1988 La Voz de Aztlan

              La Vox etc yizttcm
California State University, Fresno
Monday, March 7,1988
Cancer thrives in McFarland
Photograph by Angel de Jesus
Farmworkers continue their struggle
for better conditions
The effects of a chemical time bomb
have just begun to surface in lethal forms
of cancer among the children of McFarland. Thus far, this chemical menace has
claimed the lives of eight children. In
addition, nine other children have been
diagnosed with some form of cancer, it is
believed to be a result of this pestilence.
These documented cases have reached
epedemic proportions-four times the
national average. Seventeen cases have
been reported within the last 10 years by
the Kern County Department of Health
Services (KCDHS).
Some parents of the afflicted children
feel   optimistic   about   the   new   in
vestigation being conducted by the state.
The inquiry will probe the use of four
highly utilized pesticides around the
McFarland area.
Findings by Dr. Raymond Neutra of
the State Department of Health Service
revealed that 80 percent of the fathers of
the afflicted children had at one time or
another worked in agricultural occupations. This clue increases the proability
of resolving the question of relating
pesticides and the occurence of cancer.
There is no doubt that there is a
Up to now the KCDHS has not been
able to explain this cancer cluster phenomena. After three and a half years and
$100,000 worth of investigations the Director of KCDHS, Dr. Leon Hebertson,
announced in August 1987 that there "is
no conclusive evidence" to associate this
tragedy to any chemical source.
In July 1985 KCDHS v,as forced to
conduct an inquiry to study the high rate
of cancer among McFarland children.
Pressure was applied by citizens of McFarland, Senator Art Torres (D-L.A.) and
" ...I resigned rather than take part in this cover-upM
-Lazar
migration of chemicals in the soil, and
these chemicals are contaminating the
ground water around McFarland. The
latest chapter of this type of pesticide tale
appeared in late October 1987, when high
levels of the cancer causing pesticide
DBCP was found in the ground water.
Since then the well has been shut down,
but it wasn't until last week that funds
were allocated by the State Heaiih
Department to repair the contaminated
well.
Meanwhile, the parents of the cancer-
striken children continue to ask the same
questions they have been asking since
they suspected these occurences of cancer
were more than just coincidences. And
yet no answers have been provided by the
authorities.
Living in fear and fustration is
something the Mexican-American community in McFarland face day-in and day-
out. Yet it appears that these people have
refused to give up and continue to
struggle. They know that the lives of
many children of McFarland are at stake.
the United Farm Workers. Initialy the
KCDHS balked on conducting any investigations in the McFarland area.
Some authorities in the health field
believe that the cancer incidents can be
blamed on the pesticide seeping into the
city water wells. One of these authorities
is Dr. Thomas F. Lazar.
According to Dr. Lazar, who resigned
from  the  KCDHS on  January   1987.
a "cover-upr occurred and he refused lo
participate.
In Dr. Lazar's words, "It was decit, pure
and simple and I resigned rather than take
part in this cover-up".
Dr. Lazar also stated that Hebertson
refused to hear or allow Dr. Lazar to
expand on the initial investigation.
Dr. Lazar added that he drafted the first
phase of the July 1985 investigation and
See McFarland
page 4
Contra aid headed for disaster
Two landmark events-one in San
Jose, Costa Rica and the, other in
Washington, D.C.-will take place over
the next few weeks which will have
major impact on the war and 'he
prospects for peace in Central America.
On January 15, the five Central
American presidents will meet in Costa
Rica for the first time since the historic
signing of the Central America Peace
Accord in Esquipulas, Guatemala on
August 7, 1987. There, the presidents of
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El
Salvador and Honduras will hear the
report of the International Verification
Commission about compliance with the
terms of the Accord.
The International Verification
Commission is made up of
representatives of the five Central
American governments, ,the Contadora
Group (Mexico, Panama, Colombia and
Venezuela), the Contadora Support
Group, the Organization of American
States (OAS) and the United Nations. In
early January, this Commission began its
on-the-ground monitoring of compliance
with the Accord, visiting each of the five
countries.
President Oscar Arias of Costa TV a,
the author of the Peace Accord, spoke
hopefully about the January 15 meeting.
"When we meet, we must determine how
we can remove all; obstacles to the
success of the plan," he said, "We can
find a road to peace and democracy in our
dear Central America."
CONTRA AID VOTE
The other landmark event affecting the
war and prospects for peace in Central
America is a major vote on future aid to
the contras to be taken by the U.S. House
of Representatives.
"Because we have a strict timetable,
we have a unique opportunity for a
straight up or down vote en contra aid in
Congress," said a spokesperson tor the
Days of Decision  Campaign, a non
intervention coalition which has
organized national opposition to contra
aid
As the Central America Peace Plan
calls for an end to outside government aid
to armed insurgents, the passage of any
more aid to the contra would definitely be
in violation of the terms of the Accord.
PROCESS OF PEACE
Though the U.S. continues to
obstruct the peace process, the signing of
the Central America Peace Accord has
produced a new motion toward peace in
the region which continues to have a life
of its own.
Perhaps most importantly, the Plan
represents Central America's assertion of
its sovereignty, while acknowledging that
its success depends in part on the United
States and other nations' recognition of
that sovereignty. It is a Central American
solution to the problems of the Central
American region.
The Plan also recognizes that there are
conflicts in other countries than
Nicaragua, rather than previous
approaches which treated Nicaragua as the
"problem child." The region-wide
approach of the Plan is a recognition of
the fact that, according to Alejandro
Bendana of the Nicaraguan Foreign
Ministry, "the war against Nicaragua is
seriously destabilizing the whole region."
The proposal to establish a Central
American Parliament, for example, will
help strengthen this Central American
unity.
Although the Plan treats the very
different conflicts in Guatemala, El
Salvador and Nicaragua as equivalent,
these situations are far from identical.
Unlike indigenous popularly supported
movements, like the FMLN/FDR in El
See Contra
aid page 4