Can Silence Be Deadly?

Nearly 250,000 workers are being exposed to toxic chemicals that could cause cancer, heart problems and lung disease, according to studies by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Early detection of the ailments could prevent serious disability or death. The Centers for Disease Control asked for $4 million in the 1985 budget to notify vulnerable workers. But according to Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader and Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Public Citizen Health Research Group, the Reagan Administration rejected that request. In a letter to the President last week, Nader and Wolfe wrote, "The lame excuse offered in defense of this unethical, immoral decision is 'there is no legal responsibility for NIOSH to notify.' "

Government officials say they have warned the companies involved about health hazards, but not individual workers. Nader contends that this policy is designed to protect corporations from costly lawsuits. Dr. Edward Brandt, Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, denies the charge. Says he: "We are in the health business. We have nothing to do with litigation."