04
Sep
(Beyond Pesticides, September 4, 2024) A study in the Journal of Environmental Science and Public Health adds to the body of science that highlights the ecological decline threatening all species as a result of hazardous chemicals in the environment. “When environmental changes undermine a species’ or population’s ability to survive, it is said to be in an ecological crisis,” the authors state. They continue, “Pesticides, particularly persistent organic pollutants (POPs), are among the top ten chemicals and hazardous compounds that the WHO [World Health Organization] has recognized as being a concern for global health. The overuse and improper handling of agrochemicals is the primary driver of the ecological disaster.”  The researchers, from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in India, conducted a literature review to look broadly and comprehensively at the range of factors that contribute to adverse health effects (from breast cancer to genotoxic effects, chronic kidney disease, neurotoxicity, and more). They searched PubMed and Google Scholar for studies between 2004-2024 for relevant information on soil health, sustainable agriculture, food security, soil security, and the associations with human health. Their scientific findings lead the authors to conclude that the building of healthy soils will eliminate the need […]
Posted in Aldrin, Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, Cancer, Chlorpyrifos, Climate Change, Dimethoate, Endosulfan, Heptachlor, International, Reproductive Health, soil health, Soil microbiome | No Comments »
07
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 7, 2024) Using mass spectrometry techniques, researchers in Luxemburg and France detect 69 biomarkers of pollutants and pesticides—12 of which are banned—in hair samples from over 200 French children. This study, published in Environment International, is the first to target over 150 biomarkers in a single hair sample, which “represents the most comprehensive assessment of chemical exposome in humans,” the authors say. All children in the study were 3.5 years old and recruited from the Étude Longitudinale Française depuis l’Enfance (ELFE) [French Longitudinal Study since Childhood] cohort in the country of France, a major pesticide consumer in Europe. The ELFE survey is a joint project between the French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), which provides the first comprehensive national scientific investigation of children in France by following them from birth to adulthood. Through analysis of hair samples from children in the ELFE cohort, this study evaluates pesticide exposure and compares it with prenatal exposure data from their mothers while also, according to the scientists, “investigat[ing] the roles of children’s biological sex and geographical differences as possible determinants of exposure.” Exposure to pesticides during early childhood poses significant […]
Posted in Azoxystrobin, Carbaryl, Children, Endosulfan, Fipronil, Heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), International, Malathion, Metolachlor, organochlorines, Permethrin, Piperonyl butoxide (PBO), Synthetic Pyrethroid, tebuconazole | 1 Comment »
10
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 10, 2024) Researchers in a 2024 Chemosphere study find synergistic relationships in certain chemical mixtures, particularly heptachlor and triallate and trifluralin and lindane at lower concentrations, respectively. “Investigators should consider additional binary data for acute toxicity and potential chronic health impacts on these mixture…which showed synergism at low levels,” the researchers conclude. “According to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) assessment, more than 50 pesticides are detected in blood or urine samples from the US population,” Researchers point to a cause for concern. The findings come as no surprise to advocates who have urged an assessment of the potential synergistic impacts of pesticide mixtures in the regulation of pesticides. Researchers “used the exposure data from a complex operating site with legacy pesticide pollution to evaluate if Inhalation of pesticide mixtures released from such contaminated sites could pose a risk to human health, The component-based risk assessment approaches that rely on additivity can predict the actual risk of pesticides in a mixture, and The legacy organochlorine pesticides banned many years ago interact with registered and supposedly safe herbicides in a mixture.” The study site is “a pesticide packaging and handling facility” contaminated with the following pesticides (“historical and […]
Posted in 2,4-D, Chemical Mixtures, contamination, Heptachlor, Lindane, Trifluralin, Uncategorized | No Comments »
14
Sep
(Beyond Pesticides, September 14, 2016) According to a recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), high concentrations of dioxins and furans have been detected in tree swallow eggs collected near several sites around the Great Lakes. Other chemicals detected include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which were at background levels. The study is part of efforts to clean up a toxic chemical legacy around the Great Lakes, and the researchers believe their results are critical to regulators to assess “bird or animal deformity or reproductive problems” The study, “Concentrations and spatial patterns of organic contaminants in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs at United States and binational Great Lakes Areas of Concern, 2010—2015,” used tree swallows to quantify current exposure to organic contaminants across all five Great Lakes including 59 sites within 27  Areas of Concern (AOCs)  and 10 nearby  locations. The Great Lakes Areas of Concern refers to a U.S.-Canada  Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement  (Annex 1 of the 2012 Protocol) that  defines AOCs as “geographic areas designated by the Parties where significant  impairment of beneficial uses  has occurred as a result of human activities at the local level.” An AOC is a location that has […]
Posted in Autism, Cancer, Chlordane, Diabetes, Environmental Justice, Heptachlor, International, Obesity, Ohio, Reproductive Health, Take Action, Uncategorized, Water, Water Regulation, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
28
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 28, 2010) The repeated exposure to organophosphate and organochlorine insecticides can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or dementia later in life according to a new study published in the May issue of Neurology. The observational study entitled “Occupational exposure to pesticides increases the risk of incident AD” is one of very few studies to examine a link between pesticides and AD. Researchers lead by Kathleen M. Hayden, PhD of Duke University Medical Center examined residents 65 years and older from an agricultural community in Cache County Utah. Participants were assessed for cognitive ability at the inception of the study and again after 3, 7, and 10 years. Data showed that those repeatedly exposed to any pesticides were more likely to develop AD or dementia. Researchers found a higher incidence of AD among those exposed to organophosphates and organochlorines. The risk of AD associated with organophosphate exposure was slightly higher than the risk associated with organochlorines. Researchers also found an increase in dementia among those exposed to organophosphates or organochlorines; however this increase was not statistically significant. Dr. Hayden said that more research was necessary to determine a causal link. Organophosphates are known to reduce […]
Posted in Alzheimers's, Chlorpyrifos, DDT, Heptachlor | No Comments »
25
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 25, 2010) An analysis of 266 potential environmental contributors to type 2 diabetes published May 20, 2010 in the online edition of the journal PLoS ONE, links the disease to individuals who have higher levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the pesticide heptachlor, as well a form of vitamin E found at high levels in soybean and corn oil, in their bodies compared to the general population. PCB was banned in 1979 and most uses of heptachlor were canceled between 1978 and 1989 (except for limited control of fire ants, which continues), but the compounds persist in the environment, especially near former industrial sites or contaminated soil. Environmentalists point to the fact that chemicals banned decades ago are still increasing people’s risk of disease, as a reason to take a precautionary approach when evaluating and registering chemicals. The analysis, led by Atul Butte, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medical informatics and pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, drew on data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to examine a wide range of environmental influences on type 2 diabetes. Dr. Butte conceived […]
Posted in Chemicals, Diabetes, Disease/Health Effects, Heptachlor | 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 »
