A US Federal appeals court has overturned a ruling by the environmental protection agency that outlawed testing of pesticides on human subjects. The decision raises a number of ethical issues surrounding the practice.
The EPA imposed the ban on human testing of pesticides in December 2001 pending the results of a study by the National Academy of Scientists that will examine the ethical and scientific acceptability of the tests.
Opponents of the ban, mainly pesticide manufacturers, claimed that the EPA’s decision had been taken without proper consultation. The Federal court agreed that the EPA had acted incorrectly and over-ruled its ban.
Green groups are outraged at the decision, which they see as a permit to expose humans to toxic chemicals.
The EPA says it is planning to draw up a new set of testing regulations, though it is not known how long it will take to develop these rules. In the meantime the agency will accept human trial data and assess it on a case-to-case basis.