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Distrust
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Posted on Jun 21 2000
This is an open letter to the acting secretary for Public Health, Mr. Ned Arriola. The PCB health screening information you had provided [recently to a newspaper] printed on 6/16/2000, is shocking. It caught us off guard and sent an alarming concern to the entire community.
We are hoping that all information about the health screening should first be shared with residents before the general public. [W]e felt that without the complete analysis of the level of PCB in the body, correlated with any health abnormalities is premature to disseminate to the public. Your action could cause an avenue for untrustworthy between the Department of Public Health and the residents of Tanapag.
We believed that requiring the Tanapag Clinic staff to sign confidentiality form before the opening of the clinic, we urge you to conform to that very standard. It is only fair. Don’t you think so?
It is very disturbing that you have the audacity to share information not addressed to you. By all righteousness, you should and must get the complete support and proper authorization from the addressee. Remember that any information pertaining to PCB must be censored before it is disseminated to the public. There are other issues at stake not just health.
Because PCB is a very complicated matter, we are hoping to work closely with your office in sharing information. Please be mindful that we are the victims of this health risk toxic.
Additionally we believed that your department is our only hope to fully understand our well being before anyone else. Your action proved otherwise.
If you are not aware, please allow me to share it with you. After being placed in the dark for 12 years about the volume of abnormalities that PCB can do to a person, the residents of Tanapag were given no choice but to distrust many government agencies. I wish to convey to you that is not the case with your department. We want to keep it that way. So please work with us, not against us.
Lastly, we pray that you excel in working closely with the Department of Environmental Quality to try an address those other toxic chemicals present in the CNMI.
Juan I. Tenorio
Chair, Tanapag
Action Group
