found to have a relatively short latent period, also, but at present leukemia seems to be the
exception to the general rule of extremely slow development. Within the pe riod cove red by the
ris e of modern pes ticides , the incidence of leukemia has been s teadily rising. Figures available
from the Nati onal Office of Vital Statistics clearly establish a disturbing rise in malignant
dis eas es of the bloodforming tissues. In the year 1960, leukemia alone claimed 12,290 victims.
Deaths from all types of malignancies of blood and lymph totaled 25,400, increasing sharply
fro m the 16,690 figure of 1950. In te rms of deaths pe r 100,000 of population, the increase is
from 11.1 in 1950 to 14. 1 in 1960 The increase is by no means confined to the United States; in
all countries the recorded deaths from leukemia at all ages are rising at a rate of 4 to 5 per cent
a year. What does it mean? To what lethal agent or agents , new to our envi ronme nt, are people
now expos ed with increas ing frequency?
Such world-famous ins titutions as the Mayo Clinic admit hundreds of victims of thes e dis eas es
of the bl ood-f or mi ng organs. Dr. Malcolm Hargraves and his associates in the Hematology
Department at the Mayo Clinic report that almost without exception thes e patients have had a
his tory of expos ure to va rious toxic chemicals , including s prays which contain DDT, chlordane,
benzene, lindane, and petroleum distillates.
Environme ntal dis eas es related to the us e of various toxic s ubs tances have been increas ing,
‘particularly during the past ten yea rs’, Dr. Hargraves believes. From extensive clinical
experience he believes that ‘the vas t majority of patients s uffering from the blood dys cras ias
and lymphoid dis eas es have a s ignificant his tory of expos ure to the va rious hydrocarbons which
in turn includes mos t of the pes ticides of today. A careful medical his tory will almost invariably
es tablis h s uch a relations hip.’ This s pecialis t now has a large number of detailed cas e his tories
bas ed on every patient he has s een with leukemias, aplastic anemias, Hodgkin’s disease, and
othe r dis orde rs of the blood and blood-forming tis s ues. ‘They had all been expos ed to thes e
environme ntal agents , with a fair amount of expos ure,’ he reports. What do thes e cas e
his tories s how? One concerned a hous ewife who abhorre d s piders. In mid-Augus t s he had gone
into her bas ement with an aerosol spray containing DDT and petroleum distillate. She sprayed
the entire basement thoroughly, unde r the s tairs , in the fruit cupboards and in all the protected
areas around ceiling and rafters. As she finis hed the s praying s he began to feel quite ill, with
naus ea and extre me anxiety and nervous nes s. Within the next few days she felt better,
howeve r, and appare ntly not s us pecting the caus e of her difficulty, s he repeated the e ntire
proce du re in September, running through two more cycles of s praying, falling ill, recovering
temporarily, spraying again. After the third us e of the ae ros ol new s y mptoms developed: fever,
pains in the joints and general malaise, acute phlebitis in one leg. When examined by Dr.
Hargraves s he was found to be s uffering from acute leukemia. She died within the following
month.
Another of Dr. Ha rgraves ’ patients was a profes s ional man who had his office in an old building
infes ted by roaches. Becoming embarrassed by the presence of these insects, he took control
meas ures in his own hands. He s pent mos t of one Sunday s praying the bas ement and all
s ecluded areas. The s pray was a 25 per cent DDT concentrate s us pended in a s olvent containing
methylated naphthalenes. Within a s hort time he began to bruis e and bleed. He entered the
clinic bleeding from a numbe r of hemorrhages. Studies of his blood revealed a s evere
depres s ion of the bone marrow called aplas tic anemia. During the next five and one half
months he received 59 trans fus ions in addition to other therapy. There was partial recovery but
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