Human testing strikes controversy

　　LOS ANGELES(AP)—Kimberly Wood pedals a stationary b icycle in a refrigerator-sized chamber and breathes int o various tubes as she watches researchers monitor info rmation about the air pollution levels inside.

　　A contraption outfitted with hoses and gauges conce ntrates the ultra-fine soot and dust inside the chamber to eight times its outdoor level.

　　Wood is among a growing number of research voluntee rs who are subjecting themselves to pollutants and othe r harmful substances, a trend some experts say raises e thical concerns because even a low risk runs counter to the physician's ancient creed, "First, do no harm."

　　The college student said she volunteered for the st udy, designed to monitor how particulate matter affects humans, because she is convinced such research benefits society at large.

　　She pointed to recent studies connecting secondhand tobacco smoke to childhood asthma.

　　"What if air pollution is doing the same thing to s mall children?" said Wood, 22, who is paid $200 for tes ts that took more than a day. "That's something that ne eds to be looked at and taken care of."

　　Deliberate human exposure to pollutants was an elem ent of nine of the 110 projects approved last fiscal ye ar by the National Center for Environmental Research, a division of the Environmental Protection Agency.

　　Human testing has also been involved in studying th e effects of a bacterium in causing diarrhea, and inves tigating whether certain doses of a water pollutant are harmful to humans.

　　The center, where Wood was being monitored, has sev eral test chambers, including a partially dismantled ca r used to test the health effects of air —bag chemicals .

　　by Leon Drouin Keith

　　Notes:

　　1．Contraption: 精巧的设计

　　2．ultra-fine: 特细的

　　3．soot: 煤烟

　　4．diarrhea: 腹泻