08
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 8, 2025) In a study published in Environmental Pollution, researchers have detected eighty pesticides (35 insecticides, 29 fungicides, and 11 herbicides, and metabolites) in the ambient air of a rural region of Spain (Valencia) between 2007 and 2024. Despite these dramatic findings, the authors conclude that there is “no [observable] cancer risk,” “no inhalation risk for adults,” and only one pesticide concentration (the insecticide chlorpyrifos) showing “a potential risk to toddlers.” However, the authors did not conduct an aggregate risk assessment that would typically consider all routes of exposure to the individual pesticides detected, including through water, food, and landscapes. Not considered by the authors are the potential effects of pesticide mixtures and full pesticide product formulations (with all potentially toxic ingredients), also a deficiency in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration of pesticides under federal law. Of concern, as well, are other contaminants in pesticide products, including but not limited to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), heavy metals, plastics (including microplastics), which contribute to chronic diseases and health risks, and adverse effects to ecosystem stability exacerbated by the climate crisis. Background and Methodology “This work aims to conduct a further study on the situation of […]
Posted in Abamectin, acetamiprid, air pollution, Azoxystrobin, Bendiocarb, Bifenthrin, boscalid, Carbendazim, Carbofuran, Chemicals, Chlorothalonil, Chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Diazinon, Dichlorvos, Dimethoate, Diuron, Endosulfan, endothall, Ethoprop, fenbuconazole, Fenthion, Fipronil, fludioxonil, Glyphosate, Imidacloprid, lambda-cyhalothrin, Malathion, Methidathion, Permethrin, Pesticide Drift, pirimicarb, Propargite, Pyriproxyfen, spinosad, Thiamethoxam, Trifluralin, Uncategorized, vinclozolin | No Comments »
28
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 28, 2025) The Rhine Valley in southwestern Germany is renowned for the agricultural bounty it has provided for centuries. Today, the area is home to dense wine, vegetable, fruit, and cereal cultivation. However, a study shows that current regulation of pesticides, even in the relatively progressive European Union, is inadequate to protect humans and all the other organisms that produce the environment necessary for human life and civilization. The study goal was to determine how far—and which—pesticides traveled beyond the croplands of vegetables, fruit orchards, and cereals, as well forested lands, into nontarget areas that should serve as refugia for plants, animals, and invertebrates not considered pests. Based at the Landau Institute for Environmental Sciences at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, the researchers used innovative methods to measure the types, concentrations, and distribution of pesticides. They took samples from three landscape categories—vegetation, topsoil, and surface water—at 78 sites distributed along six transects, each reaching from the valley floor to the tops of the mountains on either side. Samples were taken from grasses, shrub leaves, and topsoils along each transect, together with water samples from rivers, small streams, ponds, and puddles. They tested for 93 current-use pesticides (CUPs). There […]
Posted in Agriculture, boscalid, Chemical Mixtures, Clothianidin, cyflufenamid, Drift, European Union, fluopyram, Fungicides, Germany, Imidacloprid, International, metazachlor, pirimicarb, pyraclostrobin, spiroxamine, tebufenozide, thiacloprid, Uncategorized | No Comments »
