5. Genetic Testing
In our early days, Biotics Research operated a clinical laboratory that analyzed
blood and urine samples. In fact, Biotics was one of the first laboratories to provide mineral analysis via hair.
Most healthcare professionals today recognize the benefit of mineral analysis from hair as a non-evasive test for
signs of heavy metal toxicity.
In the late 1970s Biotics Research operated a licensed clinical testing
laboratory for genetic toxicology assessment. From a blood sample, white blood cells were cultured and their
chromosomes examined under a high-powered photo-microscope. From the examination of the chromosomes, DNA damage
could be measured. While this is a very common procedure in clinical and research labs today, in 1979 very few
laboratories in the world were engaged in such tests. Biotics Research Corporation was clearly ahead of its
time.
Biotics was contracted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to perform
a preliminary study on the residents of Love Canal in upstate New York. The neighborhood was built on a toxic waste
site and the residents were having unusually high rates of stillbirths, congenital abnormalities in newborns, as
well as other health problems. The residents associated their problems with a toxic waste dump below the community,
and we were requested to provide an estimate of genetic damage to the residents in order to determine if extensive
studies were necessary.
Serious evidence of genetic damage was identified in a large percentage or
residents tested (11 of 36). Unfortunately, this was not the news authorities wanted to hear. Although they tried
to refute our findings, ultimately they had to accept the evidence and relocate the residents of Love Canal. Love
Canal became a symbol of citizens taking action against toxic chemical pollution, and ultimately lead to the
establishment of the EPA Superfund to clean up toxic waste sites.
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