[CPEO-MEF] VOCs, VETERANS: "Military veterans with Parkinson's fight to preserve EPA ban on toxic chemicals"

[Lenny Siegel <Lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Military veterans with Parkinson's fight to preserve EPA ban on toxic chemicals
Three Air Force vets are rallying against congressional efforts to overturn an EPA ban on toxic chemicals linked to Parkinson's disease — a condition all three have.

By Monica Robins
WKYC TV-3 News (Cleveland, OH)
April 22, 2025

CLEVELAND — Dr. Sara Whittingham, Dr. Jana Reed, and Erika Neitzke — two physicians and an aerospace engineer — are all graduates of the prestigious Air Force Academy, each serving at least a decade in the military with tours in Afghanistan. Now, as young mothers facing Parkinson's disease, they believe their condition stems from chemical exposure during their service.

The EPA banned trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene in December, chemicals commonly used for dry-cleaning, manufacturing, and degreasing machines. However, the ban is currently paused until May after Republicans in both the U.S. House and Senate introduced joint resolutions to repeal it.

…

"I was shocked," said Whittingham, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 46. "It seemed like such a no-brainer that this is a chemical that we know causes harm to people — causes Parkinson's disease, cancer, and all sorts of other potentially birth defects and other badness. For Congress and our politicians to say the industry is more important than the health of our service members, it makes me sick."

…

For the entire story, see
https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/health/military-veterans-with-parkinsons-fight-to-preserve-epa-ban-toxic-chemicals/95-1f454c42-58ea-4ea8-a2cf-b66577b1cb7c


—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)




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