(Beyond Pesticides, January 23, 2026) A fish called a lake skygazer (Culter dabryi) shows accelerated aging when exposed to chronic low doses of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, according to a powerful study by researchers from several Chinese institutions, as well as Carleton University in Canada and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The study, in Science, finds that chronic low-dose exposures resulting in the accumulation of sublethal effects over time cause deterioration of molecular, cellular, and organ functions that reduce lifespan and fertility. In the study, the fish showed reduced survival in a “dose- and physiological age-dependent manner,” while acute high doses did not have these effects, the authors write. Because the mechanisms researchers focused on are conserved throughout vertebrates, “even low doses of pesticide may pose long-term risks to longevity” in thousands of species, including humans. The regulation of pesticides is based on laboratory animals’ exposure to acute high doses of a chemical–generally measured as the dose that kills half the test animals within 96 hours of exposure. Thus, the assumption that guides the calibration of “safe” or allowable levels of exposure is that lower doses, even if chronic, pose no threat. The current study unambiguously refutes that assumption, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 21, 2026) The data in the annual U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pesticide residue report, released earlier this month, continues to show a pattern of pesticide residues in the majority of food tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Health advocates say low-level pesticide residues in the food supply within legal limits raise serious hazard concerns, while USDA, in its Pesticide Data Program–Annual Summary, Calendar Year 2024, points to controversial residue standards as a measure of safety. The USDA report finds that over 57 percent of tested commodities contain at least one pesticide and that less than one percent of detected residues violate the legal limit set as a tolerance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Residues allowed under tolerances establish allowable pesticide use patterns in agriculture that, beyond dietary risks, result in exposure to farmworkers, farmers, waterways, wildlife, and the broad ecosystem in which they are used. (See Eating with a Conscience for a list of pesticides allowed in food production by commodity.) With respect to the preponderance of evidence on adverse health and ecological effects of cumulative exposure to toxic agrichemicals, including pesticides, Beyond Pesticides has called for the transition to organic agriculture. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 20, 2026) With Monday’s celebration and affirmation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy, the question of adequate protection of the people and communities at greatest risk from toxic chemical production, transportation, use, and disposal looms large. This is especially true with the current diminished federal regulatory authority and Bayer/Monsanto’s U.S. Supreme Court challenge of chemical manufacturers’ responsibility to warn users of their products of hazards like cancer. Actions Being Taken In response to the chemical industry campaign to deny people the right to sue under longstanding failure to warn law, groups are calling for public support of U.S Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) bill, Pesticide Injury Accountability Act(S. 2324) seeks to uphold this right  to sue. The groups are calling on the public to “Tell your U.S. Senator to co-sponsor S. 2324, the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act.” This bill will amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA) to create a federal right of action for anyone who is harmed by a toxic pesticide.  In an additional action in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyond Pesticides is calling on the public to “Tell members of Congress to ensure that with the termination of environmental justice programs at EPA, they […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 17, 2026) The public’s right to sue chemical manufacturers that do not warn of product hazards will be up for review by the U.S. Supreme Court later this year, the justices decided Friday. Bayer/Monsanto is challenging billions of dollars in jury verdicts, which affirm longstanding jurisprudence that holds manufacturers responsible for disclosing hazards even when not required to do so by regulatory authorities. In the case being challenged, Durnell, John L. v. Monsanto, the injured party successfully argued that a chemical manufacturer has a duty to warn of potential hazards on their product label even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require the warning. The failure-to-warn in the Durnell case resulted in a jury verdict of $1.25 million, and the total number of jury verdicts and settlements on similar cases may amount to over $10 billion in liability if the Supreme Court upholds the lower courts and hundreds of thousands of other plaintiffs with the same claim. The cases involve exposure to the weed killer glyphosate (RoundupTM, which is the most widely used herbicide in the U.S. and worldwide, has been classified as posing a possible risk of cancer by the International Agency for […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 15, 2026)  “Birds and bats consumed over 87 rice pest species in West African lowland rice fields,” according to a recent study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. The authors continue, “Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining and managing a diverse community of bats and birds for network resilience.” In this context, the research distinguishes the “predator-prey” as established through the ecological balance of diverse organisms in nature from a “predator-pest” orientation that views some organisms as unwanted and targets for control and more subject to human manipulation.  The authors describe the predator-pest network as a means to quantify the “ecosystem services” impact, with the researchers noting that they “investigated the role of predator and prey species in the predator–prey network and compared those roles with that of the predator–pest network, to further explore their potential as pest suppressors.” Communities across the United States and globally are looking for opportunities to transition to alternative pest management strategies given decades-long increasing reliance on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which contribute significantly to looming existential crises of biodiversity collapse, public health decline, and planetary instability of ecosystems, climate, and geopolitics. As evidenced in a recent report by Farm Action […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 13, 2026) An important study in Nature Microbiology challenges the entrenched assumption in the chemical industry and among regulators that synthetic chemicals can be targeted for specific uses and have limited effects beyond those uses. The categorization of chemicals into pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals masks their commonalities and combined potential for deep harm to biological systems. In particular, the effects of the onslaught of xenobiotics (not naturally produced) on human gut microbiota are of increasing concern. The study, by an international team including researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Cambridge University, and Heinrich Heine University in Germany, tested a set of xenobiotics, including pharmaceutical, pesticide, and industrial compounds, against 22 human gut bacteria. Using both in silico (computers) and in vitro (laboratory experiments), they found 168 chemicals that exerted inhibitory effects on the gut bacteria. Most of these interactions had not been previously reported. Of the xenobiotic categories, fungicides and industrial chemicals were the most influential. The researchers note that the “pervasive use” of synthetic chemicals “and environmental persistence have led to pollution levels exceeding the planetary boundary for stable and resilient Earth systems” [emphasis added] and that “safety assessments for these chemicals […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 12, 2026) With a pattern of chemical industry deception of independent scientific review, and the recent retraction of an influential Monsanto ghostwritten article (April 2000) on the weed killer glyphosate (Roundup™), Beyond Pesticides and its network are calling for oversight hearings in Congress. At issue is the reliance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on industry data and agency collusion with chemical manufacturers on its decisions. Beyond Pesticides is questioning the underlying reliability of the data, in addition to limitations of the regulatory review process in meeting its statutory duty to protect health and the environment. In addition to the deception, key underlying deficiencies are EPA’s failure to evaluate endocrine disrupting pesticides and synergistic effects of chemical mixtures. Given these deficiencies and the cost effectiveness of organic land management and crop production Beyond Pesticides is asking Congress to hold oversight hearings to determine how EPA can eliminate the use of toxic pesticides that are no longer needed to grow food or manage landscapes cost-effectively.  Critically, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and EPA’s pesticide program allow toxic chemicals to be dispersed, resulting in widespread negative impacts, without regard for the availability of cost-effective and profitable alternatives that are eco-sensitive and health protective. Consideration of the essentiality of synthetic substance […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 9, 2026) Beyond Pesticides is partnering with the City of Dubuque Parks and Recreation Department to adopt organic land management practices at two city parks, Jackson Park and Washington Park, with funding for technical support from Natural Grocers. The initiative aims to enhance soil health, reduce water usage, and create safer public spaces, while also addressing climate change and biodiversity issues. Click here to read a joint press release. Beyond Pesticides, through the Parks for a Sustainable Future nationwide program, collaborates with communities across the country to transition parks, playing fields, and public spaces to organic land management by providing in-depth training to assist community land managers in transitioning two public demonstration sites and the knowledge necessary to eventually transition all public areas in a locality to these safer practices. These demonstration sites serve as models for how sustainable land management is possible without synthetic, petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, showcasing the benefits of organic practices while addressing potential challenges in a manageable and cost-effective way.  “We are excited to be working with the City of Dubuque on organic land management practices that protect community health and the environment, including bees, butterflies, and birds, and support efforts to mitigate climate change and biodiversity decline,” […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 8, 2026) In a press release published on December 10, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the creation of “a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program to help American farmers adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, all while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply.” The agency specifically ties the program to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), diverting resources that could be used to support organic transition and phase out pesticides that are clearly defined as prohibited by USDA’s National Organic Program under the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), but allowed in regenerative agriculture programs. Regenerative agriculture, embraced by major food companies, has been identified by Beyond Pesticides and many organizations as greenwashing because it typically allows wide use of weed killers and other petrochemical pesticides and is not defined as a transition to organic practices and compatible products. (See here.) Public health and environmental advocates, farmers, and businesses fear that pouring funding into a loosely defined “regenerative agriculture” program will not only undermine existing efforts to transition farming and communities to more sustainable and truly regenerative systems but also contribute to greenwashing, where corporations that are enabling the climate, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 7, 2026) Chemical manufacturers may have suffered a short-lived setback in their quest for statutory immunity from lawsuits due to their failure to warn those harmed by their products, but their campaign in Congress, state legislatures across the country, and the U.S. Supreme Court is continuing. On Monday, January 6, it was announced that a provision denying people the right to sue chemical companies for nondisclosure of product hazards had been dropped from the FY2026 funding bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. This summer, a provision passed by the House Appropriations Committee would have denied farmers, farmworkers, landscapers, gardeners, and consumers generally the right to sue companies that do not disclose on their product labels and in marketing information potential hazards associated with their products’ use. “With the announcement that appropriations legislation moving through Congress does not contain a provision that would shield chemical manufacturers from lawsuits for their failure to warn those harmed by their products, we stress that the industry’s campaign to escape accountability is proceeding with a fierce determination,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. The chemical industry, spearheaded by the chemical giant Bayer/Monsanto, in the last year has waged an […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 6, 2026) Editor’s Note: We begin the new year with a clarion call for meaningful strategies to eliminate petrochemical pesticide and fertilizer use, based on the preponderance of science that documents both the hazards of their use and the abject failure of regulations in the U.S. and worldwide to accurately account for their harm to health and the environment. Over the holiday season, we have been cheered by letters to the editor, one from a pediatrician in Missoula, Montana and another from a student in Cedar Falls, Iowa, calling for the elimination of pesticide use in their communities. This call for action in communities targets the places where we live, work, learn, and play—where critical decisions on the use of poisons and contaminants are being made daily in our parks, playing fields, schools, open space, and other public properties. We have the tools to eliminate pesticide use with defined organic practices and compatible materials. We should accept nothing less. The scientific study we write about today (below) details an outrage of huge proportions, a synergistic effect of chemical interactions of widely used synthetic pyrethroid insecticides in combination with environmental stressors—resulting in adverse effects 70 times greater than when […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 5, 2026) There is no better time than the beginning of a new year to reflect on what can be done as individuals and collectively to have a meaningful effect on individual health, the health of families and communities, and the legacy of a sustainable world. For Beyond Pesticides, the start of the new year is an opportunity to take steps that prioritize health and the health of the planet. In this context, Beyond Pesticides, in collaboration with people and organizations nationwide is: Asking Mayors, in the new year, to adopt a policy and program for organic management of their community’s parks and public spaces. [In the event that a specific local mayor is not in the system, readers are invited to email this personal message—see below.]  The year 2025 has been filled with discouraging news for planetary health. With the publication of the latest assessments by the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), there are greater insights documented on the interlinkages among biodiversity, water, food, and health, and particularly, ecosystem services—the ways in which humans depend on nature. In its assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, the IPBES states, “The unprecedented challenges posed by global environmental change call for an urgent shift in […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 2, 2026) Texas-based pecan orchard Swift River Pecans is collaborating with local conservation nonprofit Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation “so they could collect more information on the species that visit his 266-acre property, and to show off the bats’ value to his operation,” according to recent coverage by NPR affiliate KCUR. “Bats love to munch on insects like stink bugs and moths. Some farmers are now relying on the mammals for pest control – and ditching chemicals,” says Michael Marks, reporter for NPR (Harvest Public Media) and Texas Standard. The orchard operator and nonprofit have been collaborating since 2004, after Troy Swift (orchard owner) employed a chemical-intensive approach since purchasing the land in 1988. Merlin Tuttle, “an ecologist and conservationist who has spent 65 years studying bats around the globe,” has been setting up bat boxes using cypress trees from a lumber mill on-site—the researcher has opted for this wood type because it is porous and regulates temperature appropriately. “Our job is to work with Mother Nature instead of against her to make the best pecans money can buy. That’s the way we see it,” says Mr. Swift, who also serves as the president of the Texas Pecan […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 22, 2025) After a U.S. Court of Appeals Court decision in October that upheld the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “bioengineered” food label language, Beyond Pesticides with people across the country renewed their call for truth in labeling—so that consumers clearly understand when products contain genetically engineered ingredients. The label requirement became law under the National Bioengineered  Food Disclosure Standard in 2016. When USDA proposed the bioengineered label, Beyond Pesticides told the agency in 2017, “Since many consumers may not know or understand the term bioengineering, there should be allowable interchangeable terms for the disclosure standard. These include the terms: genetically engineered, genetically modified organism, and GMO.” Beyond Pesticides issued an action to: “Tell USDA to require full disclosure of genetically engineered ingredients, using terms understandable to consumers.“ At the same time, the court ruled that USDA had failed to properly implement the law in allowing manufactures to provide label ingredient with a reference to the availability of electronic information. After a 2024 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California overturning rules issued under the first Trump administration that, according to the Center for Food Safety (CFS), “practically eliminate oversight of novel GE technology and instead let industry self-regulate,” the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 19, 2025) While still the exception rather than the norm, a growing movement of Christmas tree farmers across the United States is demonstrating that organically managed systems can also be applied when choosing a tree during this holiday season. Health and environmental advocates across the country are calling for a transition away from toxic pesticide dependency during the holiday season. Beyond Pesticides maintains a webpage, Christmas Trees and Pesticides, and Center for Biological Diversity and Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a “special review of pesticides used on Christmas trees.” The groups sent a letter on December 4, the day the National Christmas Tree was lit at the White House, specifically citing the need to review the pesticides chlorpyrifos, carbaryl, dimethoate, bifenthrin, chlorothalonil, glyphosate, hexazinone, imidacloprid, simazine, and 2,4-D, among others. Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States, with Christmas trees grown on Christmas tree farms being brought into homes as part of the celebration. On average, Americans purchase 25 to 30 million Christmas trees annually, according to the National Christmas Tree Association; however, certified organic […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 17, 2025) In a 50-plus page opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in October for the plaintiffs on providing general public access to information on genetically engineered products, overturning a 2016 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that permitted the use of a “QR code” or smartphone labeling for food products made with genetically modified organisms. However, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the use of the term “bioengineered” is misleading, given the general public’s understanding of the common usage of “genetically engineered” or genetically modified.” The case was filed by the Center for Food Safety on behalf of a coalition of public interest organizations and grocers, including Natural Grocers, Citizens for GMO Labeling, Label GMOs, Rural Vermont, Good Earth Natural Foods, Puget Consumers Co-Op, and National Organic Coalition. “We’ve fought for decades for GMO labeling, as required by more than 60 other countries, and today’s decision is a crucial culmination of those hard-fought efforts,” says George Kimbrell, legal director at Center for Food Safety and lead counsel in the litigation. He continues: “QR codes alone do not provide meaningful access to all Americans, and USDA now will have to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 15, 2025) With recent proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register new pesticides that under international standards are classified as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), people and organizations are calling for Congress to reverse the agency’s action. Beyond Pesticides announced an action to Tell EPA and Congress to eliminate PFAS chemicals, including those used in pesticides.  In its action Beyond Pesticides pointed to the long history of allowing pesticides on that market that have long residual lives and bioaccumulate in the environment, causing generations of exposure and adverse effects to health and ecosystems. DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) exemplifies the generational effect of a toxic pesticide whose effects ha endured for decades, even though it was hailed as a miracle solution for agriculture and public health. PFAS, with a wide variety of uses—from nonstick pans to waterproofing fabrics to firefighting foams to pesticides—might similarly lead to the characterization as a “miracle” chemical. PFAS also share the less beneficial characteristics of DDT. Like DDT, PFAS are persistent, leading to the nickname “forever chemicals,” and they are highly toxic. EPA links PFAS to an increased risk of many health effects, including decreased fertility and hypertension in pregnant people; increased risk of prostate, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 11, 2025) In an amicus brief published on December 1, 2025, the Office of the Solicitor General (SG) and the White House are calling on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to grant certiorari on Bayer’s petition to shield chemical companies that fail to warn people about the potential hazards of their pesticide products. The U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer (former Solicitor General of Missouri, home to Bayer-Monsanto’s U.S. headquarters), in siding with the Germany-based, multinational pesticide corporation, calls for SCOTUS to take on the case, which could lead to a prohibition on state-level failure-to-warn claims based on the arguments laid out in the amicus brief. This move sets the stage for SCOTUS to undermine the main legal argument used to hold pesticide corporations accountable for their harmful products, sending Bayer’s stock price to skyrocket 12 percentage points between December 2 and December 3 after the decision was made public. As of May 2025, Bayer has already paid at least 10 billion dollars in jury verdicts and settlements to cancer victims who have attributed their diagnoses to the use of Bayer/Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer products, according to Lawsuit Information Center. Two previous petitions […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 10, 2025) On November 21, 2025, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), designated the endocrine-disrupting herbicide atrazine (as well as the herbicide alachlor) as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Manufactured by the multinational, China-based pesticide corporation Syngenta, atrazine has been linked to various adverse health effects and runoff into waterways across the continental United States for years. Tyrone Hayes, PhD, researcher and professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies the endocrine-disrupting properties of atrazine and other chemicals, has said that atrazine induces cancer by turning on the enzyme aromatase. Dr. Hayes told conferees of Beyond Pesticides’ 31st National Pesticide Forum that: “[W]hat is concerning about aromatase expression and estrogen in mammals is breast cancer and prostate cancer. With regard to prostate cancer, there is an 8.4-fold increase in prostate cancer in men who work in atrazine factories and bag atrazine. There is at least one correlational study, which I didn’t publish, that shows women whose well water is contaminated with atrazine are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who live in the same community, but don’t drink the well water. (Kettles, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 9, 2025) In the Journal of Environmental Quality, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report that a 4-year organically managed corn-soybean-oat system reduces nitrogen (N) loads by 50 percent with corn and soybean yields “equivalent to or higher than conventional [chemical-intensive] in most years.” The findings from a 7-year study comparing nitrate loss in organic and chemical-intensive management found that organically managed perennial pasture reduced nitrogen loads significantly. The study, which focused on nitrate pollution in agriculture that harms biodiversity, threatens waterways, drinking water, and public health, and releases nitrous oxide (an extremely potent greenhouse gas), was conducted at USDA’s National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. Organic and regenerative organic farmers and businesses posit that if commodity crops can be grown in organically managed systems with competitive yields, then this supports their argument for alternative systems not only feasible but economically sustainable and responsible. Background and Methodology The researchers note that, in the eastern and U.S. Midwest, “subsurface tile drainage” (the practice of manually draining fields below the surface soil to assist fields that are otherwise challenging to drain due to wet areas/highly compacted soils) has exacerbated nitrogen and nutrient runoff, ultimately leading to diminished soil health. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 8, 2025) In response to the Trump administration’s proposed new rules to limit protections for critical habitats under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Beyond Pesticides is calling for public action to “Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) not to adopt regulations that weaken protection of threatened and endangered species.” According  to environmentalists, four new rules will allow an expansion of oil drilling, logging, and mining in critical habitats. A week before Thanksgiving, which honors habitats supporting life, FWS, part of the Department of Interior (DOI), and NMFS, part of the Department of Commerce, announced proposed revisions to the rules implementing ESA that raises serious questions about the future restrictions of the nation’s foundational environmental law. Passed with bipartisan support in 1973, the ESA establishes “a prohibition on ‘take’ of a species, the requirement that all federal agencies ensure that the actions they carry out will not jeopardize the continued existence of a threatened or endangered species, and the drafting and implementation of recovery plans for at risk species,” according to the National Agricultural Law Center. See ESA current regulations.  Secretary of DOI Doug Burgum describes the action: “This administration is restoring the Endangered […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 3, 2025) Childhood cancers are on the rise globally; in the U.S. cancer is the second most common cause of death in children between one and 14 years old, and the fourth most common in adolescents. A recent study of Nebraska pesticide use and pediatric cancer incidence by researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences found positive associations between pesticides and overall cancer, brain and central nervous system cancers, and leukemia among children (defined as under age 20). The study’s lead author, Jabeen Taiba, PhD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will discuss the study results on December 4, 2025, at the second session of Beyond Pesticides’ 42nd National Pesticide Forum, The Pesticide Threat to Environmental Health – Advancing Holistic Solutions Aligned with Nature. The first session recordings and materials are available here. The authors’ emphasis on evaluating mixtures, and their innovative technical methods for doing so, highlight the direction environmental health research and regulation must take. Studying pesticides singly is an inadequate approach, according to the authors, because pesticides are not applied individually anymore, but very often in mixtures of herbicides, insecticides, and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 2, 2025) A personal and heartfelt message from Jay Feldman, executive director, for the holiday season! During this holiday season, I’m writing on behalf of Beyond Pesticides’ staff and board of directors to wish you a Happy Holiday. We celebrate with you our shared commitment to the values and principles that protect the well-being of people and the ecosystems on which life depends. In reflecting on the steps we are taking at Beyond Pesticides to confront existential health and environmental threats, I believe we, together, are pursuing a meaningful path forward—and I am thankful for that.  If you can, and in honor of Giving Tuesday, please consider a gift sometime during this holiday season on our secure website at bp-dc.org/give2025. Your support of any size makes a tremendous difference! Thank you! Before the specifics, I think it is important to say that with the current challenges being endured by the people of our country and around the world, threats to a sustainable future can be overshadowed by the crises that impede daily survival. At Beyond Pesticides, I am thankful we recognize the immediate support needed in this regard, at the same time that we move ahead with the urgent […]