In the interest of public health and safety, SaneVax Inc. formally requests the FDA release the lot numbers, number of affected doses and destination of all contaminated vials. This data must be compared to the adverse reactions in VAERS reports.
Aug 04, 2011 - According to Katherine Hobson of the Wall Street Journal: ‘The latest pharma world example of wow-that-really-shouldn’t-be-in-there comes from Merck & Co.’ Last week, reports circulated around the Internet primarily in business/stock market sections of newspapers of yet another FDA investigation exposing the discovery of charred bits of plastic shrink wrap in vials of vaccines made at a plant in West Point, Pa.
According to the Dow Jones Newswires the contaminated vaccines include Gardasil for the prevention of HPV infection, Varivax for chicken pox, Pneumovax for pneumococcal disease, Zostavax for shingles and MMR II for measles, mumps and rubella.
Merck’s official position is the problem is rare and they aren’t aware of any adverse health events associated with the problem. The company remains confident in the safety and efficacy of its products.
Where is the logic – the science – the protection – the ‘do no harm?’ How can injecting vaccines with known contaminants into human beings be an acceptable practice?
This time, it appears the shrink-wrap wasn’t removed from incoming glass vials prior to washing and was charred during the sterilization process, leaving burnt residue in the vials at Merck’s West Point plant.
The FDA has been tracking problems at the West Point plant since 2008. A series of inspection reports have chronicled the issues — most of which have been resolved, according to Merck. Twelve incidents of shrink wrap contamination have been reported since 2009. Merck has responded by moving away from the use of shrink wrap in favor of cardboard trays. Some vials are still shrink-wrapped, however, and the company says it hopes to phase these out by the end of the year, according to Dow Jones.
Merck says there are no reports of adverse health problems, though theoretically the particles could cause a reaction at the injection site. How would Merck know what kind of ‘charred plastic reaction’ that would cause? Have there been any studies conducted to determine whether injecting particles of charred plastic is safe?
Has anyone considered that the real culprit behind the adverse reactions may be invisible toxic chemical emissions interacting with the vaccine?
According to Chem Tec Publishing: ‘Plastic when heated emits volatile organic compounds that contribute to the deterioration of ambient air quality in terms of odors and pollutants…. These contaminants are of particular concern in confined spaces such as car interiors, houses and offices.’1
What about the confined space of a vaccine vial?
What happens to the structure/integrity of a vaccine when exposed to toxic gas? Where are the scientific studies?
So what is shrink wrap made of?
Shrink and stretch wrapping can be quite complex in structure. Most packaging films used for shrink and stretch wrapping are from the polyolefin range. The materials are produced from oil based chemicals by what is called a polymerization process, which basically means getting the right molecules and atoms to club together in a way that is required or desirable for a particular application. The most common plastic materials are polyethylene, polypropylene and poly vinyl chloride.2
What happens when one of these plastics becomes charred? Polymer Plastics emit carbon dioxide and depending on the plastic, the combustion stage produces flames (which can propagate), charred surface layers and can be accompanied by the emission of smoke and toxic gases.3
Polyethylene
In a 2006 Material Safety Data Sheet from Inhance/Fluoro-Seal, Ltd. states that Polyethylene is not classified as hazardous by OSHA standards although it does emit toxic fumes that ‘may include carbon monoxide and other organic vapors’ when burned. However the safety sheet states ‘No adverse health effects are anticipated from the reasonable use of this product.’
This specific product has not been tested for exposure effects on eyes, skin, upon inhalation or ingestion. Nor has it been tested for chronic health effects or potential aggravation of current medical conditions.4
Polypropylene
An environmentally-friendly product, polypropylene is made from carbon and hydrogen, manufactured without any dangerous emissions. When burnt or incinerated, polypropylene will only give off water vapor or carbon dioxide, which is converted by photosynthesis (chlorophyll).5
Poly vinyl chloride
PVC production involves the creation of many toxic chemicals. Dioxins, including TCDD (one of the most toxic synthetic chemicals known) and furans are inescapable by-products of the production of the basic feedstock of PVC, vinyl chloride monomer. PVC needs a host of additives to make it useable. Lead, cadmium or organotins are used as stabilizers. Phthalates are used as softeners in PVC and other chemicals used as colorants, fire-retardants and anti-oxidants. Many of these are released into the environment.
When PVC is incinerated it releases its chlorine content and again causes the release of dioxins which are formed when chlorinated organic compounds, or a mixture of inorganic chloride and organic matter are burned.
Toxic chemicals released during the production, use and disposal of PVC threaten the environment and human health. Dioxins - known carcinogens and hormone disrupters, persist for many years and accumulate in the fatty tissues of living organisms.
Politicians assure us that certain levels are not harmful. Scientists are divided. Arguments about safe levels and tolerable daily intakes miss the point. Mothers should not be forced to feed any level of carcinogenic, or potentially hormone disrupting chemicals to their children.6
Nor should parents be expected to expose their children to contaminated vaccines. When adverse reactions from Gardasil include increased rates of cancer, hormone disruption, infant death post- breast feeding one has to begin to wonder what part of this vaccine is safe and efficacious – not only in terms of listed ingredients but also those that “fall into the mix” during the manufacturing process.
The SaneVax Team is demanding the FDA hold Merck accountable for this new chemical contamination atrocity. Vaccine safety and efficacy cannot be proven until contamination is eliminated. In the interest of public health and safety, release all of the information on the vaccines contaminated with charred plastic. Prove you mean what you say about 'transparency' in government. Medical professionals and consumers alike have a right to know.
Sources:
1. Emissions from Plastics - ChemTec Publishing
http://www.chemtec.org/proddetail.php?prod=978-1-85957-386-0
2. Shrink Wrapping and Stretch Wrapping- ENVIS-ICPE India
http://www.icpeenvis.nic.in/icpefoodnpackaging/pdfs/26_s ...
3. Flammability of Polymers – Zeus Technical White Papers
http://www.zeusinc.com/UserFiles/zeusinc/Documents/Zeus_ ...
4. Material Safety Data Sheet - Inhance/Fluoro-Seal, Ltd. http://www.inhanceproducts.com/msds/MSDS_PE_Films.pdf
5. Polypropylene An Environmentally Responsible Product - Ambro Plastics http://www.ambroplastics.com/getfile.php?location=/ambroplastics/content/UK/text/downloads/polyprop/polyprop.pdf&filename=polyprop.pdf
6. What’s Wrong with PVC? Green Peace
http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/reports/whatswrong.pdf
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SaneVax believes only Safe, Affordable, Necessary & Effective vaccines and vaccination practices should be offered to the public. Our primary goal is to provide scientific information/resources for those concerned about vaccine safety, efficacy and need.
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