Lawsuits
Filed in Autism Debate
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Georgia Poison Center
404-616-9000 - Metro Atlanta
800-282-5846 - outside Metro Atlanta
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Lyn and Tommy Redwood
Will Redwood as a baby
Will Redwood today at
the age of 8
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Reported By:
Jennifer Leslie
Web Editor:
Manav
Tanneeru
Last Modified: 5/23/2002 5:47:11 PM
Most scientists believe autism is a genetic
disorder. There are others, however, who insist that, in some cases,
mercury poisoning may be to blame.
The debate has been the catalyst behind a wave of lawsuits against
pharmaceutical companies, power companies and dental groups in Metro
Atlanta and beyond.
The Mercury Mom
Lyn Redwood, also known as the "Mercury Mom," was one of the first
parents to pursue the theory that mercury in vaccinations maybe a cause
for autism.
Her suspicions were aroused after noticing that her son was changing and
no longer progressing normally.
Will was eventually diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, a
form of autism. His doctors, however, could not explain why Will had
developed the disorder.
Lyn and her husband, Tommy Redwood, who both work in the medical field,
began their own investigation.
The Redwoods eventually came across a Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) report which gave them a starting
point in their search for answers.
The FDA report revealed that babies who receive multiple doses of
vaccines with the preservative Thimerosal may be exposed to more mercury
than recommended by federal guidelines.
Upon compiling Will's prenatal history and post-birth doses, the
Redwoods were convinced that mercury poisoning was the cause of their
son's autism. (Please
see part one of this report)
"The loss of speech, the melancholy, the behavioral problems that go
along with mercury toxicity were identical to what Will was exhibiting
and that's when I guess the light bulb went off," Redwood said.
The light bulbs began to go off in the minds of other Georgia parents,
as well, whose children were also diagnosed with autism.
The Litigation Begins
The families who suspect mercury may have been the cause of autism in
their children have recently filed civil lawsuits.
Companies named as defendants in the lawsuits include:
American Home Products Corp.
GlaxoSmithKline
Aventis Pharmaceutical Products
Armour Pharmaceuticals Company
Johnson & Johnson
Georgia Power
Southern Company
American Dental Association
Georgia Dental Association
"The one common element is the overload of mercury," said Attorney Mike
Weathersby, who represents six of the families involved in the civil
suit.
"In a fetus or in an infant, their saturation point is reached. They're
born with a very, very high level of mercury relative to their ability
to process it," Weathersby said.
He argues that these children become more susceptible to harmful effects
of mercury from other sources.
The logic is that with an already high level of mercury in their bodies
upon birth, those particular children cannot withstand further mercury
in their bodies and are, hence, poisoned.
Another source of poisoning, other than vaccines with Thimerosal,
Weathersby points to is the mercury in emissions from Georgia Power's
coal-burning power plants.
Will Redwood lives in Fayette county within 30 miles of three plants and
according to an expert who issued an affidavit in the civil case, that's
close enough where the mercury in the air would have contributed to
Will's overall exposure when he was younger.
Officials with Georgia Power insist there's simply no proof.
"We believe that the consensus of the scientific community is that there
is no basis for concluding that air emission from power plants cause or
contribute to autism," said Georgia Power Spokeswoman Amoy Getter.
Another source of mercury that attorneys for the families are targeting
is the Georgia Dental Association (GDA).
They blame the GDA for endorsing the use of mercury in dental fillings,
also known as amalgam.
Attorneys claim mercury in the mouths of mothers, like Lyn Redwood, put
their babies in danger during pregnancy.
The head of the GDA sees no scientific basis for those claims.
"We'll stand behind the sound science and the sound science is still
that dental amalgam as a restorative material causes no harm," Said GDA
President John Freihaut.
Dr. Robert Geller, Medical Director of the
Georgia Poison Center,
describes the risk from mercury in fillings and power plant emissions as
extremely small.
"They're all low-level exposures. The most likely situation in which
they present any hazard is somehow in combination [to] a person who's
particularly sensitive," Geller said.
According to some scientists, as in reaction to an allergen, the same
amount of mercury might affect some children very differently than
others.
The Redwoods wonder whether their son was especially sensitive and are
determined that further research will support their theory.
Some of that research is now underway in Metro Atlanta.
Scientists with the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) are examining the kind of vaccines given to about 900
children in the area who have been diagnosed with autism.
Results of the CDC study should be available by the end of the year.
Additional Resources
Autism: Autism is a neurological disorder that impairs a child's
social interaction, communication, repetitive behaviors and other
activities. It has no known cure.
Thimerosal: Thimerosal is an organic compound made up of 49
percent mercury that has been widely used as a preservative in a number
of biological and drug products, including many vaccines, since the
1930s. It helps prevent potentially life-threatening contamination with
harmful microbes.
Over the last 15 years, as thimerosal-containing vaccines were added to
the infant immunization schedule, concerns about the use of thimerosal
in vaccines and other products have been raised. The Food and Drug
Administration has continued to work with vaccine manufacturers to
reduce or eliminate thimerosal from vaccines
Autism/Mercury Research Now Underway in Atlanta:
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities is
conducting a study in Metro Atlanta right now. Scientists are examing
the vaccine schedules of children in the area who have been diagnosed
with autism spectrum disorders. Results of their analysis should be
ready by the end of 2002. In 1996, there were approximately 900 children
in the 5-county metro Atlanta area who were diagnosed with autism.
Today's Childhood Vaccines:
New pediatric formulations of hepatitis B vaccines have been licensed by
the FDA, Recombivax-HB (Merck, thimerosal free) in August 1999 and
Engerix-B (Glaxo SmithKline, trace thimerosal) in March 2000. In March
2001 the FDA approved a second DTaP vaccine formulated without
thimerosal as a preservative (Aventis-Pasteur's Tripedia, trace
thimerosal). These changes have been accomplished by reformulating
products in single dose vials that do not contain a preservative. At
present, all routinely recommended vaccines manufactured for
administration to U.S. infants are either thimerosal-free or contain
only trace amounts of thimerosal (less than 0.5 micrograms mercury per
0.5 mL dose).
"Influenza (flu) vaccines and tetanus and diphtheria vaccines (Td and
DT) are not available without thimerosal."
http://www.fda.gov
www.cdc.gov
Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit:
1-877-33-PEHSU--A help line provided by the Emory University School of
Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health with funding from the US
EPA and US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. You'll have
to leave a message, and an expert will call you back within two working
days. This is not a number for emergencies.
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