A Message From Dr. Dahlgren
I have been treating and studying people with toxic chemical exposures since 1971. During those years, I have helped thousands of people feel better and, in some cases, saved their lives. It is wonderful to help people who have been exposed to toxic chemicals. I have dedicated my life to helping sick people who, through no fault of their own, have been poisoned.
The unfortunate reality is that the typical practicing doctor has neither the training nor the time to recognize and treat chemically induced illnesses. My patients need a medical doctor that goes beyond treating the symptoms the everyday doctor has been trained to treat. I have had many patients tell me that they are grateful for someone finally believing that their complaints are real, caused by exposure to a toxic chemical.
The list of tragedies created by toxic chemicals is endless. I recommend that everyone see the Erin Brockovich film (yes again) and also look at the film a Civil Action. These are two movies that depict peoples lives that were ruined or ended prematurely by environmental pollution . It was caused by careless business owners, using toxic chemicals and then trying to escape paying the victims medical costs and lost income.
I have seen first hand that these two cases in these movies are not unique. There are thousands of sites where people have gotten sick from industrial pollution and no one noticed. The public health authorities are not equipped or allowed to investigate these tragic situations. EPA and OSHA were an attempt to address these thorny issues. Unfortunately, these agencies are unable due to under funding and due to politics to help the victims of pollution. At the moment the only method of helping the victims of environmental pollution is to sue.
The theory of the legal solution is that the fear of a lawsuit will force companies to be responsible and not release chemicals into the environment. These lawsuits are enormously expensive to pursue. The evidence that must be collected costs millions of dollars. The Erin Brockovich plaintiff lawyers had to risk over $10 million and the plaintiff lawyer in Civil Action went bankrupt and lost the case. Sadly, the limited resources of the legal profession do not allow more than a few of the most meritorious cases to be pursued.
There is a great need to introduce the topic of the health effects of environment pollution into the high school curriculum as well as the medical school classroom so that a wider knowledge of these issues will exist. Corporations will not voluntarily stop polluting. The only solution is widespread knowledge of these issues so that it can be stopped.
I hope that my experience and my published studies will contribute to this important education process.
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James Dahlgren Medical
