Ethics of human dosing trials

Clinical trials involving the intentional dosing of humans with pesticides or other toxic substances raise ethical, legal, and scientific questions. Some say such studies are inherently repugnant and should never be used, but others contend the dosing trials provide valuable information that contributes to science-based decision-making and cannot be obtained in any other way. However, nearly all experts argue that human studies should be conducted under very strict regulations. The EPA lost a lawsuit to CropLife America, the pesticide manufacturers' trade group, and the EPA must now accept the results of human pesticide dosing trials. The EPA is currently reviewing 24 studies in which humans were intentionally dosed with pesticides.