Add-ons to bill on mercury divide lawmakers-WA

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Infuriating and insane..again the AAP minimizes and wth are fda requirements on thimerosal? http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/NEWS0402/60304028/1018 Mercury in vaccines Things are not quite as amicable in a dispute between a pair of Democrats over regulating mercury in vaccines. The substance, which can be toxic, is infrequently used as a preservative in some solutions.Local activists with the Mercury Awareness Team have been pushing to restrict its use, and they were pleased when Senate Bill 5035 was passed by the Senate and the House unanimously. It would prohibit giving vaccines with more than 1 microgram of a mercury solution to pregnant women or children younger than 3.But an amendment by Rep. Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle, was added in the House, tying state

standards to those of the federal Food and Drug Administration.Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, D-Eatonville, who sponsored the bill, and Ann Clifton, of the anti-mercury group, say the amendment “guts” the bill.The FDA created a problem with mercury poisoning by allowing it in vaccines in the first place, Clifton said. The amendment lessens restrictions on the element by reverting to those lax standards, she said.But pediatricians who have been supporting the bill see no problem with the added language, Cody said, and she added that the bill still requires the vaccine to meet FDA requirements.Cody and Rasmussen both said they want the bill to limit the amount of mercury in vaccines. And both lawmakers said the bill will pass before the Legislature's scheduled adjournment Thursday.But they also said lawyers from each chamber must determine how the amendment will change the effects of the bill before a resolution can be reached.

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