(Beyond Pesticides, July 10, 2007) Beyond Pesticides came together last year with the Northeast Organic Farmers Association, Ecological Landscape Association and the New England town of Townsend, Massachusetts, to raise awareness about organic lawn care, which has now led to the implementation of an organic program for all municipal lawn areas. This program will facilitate the use of organic fertilizers and methods on lawn and landscaped areas at the Townsend Town Hall, library and town commons. After a successful open presentation to the citizens of the town on the benefits of organic land care, Townsend public officials are now moving forward to improve their local environment by allowing Yard Spice Organics, LLC to implement a program of organic lawn care for the town’s common areas. This action came after officials expressed the desire last March to maintain organic lawns throughout the town. Yard Spice Organics, along with supplier, Bradfield Organics, LLC, will be donating their services and products to the town during the first year of service. The town of Townsend is not alone in its quest for safe and healthy lawns. The growing demand for organic land care is coming from all sectors: homeowners, municipal park managers, and business […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 9, 2007) New field and laboratory research reveals that organochlorine pesticides reduce the hatching rate of alligator eggs. This finding adds to previous studies demonstrating that pesticides cause endocrine disruption in alligators, resulting in poorly developed reproductive organs. American alligators, which were delisted from the endangered species list in the late 1980s, are still experiencing low hatching rates around contaminated wetlands. In Florida, many wetlands were converted or are adjacent to farmlands and some farmlands have been restored back into wetlands in efforts to improve ecosystem health. Agricultural runoff has altered the surrounding aquatic environments by depositing pesticide residuals and skewing nutrient levels. Organochlorine pesticides, such as chlordane, toxaphene and dieldrin, have been especially problematic due to their persistent nature. The link between pesticides and reproductive problems in alligators has been firmly established since the 1990s. University of Florida zoologist Louis Guillette, Ph.D., found pesticides are linked to smaller penises and abnormal egg development in exposed alligators. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official Allan Woodward has also observed fewer hatches around lakes with high pesticide levels. He reports the hatching rate has improved around Lake Apopka, a large lake in central Florida, during the last two […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 3, 2007) A scientist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in federal court, arguing that he was first not allowed to share his research with a legislative panel, and then fired for it. Hydrologist Paul Wotzka, who worked for the state Agriculture Department for sixteen years before leaving to join MPCA in October, had been slated to testify about the rise in atrazine levels in Whitewater State Park, which have exceeded recommended levels for several area species. Atrazine, which has been linked to cancer, birth defects, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption and a variety of other health and environmental effects and has been banned by the European Union, is a widely used agricultural herbicide.. Mr. Wotzka said in his lawsuit, as well as publicly, that this rise in atrazine in Minnesota waterways was due to increased row-crop agriculture in the region and the the Agriculture Department’s support of corn for ethanol. In his lawsuit, Mr. Wotzka is asking for $75,000 and to return to his position with MPCA. He claims that he was put on investigative leave, “related to missing data that is property of the State of Minnesota.” The investigative leave led […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 2, 2007) Dangerous pesticides have been found in soil samples taken from the grounds of the West Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey. The concentrations found exceed state safety standards and concerns are being raised over why the school took no action once it knew about the contaminants. One of the chemicals found is chlordane. Chlordane is an organochlorine classified by the EPA as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen and is also associated with adverse neurological and gastrointestinal effects. Studies also report an association between chlordane exposure and non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma. Chlordane was registered in the U.S. in 1948 and was used as a pesticide on agricultural crops and gardens until 1978 when its registered uses on food crops and other above ground uses were cancelled. In 1988, all uses of chlordane were cancelled. This pesticide however, is persistent in soil and the environment and has been found in air samples, fish tissue, and recent studies have linked organochlorines like chlordane to breast cancer. The Record, a New Jersey newspaper, commissioned the tests to be carried out by Aqua Pro-Tech Laboratories, which revealed that chlordane at 17 parts per billion were on the school’s soccer field. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 20, 2007) At a ceremony on June 18th at East Hartford High School, Governor M. Jodi Rell signed HB 5234, An Act Banning Pesticide Use on School Grounds (Public Act No. 07-168). The new law, effective October 1, extends the ban on the use of lawn care pesticides at public schools from elementary school to grades 6, 7 and 8. The new law also expands a school superintendent’s ability to authorize emergency applications of lawn care pesticides in health emergencies and makes the state Department of Environmental Protection responsible for administering and enforcing school pesticide applications. “This law will help protect the health of more than 100,000 Connecticut middle school students,” Governor Rell said. “While pesticides are known to be detrimental to people of all ages, we must take extra precautions to ensure that our young people are protected from potential harm. Today, we take another step toward better protection of our children by reducing unnecessary exposure to harmful chemicals.” “This law is good for our children, good for the environment and good for our efforts to promote public health and well-being. Children and their parents deserve the peace of mind of knowing that we are endeavoring […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 15, 2007) What is herbicide-free, cheap, has four fury legs, produces fertilizer and is winning over the city of Seattle? Rent-A-Goats. The ruminants’ tendency to eat just about anything in its path in combination with their four-chambered stomachs has put goats in demand with Seattle-area developers and government agencies. Eating up to eight pounds of green foliage a day, the goats’ appetites are quickly converting skeptics. John Iwanczuk, a project manager for a Seattle construction company was a skeptic, but he found “not only did it [the goats] reach our objective, we saved a pile of money and made incredible inroads with the neighborhood.” Mr. Iwanczuk’s project entailed a lot covered with impenetrable brush — something he estimated would take a crew at least a week to clear, filling numerous trucks with debris. Instead, his lot was cleared within four days by 60 goats while attracting elementary school groups and numerous neighborhood residents. Besides being a cheap non-chemical method to remove undesirable and invasive plants, the goats draw a crowd. The animals are popular with children and parents, and gardeners looking for free fertilizer. Seattle Metro Transit Agency, Seattle City Light and Seattle Parks and Recreation are […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 14, 2007) State legislators in Massachusetts are working on a bill that would phase out the use of 10 toxic chemicals, create a system to study toxics and find safer alternatives. Many state, health, labor and environmental officials have long supported this bill, which attempts to remove many toxic components from products used in everyday materials. Chemicals like those used in pesticides, wood and those found in children’s products, are especially targeted in the Safer Alternatives Bill (H. 783 / S. 558). Organophosphates, a toxic class of pesticides developed circa World War II, have been targeted in the phase out. Commonly used against mosquitoes, organophosphates like malathion (Fyfanon), naled (Dibrom) and chlorpyrifos (Mosquitomist) have been shown to be dangerous, especially to vulnerable populations, and affect the central nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The other chemicals slated for phase out have all been linked to environmental and health concerns as well and include perchloroethylene, dioxins and furans, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, di (2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), trichloroethylene, formaldehyde and lead. If passed by the Legislature, the State Department of Environmental Protection will be charged with the task of setting timelines to phase out the chemicals after […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 7, 2007) During the first week of June 2007, the Connecticut House and Senate passed HB 5234, An Act Banning Pesticide Use on School Grounds, banning pesticides — which are often linked to learning disabilities, asthma and other health problems — from the grounds of schools grades K-8. Now activists across the state and around the country, along with the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), are urging Governor M. Jodi Rell to sign the bill into law and protect the health of more than 100,000 Connecticut middle school students. The bill passed 140-9 in the House on June 4, and 35-0 in the Senate on June 1. “There is no doubt in my mind that this bill, once it is signed into law by the governor, will move us in the organic direction and improve the health of Connecticut’s younger students,” said Senator Meyer, who is co-chairman of the Select Committee on Children and vice-chairman of the Environment Committee. “Pesticides have a wide variety of side effects on young children, whose immune and nervous systems are still developing and whose low bodyweight make them susceptible to pesticide exposure.” In 2005, Public Act No. 05-252, An […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 5, 2007) On May 26, a Montreal-bound train derailed near Lake Champlain, New York. Twelve of 33 cars jumped the tracks, including one carrying methylene chloride, a paint remover, and methyl bromide, a fumigant that has been banned in much of the world under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The county HazMat response team arrived two hours after the accident, putting out a small fire on the locomotive and determining within another two hours that the chemical tanks were unharmed, ending the threat of a chemical spill. Essex County Emergency Services Deputy Director Don Jaquish noted that the tankers were around ten percent full when they derailed, calling the scene one of “moderate risk,” although “for people working on the train, it could be a severe risk.” While this incident fortunately did not result in compromise of human health or the environment, the continued use of methyl bromide on fruits and vegetables across the country does compromise both public health and the environment by exposing many to a chemical that is carcinogenic, according to California’s Proposition 65. Methyl bromide is an ozone-depleting chemical that was supposed to be phased out in industrialized […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 21, 2007) On Friday, May 18, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) proposed rules to sharply reduce fumigant air emissions that contribute to smog. Acting under a federal court order, DPR will begin allocating fumigant use in areas with poor air quality. The proposed rules make California the first state to dictate how and where several widely used fumigants can be applied on fields statewide, said Glenn Brank, spokesman for the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. The directive, which the agency has the authority to set, centers on fumigants – gases fruit and vegetable growers use to kill pests in the soil before planting. The chemicals have long been blamed for being part of the state’s air pollution problem because they cause smog-forming gases when they evaporate from fields. The rules also would eliminate some fumigation methods that permit high emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. While farm chemicals comprise only about 2 percent of California’s overall VOC emissions, pesticides are among the top ten VOC sources in the San Joaquin Valley and Ventura air attainment areas. The Southeast Desert area also fails to meet pesticide VOC goals. The Department predicts its plan […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 17, 2007) Initial results of a pilot program conducted in a Central Valley farming community in California finds that residents have significant levels of the organophosphate chlorpyrifos in their bodies during the spraying season. The levels topped what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers acceptable for pregnant and nursing women. Over 91% of the people tested had above average levels of breakdown products of the insecticide chlorpyrifos in their urine, and all but one had chlorpyrifos concentrations above EPA’s recommended threshold of 1.5 parts per billion. The study is an outcome of the collaboration between Pesticide Action Network, Californians for Pesticide Reform, the nonprofit environmental research firm Commonweal, and the community group El Quinto Sol de America. The groups tested the urine of 12 adults in various locations throughout the town of Lindsay during peak spraying season last summer. The results are paired with air monitoring data, also done by the group, that show for three years running chlorpyrifos has not only been detected in the air in town and near schools, but also exceeded EPA’s acceptable level for short-term exposure. The results for the first time shed light on a problem residents suspected but could […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 14, 2007) Wisconsin consumer fraud investigators have released the findings of a three month long look into claims that Wal-Mart has been mislabeling conventional products as organic. The state’s numerous findings of improper labeling confirmed a complaint placed by the Cornucopia Institute in January. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, in a letter to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., advised the company that “use of the term ”˜Wal-Mart Organics’ in combination with references to a specific non-organic product may be considered to be a misrepresentation and therefore a violation” of Wisconsin state statutes. While the report did not take action beyond extending a warning to Wal-Mart, the Cornucopia Institute was pleased with the investigation’s outcome. “This finding is a victory for consumers who care about the integrity of organic food and farming,” said Mark Kastel, co-director of the Institute. “Wal-Mart cannot be allowed to sell organic food ”˜on the cheap’ because they lack the commitment to recruit qualified management or are unwilling to properly train their store personnel. Such practices place ethical retailers, their suppliers, and organic farmers at a competitive disadvantage.” While Wisconsin has completed their investigation, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 11, 2007) Connecticut activists seeking to expand their state ban on pesticides in schoolyards report a victory this week. House Bill 5234, An Act Banning Pesticide Use on School Grounds, which bans pesticides in private and public schools for grades K-8, passed the Connecticut House by vote of 145-2. The Bill is now headed to the Senate where it will be introduced by Senator Bill Finch (Bridgeport), Chair of the Environment Committee. In 2005, An Act Concerning Pesticides at Schools and Day Care Facilities (Public Act 05 — 252) was passed in Connecticut. That law bans lawn care pesticides on the grounds of children’s day care centers and elementary schools, allowing integrated pest management (IPM) on playing fields for a three-year transition period. However, private and public elementary schools are organized differently in different school districts, so the existing law only protects children up to grades five or six in many cases. According to Nancy Alderman of Connecticut’s Human Health and Environment, “All Connecticut school children deserve the same level of protection, and this bill provides that.” The present Bill 5234, will ban the use of lawn-care pesticides on the grounds of all schools K-8 and allow […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 4, 2007) Recently published research comparing two adjacent Colorado cities shows an unexpected correlation between West Nile virus (WNv), mosquito control programs and human behavior factors. Northern Colorado experienced major outbreaks of human WNv disease in 2003. However, the neuroinvasive disease rates recorded were higher in Loveland (38.6 vs. 15.9 per 100,000), which had a more extensive mosquito control program and fewer mosquitoes, than adjacent Fort Collins. The study, entitled “Behavioral Risks for West Nile Virus Disease, Northern Colorado, 2003” (Gujral et al., Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 13, No. 3), calls into question the ability of spray programs to actually reduce the risk and transmission of the virus. Additionally, it shows spray programs may be giving communities a false sense of security, and re-emphasizes the importance of personal preventative measures in lowering disease rates. During the height of the outbreak, from July 26 to September 5, 2003, the number of mosquitoes (Cx. tarsalis and Cx. pipiens) collected per trap night was higher in Fort Collins than in Loveland, and the WNv infection rates of the mosquitoes were approximately equivalent in the two cities during that period. In other words, more WNv-infected mosquitoes were present in Fort Collins […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 3, 2007) On Monday April 30, California Safe Schools (CSS) celebrated the 8th anniversary of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)’s groundbreaking Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy. This policy, one of the most stringent pesticide policies in the nation for schools, stresses least-toxic methods of pest control and using pesticides only as a last resort, and has become a national and international model. California Safe Schools is a grassroots children’s environmental health organization formed by parents who witnessed their children walk through a toxic cloud of insecticide at an LAUSD campus nine years ago. Founded by activist and Beyond Pesticides’ board member Robina Suwol, CSS has gained a national reputation for its effective education of parents, schools, and elected officials about protecting children from toxins. “It takes a village – and several bureaucracies! – to protect children’s health,” said Ms. Suwol, executive director of CSS. “I am so pleased to see how far we have come and grateful that so many school districts, communities, and government officials have contacted us for assistance in replicating our policy and protocol. All children everywhere deserve the protection of IPM.” IPM is an inherently sustainable method using low risk measures […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 19, 2007) On April 12, a federal judge signed a settlement agreement in which New York City admits that the pesticides it sprayed may indeed be dangerous to human health as well as to the natural environment. For seven years, the No Spray Coalition, Beyond Pesticides and others have battled the City of New York in Federal Court in opposition to the Giuliani administration’s massive and indiscriminate spraying of toxic pesticides, including the organophosphate malathion. The settlement agreement states that, contrary to the City’s prior statements, pesticides may remain in the environment beyond their intended purpose, cause adverse health effects, kill mosquitoes’ natural predators, increase mosquito resistance to the sprays, and are not presently approved for direct application to waterways. Mitchel Cohen, the coordinator of the No Spray Coalition and an individual plaintiff in the lawsuit, sees the settlement agreement as a “tremendous victory” for health and environmental advocates. “Thousands of New Yorkers were made seriously sick by the spraying,” said Mr. Cohen. “A number of members of our coalition, including several of the plaintiffs, died from pesticide-related illnesses. Many suffer from multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) or asthma caused or exacerbated by the spraying. We are very […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 18, 2007) Two members of Oregon’s Congress have sponsored bills that, if passed, would provide schools with a no-spray buffer zone during the academic year. Among other requirements, the bills would establish separate buffers around schools for aerial spraying, backpack pesticide applications, and additional buffers around roads servicing schools during commuting hours. Senate Bill 20 (SB 20) and House Bill 2978 are sponsored by State Senator Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, and Representative Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, respectively. SB 20, the stronger of the two bills, is currently the focus of media and organizers on both sides. It is currently being reviewed by the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee, which will determine whether it should be introduced to the entire Senate. The two bills come after a Merck Foundation-funded study by Oregon Toxics Alliance and Forestland Dwellers to map pesticide applications near schools in Lane County. The study found some schools were near areas treated with aerial applications and a logging area sprayed adjacent to athletic fields. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has reported drift incidents at schools causing illness and at least one school closure (as has happened in other states). The proposed buffer zones, according to Lisa Arkin, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 3, 2007) Responding to concerns about the state’s polluted waterways, Florida will become the first in the nation to enact a statewide restriction on the content of fertilizers. If passed, fertilizers sold in Florida must be no- or low-phosphate. Phosphorus, along with nitrogen, is a pollutant that contributes to algae blooms, fish kills, and dead zones, all of which alter already fragile ecosystems. The high phosphate levels are due in large part to Americans’ affinity for heavily-fertilized, brilliantly green lawns, golf courses, and recreational areas. The proposed rule was designed in response to a number of local fertilizer restrictions in the state; rather than deal with the confusion of regulating a wide variety of local standards, the Department of Agriculture’s rule will clarify and standardize the movement to reduce pollution from lawn fertilizers. According to Richard Budell, director of water resources protection for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, “One of the things we’re trying to prevent is a patchwork of local ordinances that would be almost impossible to enforce.” Local regulations include a similar rule that has been in place in Wellington since 2000, one in Crystal River than allows only slow-release fertilizers, and a […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 2, 2007) The Suffolk County Legislature approved a controversial mosquito control plan, 13-3, despite major objections from other county agencies, environmentalists, and members of Suffolk’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The eleven-member CEQ advises lawmakers on the environmental impact of proposed county projects and while their recommendations are non-binding, the Legislature has generally followed the group’s advice. Several members of CEQ resigned after the bill’s passage. CEQ objects to the planned use of methoprene, an insecticide that interferes with larval growth. Objections were also raised over the county’s mosquito-control strategy of “ditching,” or altering wetlands to make artificial ponds where mosquito-eating fish thrive, a method they claim is unproven and harmful to the environment. Those objections, which CEQ passed in a split vote earlier this year, were ignored in the final approved plan. Members of CEQ also suggest that in the absence of pathogens like West Nile virus, the threshold for troublesome yet basically harmless mosquitoes should be raised. Prior to the controversial vote by the County Legislature, towns within Suffolk County also opposed the methods. The East Hampton Town Board and town trustees passed resolutions urging the county to abstain from using methoprene. Southampton’s trustees urged […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 23, 2007) Using advanced risk assessment techniques, researchers have shown pesticide usage in the Salinas Valley, California, exposes pregnant women to pesticides through air, water, and soil. The study tracks how agricultural pesticides can travel from the field into the body. A team of scientists investigating whether there is a correlation between the high levels of pesticides in pregnant women in the Salinas Valley and the high pesticide usage in the surrounding farmland has discovered important pathways of exposure that greatly inform traditional risk assessment. At first, applying a simple statistical model suggested no direct correlation, but upon applying advanced modeling techniques that combine multiple fate and exposure models with biomonitoring data they found that the study population of 600 Latina women have a significantly higher intake of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides from exposure to the surrounding air, water, and soil, but not food. The study, part of a larger study on women and children’s environmental health called the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) project, is conducted by Thomas McKone, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. Results are published in Environmental Science […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 22, 2007) A federal magistrate judge in Providence, Rhode Island fined The Little Rhody Beagle Club Incorporated and its former president $28,144 for illegally using pesticides, guns and steel leg-hold traps to kill birds and other animals that were preying on the club’s stock of rabbits, which are used to train beagles. According to a report in the Providence Journal, the charges resulted from a joint investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Police of the state Department of Environmental Management. Members of the dog club were chiefly targeting birds of prey, which they say ate the stocked rabbits. Most of the other, non-target birds, all of them quite common, died from insecticide poisoning. None of the birds the club killed are listed on an endangered species list. However, the birds are still protected, according to Tom Healy, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He explains that virtually all birds in North America, including the ubiquitous robin and the squawking crow, are migratory and fall under the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The club, which is located in Warwick, and its former president, William […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 6, 2007) In a victory for Alaska’s environmental community, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has denied the Alaska Railroad Corporation’s (ARRC) application to spray herbicides, citing water quality concerns. The decision effectively maintains a record of over 20 years of non-chemical vegetation management of Alaska’s railways. ARRC submitted the application to spray herbicides last year to DEC. According to DEC’s documents, the proposed treatment area included approximately 500 miles of track and 100 miles of rail yard. The spray mixture proposed would have been comprised of three pesticide products: Razor Pro (active ingredient glyphosate*), Solution Water Soluble (dimethylamine salt of 2,4-D*), and Oust Extra (sulfometuron methyl and metsulfuron methyl). The mixture would have also contained the drift retardant Alenza (proprietary polyvinyl polymer). ARRC claims on its website it has “tried to control vegetation along its track with non-chemical methods including mechanical brush-cutting, manual labor, steam and burning since 1983. Despite these efforts, the volume and location of vegetation along the track has resulted in stiff fines from the Federal Railroad Administration, the railroad’s federal regulatory agency.” Over one thousand written comments were filed with DEC, and oral testimony was given during the public participation process […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 20, 2007) With little oversight from the federal government, a myriad of chemicals are being injected underground in the name of energy exploration in the West. Among these chemicals, biocides are considered to pose a serious threat to environmental and public health. Hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking” or “frac’ing” for short, is the process approximately 90 percent of oil and gas wells in the U.S. undergo to facilitate extraction. Biocides are used to kill microorganisms that can interfere with other fluids and methods used to stimulate extraction, and to prevent corrosion to pipes. Thousands of wells are popping up over Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico, many of which are located on private property, and some directly adjacent to homes. Many property owners do not own adequate mineral rights to what lies under their land and are rendered powerless to stop energy exploration. With minimal federal oversight, wells, roads and pipelines are established rapidly in these areas bringing heavy traffic, noisy equipment, and air, soil and water pollution. In 2005, the oil and gas industry was granted an exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act, allowing the injection of toxic fluids directly into groundwater without oversight by […]