California Gov. Pete Wilson has vetoed legislation that wouldhave banned some animal testing for product safety.

Assembly Bill 110 would have prohibited the use of the Draizeeye test and skin irritancy test to assess the safety ofcosmetic and household cleaning products in California.

Wilson cited "the overwhelming judgment of the scientificcommunity" that alternatives "cannot now or in theforeseeable future completely replace the use of animals fortesting."

He also stated that the federal Food and Drug Administration,Environmental Protection Agency and other federal and stateagencies "agree that these ... tests remain the most valuableand reliable methods of determining the safety of new andreformulated products."

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop led a vigorous lobbyingeffort against the bill, which included numerous nationalscientific associations and research centers.

Critics of the tests say they are cruel and do not accuratelyassess human risk.

The measure by Assemblyman Jack O'Connell, D-Santa Barbara,also passed the Legislature last year, but was vetoed by then-Gov. George Deukmejian.

-- Steve Usdin BioWorld Washington Bureau

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.