04
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 4, 2019) A class-action lawsuit is accusing Starbucks stores in New York of misusing a highly toxic, carcinogenic pesticide near food, putting the health of customers and employees at risk.  “Stores throughout Manhattan have for many years been permeated with a toxic pesticide called Dichlorvos [DDVP], which is highly poisonous and completely unfit for use in proximity to food, beverages and people,” the suit reads. According to the lawsuit, Hot Shot brand No Pest Strips were placed in food areas in violation of labels that prohibit the pesticide’s use in “the food/feed areas of food/feed processing or food/feed manufacturing or food/feed service establishments.” A pest control operator found the illegally placed products on a number of separate occasions, hidden under bagels or in pastry display cases, during a five year period from 2013 to 2018. This was not at only one location, but appeared to be a common occurrence at nearly every one of the 100+ stores serviced by the pest control operator. The case brings to light a number of issues with the use of synthetic pesticides. The unsanitary conditions permitted to persist within Starbucks stores, per the pictures provided in the suit (see page 14), […]
Posted in Cancer, DDVP, Nervous System Effects, New York, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
06
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 6, 2008) A recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), finds pesticide applicators with regular exposure to pesticides to be at a greater risk of type-2 diabetes. Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwn028), the study shows specific pesticides produce between a 20 and 200 percent increase in risk. Researchers looked at data from 31,787 pesticide applicators in North Carolina and Iowa over a period of five years. In that period, 1,171, or 3.7 percent, had developed diabetes, particularly for applicators in the highest category of lifetime days of use of any pesticide. “The results suggest that pesticides may be a contributing factor for diabetes along with known risk factors such as diabetes, lack of exercise and having a family history of diabetes,” said Dale Sandler, PhD, chief of the Epidemiology Branch of NIEHS. “Although the amount of diabetes explained by pesticides is small, these new findings may extend beyond the pesticide applicators in the study.” Freya Kamel, PhD, of NIEHS noted that “all of the seven pesticides” associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes are […]
Posted in Alachlor, Aldrin, Chlordane, Cyanazine, DDVP, Diabetes, Dichlorvos, Heptachlor, Trichlorfon | 1 Comment »
12
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 12, 2007) On December 5, 2007, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied the petition filed on June 2, 2006, by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to revoke pesticide tolerances for dichlorvos (DDVP) established under Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, finding the petition to be “without merit.” According to the petition filed, the NRDC asserted that DDVP tolerances are unsafe and should be revoked for numerous reasons, including: (1) EPA has improperly assessed the toxicity of DDVP; (2) EPA has erred in estimating dietary and residential exposure to DDVP; and (3) EPA has unlawfully removed the additional safety factor for the protection of infants and children. The EPA, in its response says that the toxicity of DDVP is not a sufficient ground for seeking revocation of tolerances. NRDC’s petition argued that DDVP should not have been downgraded from “probable human carcinogen” to “possible human carcinogen.” But EPA found the studies cited to be inadequate to support an amendment in classification, and as such the petition to revoke tolerances to the extent based on the alleged cancer misclassification of DDVP was rejected. The petition also challenged that various exposure studies used to […]
Posted in DDVP, Pesticide Regulation | No Comments »
27
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 27, 2007) Health risk, environmental risk and investment risk all have one thing in common — they are all part of Amvac Chemical Corporation’s business practices. According to a Los Angeles Times investigation earlier this month, this socially irresponsible business model has led Amvac to double-digit revenue growth and a toxic legacy. The Amvac homepage reads, “The Company’s chief strategy is to acquire niche product lines from multi-billion dollar companies that divest mature products to focus on newly discovered molecules. The Company’s products include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil fumigants, defoliants, molluscides and growth regulators.” In actuality, Amvac buys the rights to older, high risk pesticides from larger companies. Many of these pesticides, which are some of the most toxic on the market, are likely to be banned or restricted due to safety concerns. Amvac hires scientists and lawyers to keep these dangerous chemicals on the market as long as possible. The company also often skirts regulatory issues by exporting products to countries with weaker regulatory systems. “There’s something here rather unique, which is a company that basically goes intentionally after chemicals that are in trouble because of health and safety concerns,” said Steve Schatzow, a former director […]
Posted in Amvac, Chlorpyrifos, DDVP, Metam Sodium, Mevinphos | No Comments »
05
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 5, 2007) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to protect the public from exposure to two highly toxic pesticides, dichlorvos (DDVP) and carbaryl. The chemicals are found in common household products that have been demonstrated in laboratory studies to cause severe neurological and developmental harm, according to a lawsuit filed February 28, 2007, by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The action charges that EPA has missed its congressionally mandated deadline to finalize a comprehensive reevaluation of carbaryl, failed for 20 years to finish an expedited review of DDVP, and failed to respond to a petition calling for a ban on the chemicals. “EPA is needlessly jeopardizing the health of our children,” said Jennifer Sass, Ph.D., an NRDC senior scientist. “The agency should ban DDVP and carbaryl. There are safer alternatives on the market today, and we urge consumers to avoid any products that use either of these two pesticides.” DDVP*, currently used in pest strips, aerosol sprays and pet collars, is one of a class of the most dangerous pesticides on the market, called organophosphates, which derive from World War II-era nerve agents. Studies have shown DDVP causes cancer in laboratory animals. California lists DDVP […]
Posted in Carbaryl, Chemicals, DDVP, Pesticide Regulation | 4 Comments »
