If there’s one thing about campaigning, it’s that you learn to write good letters! But we take our hats off to Janet Forster of the Australian Chemical Trauma Alliance Inc. (ACTA Inc.) who has written one of the most powerful letters we’ve read. An extract follows. No doubt the Prime Minister is working personally on it’s contents right now - along with reconsidering funding our national LEADLINE advisory service, of course!

CHEMICAL ILLNESS

Dear Mr Howard,

So far no other government department has solved our problems of chemical illness, the catch cry being, "outside the perimeters of our responsibility". ABS [Australian Bureau of Statistics] can count the chemically ill without doctor diagnosis if a Minister requests it.

CHEMICALLY ILL BABIES, CHILDREN AND ADULTS REQUIRE IMMEDIATELY:-

1. Detoxification Treatment under Medicare with inpatient/outpatient facilities in chemical free buildings in all major towns.
2. All Medical Schools to teach chemical / environmental illness / multiple chemical sensitivity diagnosis and treatment. Chemical Illness is REVERSIBLE WITH CORRECT TREATMENT. NB. Mexico has this in place already.
3. General Practice Post Graduate Training to include the above.
4. Australia to Immediately Adopt Overseas Lists of Banned Chemicals to prevent the spread of chemical illness. Only 12% capable of any paid work after poisoning.
5. Drinking Water STANDARDS Set Up. Councils do not have a good record in this.
6. The 5% Contaminants Allowed in ORGANIC FOODS To Be Stopped. Public pay top prices for labelled "A" Grade food believing them to be pure. Not so.

TO SUPPORT THE ABOVE ILLNESS there are 5000 peer reviewed papers, 15000 DOUBLE BLIND STUDIES of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, peer reviewed, but Australian teaching bodies and government advisers are 20 years out of date on chemical long term health effects. Queensland University does not teach it. This Contributes to 2500 people dying in the workforce from chemicals (80% of total deaths), 25% of children are lead affected, many more pesticide affected. All these children have learning problems/short term memory/concentration loss...reflected in adults with impaired job/parenting efficiency and social violence. Organophosphate pesticides cause violence. Food additives cause severe behaviour disturbances. Chemicals cause suicide.

MILLIONS OF MEDICARE DOLLARS ARE WASTED with inappropriate tests for modern diseases unrecognised by out of date doctors. CHEMICAL EFFECTS ARE REVERSIBLE WITH CORRECT TREATMENT.

Apart from letter-writing, campaigning is also about synchronicity. Following on from point 3 above is this letter on a subject dear to the hearts of many toxic campaigners - many GPs simply do not know enough about lead poisoning and fail to diagnose it correctly.

THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

6 September 1996

Dear Ms O’Brien,

I would like to confirm that the general practitioners who are enrolled with the RACGP Training Program and who are doing their Basic term (their first 6 months full time equivalent general practice training) in practices in the Central Sydney area will have a compulsory tutorial session with Dr Garth Alperstein on "Lead, kids and what to do" on Wednesday September 25.

We recognise that assessment and management of lead levels in children is particularly relevant in Central Sydney.

Yours sincerely
Deirdre O’Dea
Medical Educator