15
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 15, 2009) Exposure to the endocrine-disrupting herbicide atrazine triggers the release of stress hormones in rats, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the journal Toxicological Sciences. The researchers believe this may explain how the popular weed killer produces some its harmful reproductive effects. The study, “Characterization of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Response to Atrazine and Metabolites in the Female Rat,†was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory. According to a December 4 analysis by Environmental Health Sciences, a foundation-funded journalism organization, the researchers discovered that female rats fed atrazine at the time of ovulation released a flow of stress hormones that are known to interfere with hormones essential for reproduction. The findings reveal one way atrazine may impact female reproduction. Elevated stress hormones can disrupt the hormone signals that spur ovulation. Such a stress response to atrazine could partially explain why previous studies find that the herbicide inhibits reproduction. The stress reaction is similar to that seen when the animals are restrained against their will. One of the most widely used agricultural pesticides in the U.S., atrazine can currently legally be applied before and […]
Posted in Atrazine, Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Endocrine Disruption, Infertility | 1 Comment »
27
Oct
(Beyond Pesticides, October 27, 2009) U.S. District Judge Paul Huck (Miami) has said a multimillion dollar judgment against U.S. food giant Dole and the Dow Chemical Company cannot be enforced because, “[T]he judgment was rendered under a system which does not provide impartial tribunal or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law, and the rendering court did not have jurisdiction over Defendants.†A trial court in Chinandega, Nicaragua, had awarded the money in 2005 to 150 Nicaraguan citizens who believe they were injured by exposure to the pesticide dibromochloropropoane, or DBCP, when they worked on Dole banana plantations between 1970 and 1982. This actiion was taken despite findings in the U.S. that DBCP causes sterility and regulatory action to remove it from the market. The trial court awarded Plaintiffs approximately $97 million under “Special Law 364,†enacted by the Nicaraguan legislature in 2000 specifically to handle DBCP claims. The average award was approximately $647,000 per plaintiff. According to the Nicaraguan trial court, these sums were awarded to compensate plaintiffs for DBCP-induced infertility and its accompanying adverse psychological effects. In similar cases in the past, the companies have refused to pay. Dow Chemical has called such judgments “unenforceable†[…]
Posted in Agriculture, Chemicals, Corporations, DBCP, Disease/Health Effects, Dole, Dow Chemical, Environmental Justice, Farmworkers, Infertility, International | No Comments »
05
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 5, 2009) On November 10, 2008, the Austrian government released a report of long term research showing genetically engineered (GE) corn fed to mice significantly reduced their fertility over three to four breeding cycles within one generation. Similar effects were found in mice fed GE corn and bred over four generations. The study, “Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 fed in long term reproduction studies in mice,†was sponsored by the Austrian Ministry of Health, Families, and Youth, and led by Dr. Jürgen Zentek, Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Vienna. Three series of experiments were done. The first was a multigeneration feeding trial in which the mice were fed and bred for four successive generations, beginning with the parents that were fed the diets from birth. The second was a multi-cycle breeding trial lasting 20 weeks in which breeding pairs of mice were fed beginning one week prior to co-habitation until the end of experiment, and allowed to go through four breeding cycles in the same generation. The third was a life-term trial involving feeding the mice without breeding from conception (via the pregnant mothers) to their eventual death. The researchers report that it […]
Posted in Corporations, Disease/Health Effects, Genetic Engineering, Infertility, Monsanto | 3 Comments »
26
Sep
(Beyond Pesticides, September 26, 2008) On September 24, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Ivory Coast farmworkers’ claims that they were victims of genocide when pesticide exposure made them sterile. The nearly 700 plaintiffs were exposed to the soil fumigant and nematocide 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane, or DBCP, while working on Dole Food Company farms in Africa. The original First Amended Complaint was filed on April 6, 2007, and despite the latest setback, the Africans’ attorney, Raphael Metzger, said he would pursue a rehearing. Until 1977, DBCP was widely used in U.S. agriculture, when it was banned for all uses except pineapples. In contrast, DBCP was widely used for fruit production in developing countries in to the 1990s in spite of its U.S. regulatory status. “The manufacturers continued making money on [DBCP] by shipping it to Third World countries where farmworkers were given it to use,” Mr. Metzger said. The suit, Abagninin v. Amvac Chemical Co, was filed under the Alien Torts Statute and contended “that such conduct supports claims under the ATS for genocide and crimes against humanity because the conduct was undertaken with knowledge of DBCP’s effects and pursuant to a State or organizational policy.” The court rejected Abagninin’s […]
Posted in Amvac, DBCP, Dole, Infertility, International, Litigation | No Comments »
19
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 19, 2008) Common household chemicals and widespread pollutants are changing male reproductive health and impacting sexual function, development and cancer rates of today’s generations and possibly their offspring, according to more than 15 years of research by a Colorado State University expert. For example, one study looking at sperm counts globally from 1940, when chemicals first began to be widely produced, to the 1990s, indicates a 1.15 percent per year decline in sperm counts. These declines may be linked to chemical exposure.Rao Veeramachaneni, BVSc, MScVet, PhD, a biomedical sciences professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has found that chemicals including pesticides, common pollutants in ground water, and chemicals in plastics, make-up and nail polish are on a growing list of culprits causing developmental abnormalities such as impaired sperm quality and impotence. Reproductive health can be compromised if males are exposed at various times in life spanning from in utero up to adulthood.Dr. Veeramachaneni’s findings span the globe and are across species lines, from humans to horses, wildlife to frogs. His research, coupled with the collective findings of other experts in the field, indicates a strong link related to pollutants, and incidence of such […]
Posted in Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Endocrine Disruption, Infertility | 1 Comment »
08
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 8, 2007) In a landmark decision, a California jury on November 5, 2007 awarded $3.3 million to Nicaraguan farmworkers sterilized by pesticides made by Dow Chemical and used at Dole’s banana plantations. The lawsuit accused Dole and Standard Fruit Co., now a part of Dole, of negligence and fraudulent concealment while using the pesticide 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane (DBCP) to kill rootworms on banana plants. Until 1977, DBCP was used in the United States as a soil fumigant and nematocide on over 40 different crops. From 1977 to 1979, EPA suspended registration for all DBCP-containing products except for use on pineapples in Hawaii. In 1985, EPA issued an intent to cancel all registrations for DBCP, including use on pineapples. Subsequently, the use of existing stocks of DBCP was prohibited. In Nicaragua, DBCP was legal from 1973 until 1993.EPA’s website states the following: Acute (short-term) exposure to DBCP in humans results in moderate depression of the central nervous system (CNS) and pulmonary congestion from inhalation, and gastrointestinal distress and pulmonary edema from oral exposure. Chronic (long-term) exposure to DBCP in humans causes male reproductive effects, such as decreased sperm counts. Testicular effects and decreased sperm counts were observed in animals chronically […]
Posted in Chemicals, Corporations, DBCP, Disease/Health Effects, Dole, Dow Chemical, Infertility, International | 4 Comments »
