 If the U.S. government and the international chemical industry have their way, hundreds of thousands of mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and fish will be poisoned and killed with chemicals—and all this destruction won’t protect even a single person from exposure to toxic substances. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) five-year high production volume (HPV) chemical-testing program has begun the deadly process of testing nearly 3,000 chemicals that are imported into the U.S. in large quantities. Most of these chemicals have been used for decades and many are already known to be dangerous. But rather than regulate or ban them, the EPA says that it should have more animal test data on file and will force-feed and inject animals with such substances as turpentine, rat poison and gasoline.
“It is simply not possible with all the animals in the world to go through chemicals in the blind way we have at the present time and reach credible conclusions about the hazards to human health.”
—Dr. Joshua Lederberg,
Nobel Laureate in Medicine
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PETA, joined by other animal protection groups, has filed a notice of intent to sue to stop the devastating testing program, arguing that the EPA is required by law to prove that the tests are necessary. Here are just a few of the problems with the EPA’s tests:
 • Tests on animals cannot predict what will happen to people exposed to the chemicals. Arsenic did not cause cancer when it was force-fed to animals but was later found to cause lung cancer in smelter workers exposed to arsenic in the air. As early as 1928, benzene was linked to human leukemia, but more than a dozen later animal studies did not show this link.
• More accurate, non-animal tests could be used instead of outdated animal tests. For example, there are a number of non-animal and computer-based mathematical models that can predict harmful effects at doses of a chemical much lower than those used in rodent studies.
• Many of the chemicals slated for testing are already known to be harmful to or safe for people, so the animal tests are unnecessary. Chemical companies support the program because faulty animal test results can be manipulated to clear chemicals already known to be hazardous or delay the restriction of those chemicals.
• The EPA is ignoring studies of people exposed to many of these chemicals in workplaces even though this information is more accurate than animal tests. |
 The HPV chemical test plan is an endless bureaucratic testing exercise that has nothing to do with taking dangerous chemicals off the market. The EPA says that it will simply post the results of testing on its Web site and call for additional testing! In the last decade— despite killing millions of animals in crude tests—the EPA has not banned a single toxic industrial chemical known to cause cancer or other diseases in people.
During President Clinton’s administration, PETA’s protests forced the EPA to spare hundreds of thousands of animals by eliminating some pointless tests and including accepted non-animal tests, but now the government is charging ahead. Our notice of intent to sue should help put the brakes on the killing, but we urgently need your help now.
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You Can Help - Pull the Plug!
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 • Tell President Bush to end the EPA’s animal-testing programs.
The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Fax: 202-456-2461
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• U.S. members, please also write to your congressional representatives (contact information is available at www.congress.org or 202-224-3121).
• If you live in New York City or the surrounding area and are exposed to chemicals on the job, please contact PETA by mail or at info@peta.org.
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Go Get the Green Meanies
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 The HPV chemical program was the brainchild of Environmental Defense. Now, the World Wildlife Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council are pushing for other programs that could kill up to 100 million animals! These groups should work with us to urge the government to use non-animal tests and ban toxins already known to harm people and the Earth. Instead, they are obstructing our efforts.
Please urge these groups to call for an end to the EPA’s massive animal-testing programs. For the facts, visit MeanGreenies.com.
Frances Beinecke
Executive Director
Natural Resources Defense Council
40 W. 20th St.
New York, NY 10011
Fax: 212-727-1773
Kathryn S. Fuller
President
World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
Fax: 202-861-8378
Please see StopAnimalTests.com for more information.
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If the U.S. government and the international chemical industry have their way, hundreds of thousands of mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and fish will be poisoned and killed with chemicals—and all this destruction won’t protect even a single person from exposure to toxic substances. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) five-year high production volume (HPV) chemical-testing program has begun the deadly process of testing nearly 3,000 chemicals that are imported into the U.S. in large quantities. Most of these chemicals have been used for decades and many are already known to be dangerous. But rather than regulate or ban them, the EPA says that it should have more animal test data on file and will force-feed and inject animals with such substances as turpentine, rat poison and gasoline.
