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2, 4-D Still In Use: Madison, Wis.By VVAWOutraged residents meet with the city Public Health Commission to decry the use of 2, 4-D in area lakes. The chemical is an ingredient of Agent Orange the herbicide used in Vietnam blamed for a number of health problems. Jim Wachtendonk of Madison, of VVAW, attributes his skin and nerve problems to A.O. and blames the chemical for some of his childrens' health problems as well. On July 6, Jim went swimming in Lake Mendota. In a short time he got a severe rash on his legs, a headache & other symptoms. 2, 4-D had been used in lakes Mendota & Monona to control weeds. His wife, Suki, emotionally called for a total ban on 2, 4-D citing studies linking the chemical with cancer and genetic defects in laboratory animals. "It is not safe at any level", she said. Wachtendonk was not the only person claiming 2, 4-D in the lakes causes ill effects. Others reported side effects of swelling of the eyes & body, headaches, dizziness and nausea. Fishermen have long claimed that 2, 4-D and other chemicals in the lakes kill fish. Dennis Kroll, of VVAW, said people should be concerned about the use of any amount of 2, 4-D in the lakes. University of Wisconsin professor, Arthur Hasler, an Authority on lakes, said, "The practice of using 2, 4-D or any other herbicides is a bad ecological practice." He said studies have shown mechanical harvesting of weeds to be no more expensive. The State Department of Natural Resources, who has jurisdiction over the lakes, were invited to the Health Commission meeting, but declined saying it did not warrant their attendance. Two samples were taken from Lake Monona, but the samples were taken two weeks after the spraying and no firm conclusion could be drawn. The commission will draft a letter to the DNR expressing its concerns. In the words of Dennis Kroll, "the bottom line is, whose lakes are they?" It's important that VVAW member fight the use of 2, 4-D and other dangerous chemicals in the United States.
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