Archive for the 'Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)' Category
31
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2017) On Wednesday, Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rejected the conclusions of EPA scientists, and independent scientific literature, and reversed a tentative decision from 2015 to revoke food residue tolerances of chlorpyrifos due to the chemicalâs neurotoxic impacts. This would have effectively banned chlorpyrifos from agriculture. This decision stemmed from a petition and lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)  ten years ago, calling for EPA to revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances and cancel all registrations. A Federal Appeals court mandated that EPA take final action by March 31, 2017. Mr. Pruittâs decision leaves the door open for continued neurotoxic dangers for humans, especially children, who have been shown to be especially vulnerable to chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos is part of the organophosphate (OPs) class of pesticides, which were used in World War II as nerve agents. As potent neurotoxicants, organophosphates are extremely harmful to the nervous system, given that they are cholinesterase inhibitors and bind irreversibly to the active site of an enzyme essential for normal nerve impulse transmission. The scientific evidence of neurotoxic dangers associated with chlorpyrifos exposure is extensive and consistent. Epidemiological data also […]
Posted in Agriculture, Birth defects, Chlorpyrifos, Developmental Disorders, Dow Chemical, Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Farmworkers, Learning Disabilities, Litigation, Nervous System Effects, Pesticide Regulation, Reproductive Health | No Comments »
30
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 30, 2017) Over 30 environmental and public health groups, joined by several environmentally responsible businesses, sent a letter today to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, urging him to remove products linked to pollinator declines from the retailerâs website. Citing federal inertia that has allowed pollinator declines to continue at alarming rates, the groups pointed to the need for action from private companies to combat known threats to pollinators, in this case a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoid pesticides are found in many home and garden products, and have been determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be highly toxic to bees. According to the letter, âindependent scientific literature associates the use of bee-toxic pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids, with impaired pollinator health and decline, including reduced populations of native bees, butterflies and other beneficial organisms.â The groups call on Amazon âto use its influence as the largest online retailer in the U.S. to lead marketplace change and protect pollinators by prohibiting the sale of pollinator-toxic neonicotinoid pesticide products, educating consumers on the availability of safer, âpollinator friendlyâ alternatives.â This ask comes on the heels of last weekâs decision by the federal government to officially list the rusty patch […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), neonicotinoids, Pollinators, Take Action | No Comments »
29
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 29, 2017) The U.S. Â House of Representatives voted last week to pass H.R. 1029, the Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act of 2017 (PREA), reauthorizing the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 (PRIA) under the nationâs pesticide law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). When passed in 2003, PRIA established the legal authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect fees from pesticide makers for safety reviews and market approval. Over time, PRIA has been supported by pesticide manufacturers that are seeking approval for pesticide products, and public health and environmental groups seeking rigorous review and restriction of pesticides to protect human health and the environment. In a time of great uncertainty for the future of EPA, given proposed large-scale budget cuts, swift passage of H.R. 1029 with bipartisan support may signal acknowledgement by Congress that EPA performs a regulatory function that all sides agree is necessary, even though there is rarely agreement on the positions that the agency may take. Proposed reductions in EPA staff speak to the idiosyncrasies inherent in the Trump administrationâs promise to reduce regulatory burdens while simultaneously making sweeping cuts to agency staff. E&E News points out that Trumpâs plan to […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Politics, Uncategorized | No Comments »
28
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 28, 2017) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has abandoned its plans to test the U.S. food supply for the presence of glyphosate residues, according to a story from veteran reporter Carrey Gillam in The Huffington Post. The decision comes amid heated controversy over the carcinogenicity of glyphosate, which was cleared by a California judge for listing under Californiaâs Prop 65 earlier this year. The federal governmentâs pesticide monitoring program, which is run jointly by USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was criticized by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2014 for its failure to test for the widely used herbicide. In early 2016, Beyond Pesticides met with EPA regulators to discuss testing for glyphosate residues in the U.S. food supply. At the time, officials said that FDA was testing honey, and USDA would be conducting more extensive food testing beginning in 2017. USDA had tested soybeans for glyphosate residue in 2011, finding that 90% of samples contained residues between .26 ppm and 18.5 ppm, barely under the allowed food tolerance level of 20ppm. A 2014 Boston University study had indicated that both organic and conventional honey contained glyphosate concentrations despite […]
Posted in Agriculture, Announcements, Cancer, Chemicals, contamination, Corporations, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Agencies, Glyphosate, Monsanto, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues | No Comments »
20
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 20, 2017) Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is allowing residues of antibiotics in Florida orange juice, after approving an emergency exemption for the antibiotics streptomycin and oxytetracycline âallowing their use for a bacterial disease, citrus greening (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) bacterium that causes Huanglongbing), in Florida citrus crops through December of 2019, and further exacerbating bacterial resistance. The World Health Organization has called bacterial resistance “one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.” The agency announced March 15, “EPA is issuing these tolerances without notice and opportunity for public comment as provided in FFDCA section 408(l)(6).” EPA states “time-limited tolerances are established for residues of streptomycin in or on fruit, citrus, group 10-10, at 2 ppm, and the dried pulp of these commodities at 6 ppm.” For oxytetracycline, EPA is allowing residues ” in or on all commodities of fruit, citrus, group 10-10, at 0.4 ppm.” [See below; organic standards do not allow antibiotic use.] In its review, EPA has determined that the toxicological endpoints of dietary exposure under the allowed tolerances meet the safety standard of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but does not consider the public health impact of bacterial resistance to […]
Posted in Antibacterial, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Resistance | No Comments »
16
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 16, 2017) In a lawsuit filed by cancer victims, a federal judge on Tuesday unsealed documents that raise questions of collusion between officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Monsanto to fight a cancer classification for the company’s flagship product, Roundup (glyphosate). The judge’s ruling comes in a lawsuit against Monsanto, charging that the company’s herbicide caused the plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. According to the New York Times, the court documents âinclude Monsantoâs internal emails and email traffic between the company and federal regulators [and] suggested that Monsanto had ghostwritten research that was later attributed to academics.â The California lawsuit was brought on following the determination and listing of glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organizationâs International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2015. The released files show that Monsanto was âtipped off to the [IARC] determination by a deputy division director at the EPA, Jess Rowland, months beforehand. That led the company to prepare a public relations assault on the finding well in advance of its publication,” according to the released documents. According to Monsantoâs internal emails, Mr. Rowland had promised to fend off efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services […]
Posted in Cancer, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Glyphosate, Monsanto, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma | No Comments »
14
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 14, 2017) Â The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is opening an investigation into whether the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) and the state Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) are discriminating against Native Hawaiians in their administration of the stateâs pesticide program. The investigation comes after a number of local community groups, represented by the nonprofit environmental law organization Earthjustice, filed a complaint in September 2016 asking EPA to take action against systemic abuses of Native Hawaiian peoples. Local efforts to protect pesticide-exposed communities have been repeatedly stymied by giant pesticide corporations operating on the island, which filed lawsuits that ultimately struck down local laws. EPA’s investigation will focus on the stateâs activity on the islands of Kauai and Molokaâi. âThe External Civil Rights Compliance Office will investigate whether in administering the pesticides program and the leasing and licensing of the state land program the HDOA and/or ADC discriminated on the basis of race and/or national origin against farm workers and residents of West Kauai and Molokai, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and EPAâs implementing regulation,â wrote Lilian Dorka, director of EPAâs External Civil Rights Compliance Office(ERCO), in a letter to Earthjustice. Under Title […]
Posted in Agriculture, Announcements, Biomonitoring, Children/Schools, Corporations, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Genetic Engineering, Hawaii, Monsanto, Pesticide Regulation, State/Local, Syngenta, Uncategorized | No Comments »
02
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 2, 2017)Â On Tuesday, the European Commission (EC) refrained from voting on proposed scientific criteria that would have identified endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) and led to regulation on their use in EU countries. This sends the Commission back to the drawing board on the proposal, on which they hope to eventually take a formal vote. The failure to move forward with defined criteria on these hazardous chemicals, which are present in pesticides, biocides, and self-care products, is still largely due to the disagreements of voting member states over the rules reflecting hazard or risk-based criteria. There have been several other meetings of the member states on this proposal, including a meeting in December which highlighted the inadequacies of the criteria. After this meeting, according to Bas Eickhout, of the Greens-European Free Alliance, âUnder the Commissionâs criteria, it is likely that not a single substance would be identified as an endocrine disrupter, and they would effectively escape specific regulation.â This all follows on the weak regulations issued by the EC in June 2016 to regulate endocrine disruptors in pesticide products, which ultimately undermine the precautionary legal standard that governs pesticide usage in Europe. Many scientists and advocacy organizations criticized […]
Posted in Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), International, Pesticide Regulation | No Comments »
21
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 21, 2016) The Agriculture Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill last week that will eliminate protections from toxic pesticides for the nationâs waterways. The bill now moves on to the full House for a vote and the public has an opportunity to let Representatives hear the concerns about weakening local protection of waterways from toxic pesticides. HR 953, The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (code for the sponsors and supporters as legislation to eliminate environmental protection of water quality), is the committeeâs latest effort in a multi-year string of attempts to rollback common sense protections for the public waterways all Americans use for swimming, fishing, and other forms of recreation. The bill would repeal the Clean Water Act requirement that those who apply pesticides to waterways, with an exemption for farm use pesticides not directly deposited into waterways, obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Last May, at the height of fears over the Zika epidemic, the same Committee ushered through the same bill under another misleading name, The Zika Vector Control Act. Pensive lawmakers and the public saw through the ruse, and the bill was defeated. But, like previous iterations, including the 2015 Sensible Environmental […]
Posted in Agriculture, Biological Control, Biomonitoring, contamination, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, Lawns/Landscapes, National Politics, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Take Action, Water, Water Regulation, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
15
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 15, 2017) Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Monsanto, charging that its product Roundup caused their non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), have cited the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) collusion with the company to block the agency from concluding that the manufacturer’s product Roundup causes cancer, according to investigative reporter Carey Gilliam, writing in the Huffington Post. The filing states that EPA made an effort âto protect Monsantoâs interests and unfairly aid the agrichemical industry.âGlyphosate has been linked to cancer in the independent scientific literature and is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Issues of suppression have also been uncovered, as Monsanto’s lawyers have filed claims to prevent information  turned over to plaintiffs’ lawyers during discovery from inclusion on the public record. This is just the latest development in a variety of lawsuits aimed at Monsanto, including a challenge by a peach farmer over the illegal spraying of the herbicide Dicamba and the recent victory by the state of California to list glyphosate products as cancer causing. In the current case, a multitude of personal injury claims made by those suffering from, or that have lost loved ones to, NHL have been condensed into […]
Posted in Chemicals, Corporations, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Glyphosate, Litigation, Monsanto, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Pesticide Regulation | No Comments »
10
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 10, 2017) On Wednesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), along with Public Citizen and the Communications Workers of America, sued the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in an attempt to block an executive order (EO) mandating that federal agencies zero out costs to regulated entities, while ignoring benefits to the public, environment, and natural resources. The so-called âTwo for Oneâ order requires agencies to propose the repeal of two regulations for every new regulation that is proposed. The Executive Order in question mandates that new rules have a net zero cost to regulated entities in fiscal year 2017, with no mechanism for taking into account the value of benefits they provide in the form of public protection. According to the complaint, âthe Executive Order directs agencies to disregard the benefits of new and existing rulesâincluding benefits to consumers, to workers, to people exposed to pollution, and to the economyâeven when the benefits far exceed costs. The Executive Orderâs direction to federal agencies to zero out costs to regulated industries, while entirely ignoring benefits to the Americans whom Congress enacted these statutes to protect, will force agencies to take regulatory […]
Posted in Beneficials, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Events, National Politics, State/Local, Washington D.C. | No Comments »
08
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 8, 2017) As the controversy surrounding the Trump Administration and GOP Congressâs plan for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to grow, a nonpartisan group of 447 former EPA employees united to write a strongly-worded letter urging the Senate to block Scott Pruittâs confirmation as EPA Administrator. Citing EPAâs âfundamental obligation to act in the publicâs interest based on current law and the best available science,â the group, whose members served under both Democratic and Republican presidents, calls into question Pruittâs qualifications, given his longstanding record of opposing âlongstanding tenets of U.S. environmental law.â This letter is just the latest in the constantly evolving debate over the need for environmental protection. In the past two weeks, the EPA has been under attack by the Trump Administration and Republican lawmakers who would continue to undermine the environmental protections required for clean water, clean air, and healthy natural resources. Myron Ebell, head of Trumpâs EPA transition team, suggested last week that the agencyâs already understaffed workforce be cut from about 15,000 employees to 5,000, with potentially more cuts to follow. Trump himself then issued an executive order proposing that for every new regulation promulgated, two must be repealed, an […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Announcements, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Events, Pesticide Regulation, State/Local, Take Action, Washington D.C. | No Comments »
07
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 7, 2017) After years of legal battle, the Colorado Court of Appeals last week affirmed a ruling that Colorado rancher, James Hopper, must serve two days in jail and pay a $7,500 fine for spraying pesticides that drifted unto his neighborâs farm in violation of a 2012 court order protecting his neighbors. In 2012, organic farmers Rosemary Bilchak and her husband Gordon MacAlpine, were granted a permanent injunction prohibiting pesticide applications within 150 feet of the property line in order to reduce pesticide drift. Last weekâs decision bolsters a legal precedent that wafting pesticides can constitute a trespass against which adjacent landowners and people with health sensitivities are protected. The legal battle began in 2011 when Mr. Hopper obtained his Colorado pesticide applicatorâs license and applied the adulticide Fyfanon, which contains the organophosphate insecticide malathion, to kill mosquitoes on his property. However, the pesticide drifted onto Ms. Bilchak and Mr. MacAlpineâs organic vegetable farm. In 2012, a District Court Judge ruled that they have a right not to have their property invaded by other people or things, and prohibited Mr. Hopper from fogging for mosquitoes within 150 feet of his neighborâs property or allowing the pesticides to drift, […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Announcements, Biodiversity, Biological Control, Biomonitoring, Chemicals, Colorado, Contamination, contamination, Corporations, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Events, Genetic Engineering, Malathion, Mosquitoes, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, State/Local, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
06
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 6, 2017) California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) rules that allow greater use of the highly toxic fumigant Telone, while decreasing protections for the public, have been challenged in California court. On January 31, attorneys representing Juana Vasquez, a farmworker in Ventura County, along with Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) and Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), filed suit in the Superior Court of California against the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR). The suit claims that CDPR failed to follow required public procedures in developing new rules for 1,3-Dicholopropene (1,3-D), which is an active ingredient in the product Telone and has many documented health risks, including cancer and kidney and liver damage. In October 2016, CDPR released new rules that allow the continued use of Telone and decrease protections for public health by permitting increased usage. CDPR and many news outlets reported the rule change as a tightening of the restrictions, but in reality, the new rules increase the previous annual cap from 90,250 pounds to 136,000 pounds per township, a defined area of 6Ă6 miles. These new rules went into effect on January 1, 2017, allowing for 1,3-Dâs continued use in strawberry fields, vineyards, almond […]
Posted in 1-3D, 3-D, Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Biomonitoring, California, Cancer, Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Dow Chemical, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kidney failure, Liver failure, methyl bromide, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, State/Local, Take Action | No Comments »
02
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 2, 2017) A commonly used inert pesticide ingredient negatively affects the health of honey bees by making larvae more susceptible to a virus, according to a recently published study in the journal, Nature. One of the authors of the study, Julia Fine, PhD candidate, stated that the findings, âMirror the symptoms observed in hives following almond pollination, when bees are exposed to organosilicone adjuvant residues in pollen, and viral pathogen prevalence is known to increase. In recent years, beekeepers have reported missing, dead and dying brood in their hives following almond pollination, and exposure to agrochemicals, like adjuvants, applied during bloom, has been suggested as a cause.â The study assessed honey bee larval development after exposure to a continuous low dose of Sylgard 309, a surfactant, in their diet. This organosilicone surfactant is commonly used on agricultural crops, including tree fruits, nuts, and grapes. Their results reveal that honey bee exposure to chemical surfactants such as Sylgard 309 led to higher levels of Black Queen Cell Virus and when the bee larvae were exposed to the surfactant and virus simultaneously, âthe effect on their mortality was synergistic rather than additive.â This research comes at a time when […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, California, Chemicals, contamination, Corporations, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, Monsanto, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Pollinators, State/Local | No Comments »
27
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 27, 2016) Last week, farmers, environmentalists, and conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit that challenges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of a new formulation of the toxic herbicide dicamba. The new formulation is called Xtendimax with Vapor Grip Technology, which is claimed to have lower volatility. The petitioners claim that EPA violated its duties under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in issuing a conditional registration, and that it did not adhere to duties under the Endangered Species Act that require EPA to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure registration would not harm any listed species. The organizations involved in the lawsuit are National Family Farm Coalition, Pesticide Action Network North America, Center for Food Safety, and Center for Biological Diversity, represented by legal counsel from Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety. Dicamba has caused a lot of controversy in the past. In August 2016, farmers in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee confronted widespread crop damage and braced for lower yields as a result of agrichemical giant Monsantoâs botched roll-out of GE soybean and cotton crops. The company, whose current line of glyphosate-tolerant crops are failing to control weeds throughout […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Chemicals, Contamination, contamination, Corporations, Dicamba, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Genetic Engineering, Label Claims, Missouri, Monsanto, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Resistance, State/Local | No Comments »
26
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 26, 2017) In a startling move that puts independent science at odds with government, the Trump administrationâs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team stated on Wednesday that scientists will now face âan unspecified vetting process before sharing their work outside the agency.â However, this kind of review is at odds with EPA’s own scientific integrity policy, which “prohibits all EPA employees, including scientists, managers, and other Agency leadership, from suppressing, altering, or otherwise impeding the timely release of scientific findings or conclusions.” This comes on the heels of an announcement by the administration several days ago issuing scientific grant and hiring freezes at EPA nationwide, along with effectively banning science communications through social media platforms. According to ProPublica, an EPA employee stated that, âHiring freezes happen, but freezes on grants and contracts seemed extraordinary.â These grants are used for financial support to complete environmental testing, remediation and environmental improvement projects across the country. Additionally, on Friday, January 20, after Donald Trump was officially sworn in, he ordered a freeze on all pending regulations from the Obama administration. This included the listing of the rusty patched bumblebee as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which had been set […]
Posted in Announcements, Chemicals, Climate Change, contamination, Corporations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Politics, Take Action, Washington D.C., Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
25
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 25, 2017) A study conducted at the University of Buffalo recently revealed a connection between two common insecticides and an increased risk for certain metabolic diseases, including diabetes. Researchers found that by binding to and disrupting melatonin receptors that control numerous physiological functions, chemicals such as insecticides can affect melatonin levels, creating a higher risk for metabolic diseases to develop. The study, Carbamate Insecticides Target Human Melatonin Receptors, was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology and was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. The implicated chemicals in this research, carbaryl and carbofuran, are notoriously dangerous carbamate insecticides. Carbamates share structural characteristics and an ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme important for the transmission of nerve impulses. When AChE is inhibited, acetylcholine accumulates leading to overstimulation of neurotransmitters, resulting in muscle weakness, confusion, and paralysis, among other symptoms. Carbaryl is said by EPA to be âone of the most widely applied insecticides in the U.S.,â since use began in 1959, with 10-15 million pounds used annually. It is a broad-spectrum insecticide used on a variety of crops, in forestry and on ornamentals, in […]
Posted in Agriculture, Carbaryl, Carbofuran, Chemicals, contamination, Diabetes, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, State/Local | No Comments »
24
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 24, 2017) An analysis conducted by scientists at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland is calling into question the conclusions reached in a study conducted by multinational chemical company Syngenta, which indicated that honey bees were not at risk from the widely used neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam. The challenge to the Pilling et al 2013 study is important because while many experiments have been performed in the lab or semi-lab environment, this study was a field experiment developed to test pollinator exposure under normal agricultural conditions. The conclusions of such real-world experiments are weighed more heavily by regulators when making safety and use determinations. St. Andrewsâ scientists focus in on the Pilling et al claim that because its study did not have high levels of replication, that it would have been misleading to perform formal statistical analysis. They respond that this would indeed be the case if Pilling et al had intended on finding statistical significance and concluded that there was no effect based on those tests. However, Syngentaâs scientists instead simply graphed average values over time based on their measurements (measurements such as number of bees in a hive, hive weight, number of brood, etc.), and compared […]
Posted in Agriculture, Announcements, Chemicals, contamination, Contamination, Corporations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Genetic Engineering, Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, Integrated and Organic Pest Management, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Pollinators, Syngenta, Thiamethoxam, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
23
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 23, 2017) Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  released its final Biological Evaluations of Three Chemicalsâ Impacts on Endangered Species, which finds that chlorpyrifos and malathion likely have detrimental effect on 97 percent of all species listed and protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), while diazinon adversely affects 78 percent. According to EPAâs release on the subject, this is the âfirst-ever draft biological evaluations analyzing the nation-wide effectsâ of these registered chemicals on endangered species after decades of widespread use. The evaluations stem from a legal settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in which CBD sued EPA in April 2014 for its failure to comply with ESA, which requires the agency to carry out consultations with federal wildlife agencies while registering pesticides. According to Nathan Donley, Ph.D., a CBD senior scientist, âWeâre now getting a much more complete picture of the risks that pesticides pose to wildlife at the brink of extinction, including birds, frogs, fish and plants. When it comes to pesticides, itâs always best to look before you leap, to understand the risks to people and wildlife before theyâre put into use. The EPA is providing a reasonable assessment of those risks, many of which can be […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Announcements, Chemicals, Chlorpyrifos, contamination, Diazinon, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, Malathion, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Pollinators, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
18
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 18, 2017) Despite science affirming its hazards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expanded the registration of the toxic herbicide mixture, Enlist Duo, which contains 2,4-D and glyphosate, for use on genetically engineered (GE) cotton and extended its use on GE corn, soybean, and cotton from 15 to 34 states. This approval late last week comes at a time when widespread chemical use is threatening public health and the environment and weed resistance continues to grow, threatening farmers’ productivity and profitability. Over 600 public comments were submitted to EPA on this issue, with many comments vehemently opposing the current uses and the proposed expansion of uses. In its decision, EPA stated that Enlist Duo âmeets the safety standard for the public, agricultural workers, and non-target plants and animal species.â However, as Beyond Pesticides stated in comments to the agency, EPA has not fully considered all the environmental costs, including the cost of tackling increased 2,4-D resistant weeds, crop and non-target damages from uncontrolled drift, as well as unanswered questions regarding synergistic chemical effects in non-plant species. Advocates predict weed resistance to Enlist Duo and have urged EPA to reject its continued use and incentive sustainable organic practices. Additionally, […]
Posted in 2,4-D, Agriculture, Announcements, Chemicals, contamination, Contamination, Corporations, Dow Chemical, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Genetic Engineering, Glyphosate, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Resistance | No Comments »
17
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 17, 2017) On January 12, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released major risk assessment documents on  pollinator exposure to bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides finding no significant risks, despite the large and growing body of science identifying the pesticides’ hazards. In the documents, EPA identifies risks posed to bees by several neonicotinoid insecticides, but suggests that no restriction on uses are imminent. In another decision meant to protect bees from acutely toxic pesticides, the agency is scaling back its original proposal in deference chemical-intensive agricultural interests. EPA’s long awaited pollinator assessments for the neonicotinoids: clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and dinotefuran, much like the 2016 pollinator assessment release for imidacloprid, identifies risks to bees from the agricultural applications (foliar, soil and seed) of these chemicals, including from pesticide drift. Observed effects include decline in worker bees, and subsequent declines in brood and pollen stores in the colony. EPAâs assessments continue to focus on honey bees, with cursory mention of wild, native bees. Once again, the assessments did not consider risks from exposures to contaminated water, guttation droplets, or soil, with EPA stating that, âThe Agency lacks information to understand the relative importance of these other routes of exposures and/or to quantify potential risks […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Chemicals, Clothianidin, contamination, dinotefuron, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Pollinators, Take Action, Thiamethoxam | No Comments »
13
Jan
(Beyond Pesticides, January 13, 2016) Just prior to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement on January 12 that several neonicotinoid insecticides “do not pose significant risks to bee colonies,” the preprint version of a new review of neonics identified the range of lethal and sublethal effects of the chemicals on non-target organisms.  The review, The Environmental Risks of Neonicotinoid Pesticides: a review of the evidence post-2013, authored by Dave Goulson, PhD, and Thomas James Wood, a PhD candidate, concludes that studies published since the 2013 European Food Safety (EFSA) published risk assessments show even greater risks. The EFSA assessment, which led to a moratorium on neonicotinoid uses, found that certain neonics on specific flowering crops pose a high risk to bees. With reference to the 2013 EFSA risk assessment conclusions as their baseline, the researchers summarize the difference in risk for certain categories, including: âRisk of exposure from and uptake of neonicotinoids in non-crop plants. Uptake of neonicotinoids by non-target plants was considered likely to be negligible, though a data gap was identified. Many studies have since been published demonstrating extensive uptake of neonicotinoids and their presence in the pollen, nectar and foliage of wild plants. Exposure from non-target plants clearly represents a Greater […]
Posted in Agriculture, Chemicals, Clothianidin, Contamination, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Imidacloprid, Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, International, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Pollinators, Thiamethoxam | 1 Comment »