H. McGinley
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems

Damu Smith
National Black Environmental Justice Network

Rebecca Morley
National Center for Healthy Housing

Stephen A. Weil
National Coalition for Lead-Safe Kids

Doug Farquhar, J.D.
National Conference of State Legislatures

Jane Perkins
National Health Law Program

Lee Wasserman
National Lead Assessment and Abatement Council

Joel Reynolds
Natural Resources Defense Council

State and Local Organizations

Dennis Jordan
Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Ann Fonfa
The Annie Appleseed Project – New York, NY

Sarah Brace
Cascadia Consulting Group – Seattle, WA

Patricia Barnes
CDC Association – Columbus, OH

Abigail English
Center for Adolescent Health & the Law – Chapel Hill, NC

Jackie Doig
Center for Civil Justice – Saginaw, MI

Ronald R. Jones
Center for Community Action for Primary Prevention – Columbia, MD

Larry Gross
Coalition for Economic Survival – Los Angeles, CA

Glenn Brown
Detroit Lead Partnership – Northville, MI

Mary C. DeVany
DeVany Industrial Consultants – Vancouver, WA

Reed Steinkraus
Douglas County Health Department CLPPP – Omaha, NE

Leticia Ayala
Environmental Health Coalition – San Diego, CA

Kimberly Foreman
Environmental Health Watch – Cleveland, OH

Rochelle Davis
Generation Green – Evanston, IL

Jamey Bell
Greater Hartford Legal Aid – Hartford, CT

Beth McKee – Huger
Greensboro Housing Coalition

Neil Gendel
Healthy Children Organizing Project – San Francisco, CA

Ronda Jones
Healthy Homes Program – Portland, ME

Jeremy M. Giller
HELP Lead Safe Center – Providence, RI

Anita Weinberg
Illinois Lead Safe Housing Task Force

Tom Neltner
Improving Kids Environment – Indianapolis, IN

Jonathan Klane
Klane’s Education Information Training Hub (KEITH) – Fairfield, ME

Annemarie Kampwerth
Lake County, Indiana Lead Task Force

Patrick E. Strodel
Lead Safe, LLC – Skaneateles, NY

Moira A. Singer
Lead Safe Pittsburgh

Susan Thornfeldt
Maine Lead Action Project – Portland, ME

Mark Schafer
Marc Enviro Services – Omaha, NE

Susan McParland, Esq.
Michigan Association for Children with Emotional Disorders – Southfield, MI

Ann Marston
Michigan League for Human Services – Lansing, MI

Tony Tweedale
Montana-CHEER (Coalition for Health, Environmental & Economic Rights)

Sheldon V. Toubman
New Haven Legal Assistance Association – New Haven, CT

Matthew J. Chachere
New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning – New York, NY

Ed Norman
North Carolina Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Susan Munro
North Lawndale Lead Poisoning Task Force – Chicago, IL

Janet Varon
Northwest Health Law Advocates – Seattle, WA

Kimberly Irving
Oregon Remodelers Association

Colleen McCauley
Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth – Philadelphia, PA

Susan Gust
Phillips Neighborhood Healthy Housing Collaborative – Minneapolis, MN

Nicholas Peneff
Public Health & Safety, Inc. – Rockford, IL

Debra Gardner
Public Justice Center – Baltimore, MD

David N. Broadbent
Rochester Lead Free Coalition

Jamie A. Blumke
Saginaw Lead Institute Program-Field Neurosciences Institute – Saginaw, MI

Robert M. Gould
San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility

Barbara Miller
Silver Valley People’s Action Coalition – Kellogg, ID

Marian Feinberg
South Bronx Clean Air Coalition

Judy Riehl
St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition

Greg Siwinski and Megan Famiglietti
Syracuse Regional Lead Task Force – Syracuse, NY

Joann Tate
T.E.R.C (Training and Educational Resources for Children) – Chicago, IL

John Blair
Valley Watch, Inc. – Evansville, IN

Lesley Wright
Vermont Lead Safety Project

Mary Sliney
The Way Home – Manchester, NH

Julie Becker
Women’s Health & Environmental Network – Philadelphia, PA

Individuals

Deborah Abramsky, CNM, MPH
Citizen of Mount Rainer, MD

Philip Alcabes, PhD*
Hunter College School of Health Sciences – New York, NY

Sharon Andreani, BSN, RN*
Director of Nursing, Alliance (OH) City Health Department

Therese Argoud
Citizen of Honolulu, HI

Karla R. Armenti, ScD.
Citizen of Bedford, NH

Teresa E. Arnold, RN
Citizen of Syracuse, NY

Alana Aronin*
Aronin Consulting – Farmington Hills, MI

Marlia Banning*
Kent (OH) State University

Deborah Elaine Barrie (Publisher) *
www.noccawood.ca  – Smith Falls, On Canada

Thomas A. Baughman, PhD.
Citizen of Chicago, IL

Barbara Berney*
Boston University – Newton, MA

Morris W. Bickweat*
EPA Certified Risk Assessor – Honeoye Falls, NY

Martha Boyd
Citizen of Madison, WI

Diane Breit, RN, BSN*
Alliance City Health Department – Alliance, OH

Steve Brooks*
(ILSHTF) Illinois Lead Safe Housing Task Force – Decatur, IL

Lynn Cave*
Child Health Coordinator, Hardin County Public Health – Eldora, IA

Pietra Check*
Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian – New York, NY

Dot Christenson*
Cincinnati Area Lead Advisory Committee

Suzanne Christopher, PhD*
Montana State University – Bozeman, MT

Rebecca Cohen, DrPH*
American Industrial Hygiene Association – Baltimore, MD

Arthur Collier*
Rochester Primary Care Network – Rochester, NY

Marian Condon*
University of Maryland – Baltimore, MD

Margie Coons
Madison, WI

Kathleen Cooper*
Canadian Environmental Law Association – Toronto, ON

Lyn Dailey, PHN*
City of Berkeley CLPPP – Berkeley, CA

Roxann Daily

Allison Davis, RN*
The Arc of Anne Arundel County – Annapolis, MD

Nicholas DeRosa*
Oneida County Health Department – Utica, NY

Susan A. Dery, RN, BS*
Child Health Services – Manchester, NH

Dave R. Dickhaut, MS, IHIT*
AIHA, Social Concerns Committee – East Lansing, MI

Leonor Dionne*
Center for Occupational and Environmental Health – Berkeley, CA

Therese Dowd, PhD, RN*
The University of Akron – Akron, OH

Josef Eisinger*
Mount Sinai School of Medicine – New York

Megan Ellingson
Citizen of Robbinsdale, MN

Carina Elsenboss*
Lead Free Kids – Salt Lake City, UT

Larry Engel
Washington, DC

Stacey Epstein, MD, FAAP*
Pizzica Health System and Member of Philadelphia Lead Coalition

Don Fast, MPH
Lead Program Coordinator – Long Beach, CA

Alina M. Fernandez, MD, MPH*
College of Medicine at Peoria – Peoria, IL

Joseph A. Foley, RN, MS, CNS, CPNP*
University of Akron College of Nursing

Joel Forman, MD*
Mount Sinai Medical School – New York, NY

Rick Freas
Citizen of Phoenix, AZ

Kimberly Fuelling
Parent of a child poisoned by lead

Lorne Garrettson, MD
Citizen of Brinklow, MD

Melanie J. Gavin, RN*
St. Vincent Health Center – Philadelphia, PA

Karen Gibbs
Citizen of Charlotte, NC

Robyn Gilden, RN, MS

Dr. Sander Gliboff*
Indiana University – Bloomington, IN

Shara Godiwalla, MPH*
National Center for Healthy Housing – Columbia, MD

Mary Goldman*
Spruce Hill Community Association School/Youth Committee

Suzanne Gomochak, RN*
HELP (Help Eliminate Lead Poisoning) – Columbus, OH

John Graef, MD*
The Children’s Hospital, Boston and Harvard Medical School

Jean Grassman, PhD*
Brooklyn College-City University of New York

Beth Graziano
Citizen of West Warwick, RI

Manfred Haertel, PhD*
Battelle (research scientist) – Columbus, OH

Gayle Hafner*
Maryland Disability Law Center – Baltimore, MD

Sally Hammerman, BA, MSN, RN
Citizen of West Chester, PA

Theodore R. Hatfield, MD, FACOEM, FACPM
Citizen of Palmento, GA

Ruth Heifetz, MD, MPH*
University of California – San Diego, CA

Carol Hinkle, RN, MS*
Michigan Department of Community Health CLPPP

Connie Hockema, RN BSN
Citizen of Austin, TX

Leann C. Howell, M.A., B.Sc., A.A.S. *
Perry County (OH) WIC Advisory Board, 
Southeast Ohio Lead Spokesperson, 
and Mother of a lead-poisoned child

John F. James*
The Children’s Hospital – Denver, CO

Sylvia E. Johnson, PhD*
UAW Health and Safety Department – Detroit, MI

Sandra K. Kabay
Pittsburgh, PA

Robert Karp, MD*
Professor of Pediatrics – SUNY-Downstate Medical Center

Richard Kennedy*
Orchard Street Community Health Center – Rochester, NY

Sara Kerley
Durham’s Parent Against Lead

Hans Kersten, MD*
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children – Philadelphia, PA

John Knox*
Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation – Chicago, IL

Nancy Krieger, PhD*
Harvard School of Public Health

Jody Lally*
University of Massachusetts Lowell – Lowell, MA

Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH*
Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Sandra L. Lawson
Lead Poisoning Prevention Health Educator – Springfield, MA

Yasmine Legendre
Citizen of Flushing, NY

Robert Lesko
Citizen of New York, NY

Glenn Levine, MD, FAAP
Citizen of Philadelphia, PA

Barry Levy*
Tufts University School of Medicine – Sherborn, MA

Matt A. London
Citizen of Albany, NY

Larry K. Lowry, PhD*
Southwest Center for Pediatric Environmental Health – Tyler, TX

Bob and Eileen Lunsford
Citizens of Rolla, MO

Lorraine Halinka Malcoe, PhD, MPH*
University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Gerald Markowitz*
John Jay College and Graduate Center, CUNY – New York, NY

Allison Marshall, MS, RD, CDN*
Hunter College – New York, NY

Mike Martin
Research Analyst – Phoenix, AZ

Lisa Martino-Taylor
Citizen of St. Louis, MO

Meredith Maruyama, RN, BSN*
City of Manchester (NH) Health Department

Evelyn A. Mauss, ScD*
Science Consultant, Natural Resources Defense Council

Irving H. Mauss, MD
Citizen of Queens, NY

Dr. Howard W. Mielke, PhD*
College of Pharmacy, Xavier University

Laura E. Montgomery*
National Center for Health Statistics – Hyattsville, MD

Connie Montover, RN*
East Central Iowa Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

John S. Morawetz
Citizen of Erlanger, KY

Herbert L. Needleman, MD*
Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Raymond Richard Neutra, MD, DrPH
Citizen of Albany, CA

Nancy Anderson Niemczyk, CNM, MSN
Citizen of Pittsburgh, PA

Mae Nikaido, M.S.*
Long Beach Public Health Laboratory – Long Beach, CA

Michele Ochsner, PhD
Citizen of Princeton, NJ

J. Wallace Oman*
Law Offices of J. Wallace Oman – San Francisco, CA

Tina Paddock
Citizen of McMinnville, OR

Peter Palermo
Citizen of Philadelphia, PA

Luz Gomez Pardini, MPH, RD
Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Manager – Martinez, CA

Robert M. Park*
NIOSH Education and Information Division – Cincinnati, OH

Kathy Paris*
Canton City Health Department – Canton, OH

Lyn Penniman, MPH
Health Scientist – Silver Spring, MD

Julie Petix
Citizen of Bordentown, NJ

Ann Pike-Paris, RN, MS
Citizen of North Potomac, MD

Stephanie Pollack*
Conservation Law Foundation – Boston, MA

Meredith Povisils
Citizen of Haddonfield, NJ

William P. Quigley*
Loyola University New Orleans

Rick Rabin
Citizen of Arlington, MA

Akil Rahim*
Akil K. Rahim & Associates – Adelphi, MD

Shireen Rajaram

David Rak
Citizen of Minneapolis, MN

Joan Reyes
Citizen of Los Angeles, CA

Adam Richards*
John Hopkins Medical Schools, MS III

Michelle Hurd Riddick*
Lone Tree Council – Saginaw, MI

Lynn Roberts, PhD*
Hunter College

Sandy Roda*
University of Cincinnati

Nicole Rogers, MPH, RPCV
Citizen of San Antonio, TX

Anne L. Romasco*
National Center for Healthy Housing

Dr. John F. Rosen*
The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore – Bronx, NY

Delegate Sandy Rosenberg*
Maryland General Assembly

Neal L. Rosenblatt*
Lead Poisoning Prevention Program – Frankfort, KY

Frank S. Rosenthal, PhD*
Associate Professor at Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN

Jennifer Rouse*
Cincinnati Health Department

Carol Roye, EdD, RN*
Hunter College Schools of the Health Professions

Burt R. Russell*
Michigan Department of Public Health – Lansing, MI

Megan Sandel, MD*
Boston Medical Center

Michael A. Santoro, MD, MPH, FACPM*
CHS Health Strategies – Muncie, IN

Joe Schirmer
Citizen of Madison, WI

Steven M. Schwartzberg, MPH*
Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Curtis Seyfried
Citizen of Bronx, NY

Dr. Michael Shannon*
Children’s Hospital Boston

Anne Shapiro, PHN
C itizen of Vallejo, CA

Beppie J. Shapiro*
University of Hawaii

Victor Sidel*
Professor of Social Medicine – Bronx, NY

Craig Slatin, ScD, MPH*
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Gina M. Solomon, MD, MPH*
Asst. Professor of Medicine, UC San Francisco & Natural Resources Defense Council

Andrew R. Sommers, MS, MA*
University of Minnesota School of Public Health

Jeff Spann*
Department of Labor & Industries – Tacoma, WA

Arlene Spark, EdD, RD FADA, FACN*
Hunter College, CUNY

Noreen Spinrad
Citizen of Ballston Spa, NY

Michael Sprinker, CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist)
Citizen of Akron, OH

Noel V. Stanton*
State Laboratory of Hygiene – Madison, WI

Barbara Starfield, MD MPH
Citizen of Baltimore, MD

Sharon Starr
Citizen of Philadelphia, PA

Jo Anne St. Clair*
Help End Lead Poisoning – Columbus, OH

Gail Stevens, CRNP
Family Nurse Practioner – California, MD

Bert Stover*
University of Washington

Loren C. Tapp*
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Lisa M. Taylor

Karen Tessier, MS, PN*
Pediatric Faculty Member – University of Hawaii

Ann Walker*
La Salle Neighborhood Nursing Center – Philadelphia, PA

Daniel Wartenberg*
Environmental and Occupational Health Services Institute – Piscataway, NJ

Betty Wendt, RN*
City of Nashua Health Department

Gail D. White, PHN*
Oneida County Health Department – Utica, NY

Susan Winklareth*
LSV Asset Mgmt – Chicago, IL

Maria Woltjen*
Lead Safe Housing Initiative – Chicago, IL

Michael Wright*
Director of Health, Safety and Environment – Pittsburgh, PA

Francis Scott Zimmer*
Oneida County Health Department – Utica, NY

*Affiliations are provided for identification purposes only*