06
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 6, 2024) With over 2,500 pet deaths and 900 reports of adverse effects to people, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, published on February 29, 2024, reveals multiple systemic failures by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyâs (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), citing inadequate safety reviews of Seresto pet collars. The report, The EPA Needs to Determine Whether Seresto Pet Collars Pose an Unreasonable Risk to Pet Health, concludes, âThe EPAâs response to reported pesticide incidents involving Seresto pet collars has not provided assurance that they can be used without posing unreasonable adverse effects to the environment, including pets.â At the time the animal effects made headlines in 2021, the agency defended the productâs registration, telling the media that, despite these incidents, EPA deemed Seresto collars ââeligible for continued registrationâ based on best available science, including incident data… No pesticide is completely without harm, but EPA ensures that there are measures on the product label that reduce risk.ââŻDespite the scathing criticism, EPA maintains the position that it conducted an adequate review of the two active insecticide ingredients in the pet collarsâthe neurotoxic insecticideâŻflumethrin, and the notorious neonicotinoidâŻimidaclopridâproven to have adverse effects on the endocrine system as […]
Posted in Bayer, behavioral and cognitive effects, Children, Elanco, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fleas, Flumethrin, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Groundwater, Imidacloprid, Mosquitoes, Pesticide Regulation, Pets, Repellent, Seresto, synergistic effects, Synthetic Pyrethroids, Ticks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
20
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 20, 2023) Despite evidence of toxicity to pets from Seresto pet collars (manufactured with the neurotoxic insecticide flumethrin, as well as the notorious neonicotinoid imidacloprid), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) has announced that the popular flea and tick collars will remain on the market, but with new mitigation measures. However, advocates say that these measures will do little to protect people and pets from chemical exposure using these collars. The agency will require Elanco â the manufacturer of Seresto â to conduct enhanced reporting for various factors, including adverse symptoms, veterinary community outreach, and warnings on the product’s label. Seresto, developed by Bayer and sold by Elanco, has been linked to nearly 1,700 pet deaths, injuries to tens of thousands of animals, and harm to hundreds of people. There are nontoxic ways to protect pets from fleas and other pests while protecting human family members. Children Ignored by the Agency EPA has a history of ignoring the exposure patterns to children who come into close contact with pets and their flea collars and the potential adverse health threats, opting for warnings instead of regulatory action. In 2017, EPA issued a warning for tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) flea collars that advised: ânot […]
Posted in Pets, Seresto, Synthetic Pyrethroid | 3 Comments »
01
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 1, 2022) According to reporting by E&Eâs Greenwire, internal emails at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that career scientists at the agency expressed worry about pesticide-laced pet collars, such as the notorious Seresto flea and tick collars, but that EPA managers âinstructed them to avoid documenting those worries in publicly accessible records.â The emails were released pursuant to a 2021 FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) lawsuit, brought by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), that sought records of internal communications. The documents evidence staff concern about the collars that has not been a part of EPAâs public communications on the subject. EPA staff, in the emails, expressed a range of degrees of outrage at managersâ behavior and at the very registration of the product, given the significant harms. Seresto collars are plastic pet collars embedded with pesticides designed to kill fleas, ticks, and lice; they contain the active ingredients flumethrin and imidacloprid. Flumethrin, a chemical in the pyrethroid class of synthetic neurotoxic insecticides, has been linked repeatedly to neurological issues, such as seizures and learning disabilities in children, to gastrointestinal distress, and to damage to nontarget invertebrates, according to EPAâs own analysis. Imidacloprid is a commonly used pesticide linked to […]
Posted in Fleas, Flumethrin, Imidacloprid, Pets, Seresto, Ticks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
