(Beyond Pesticides, November 21, 2024) Be it Patagonia Provisions or Brooklyn Brewery, there is a buzz around organic beer that is increasingly evident given interest by brewing and food companies. The expansion of the organic beer market in the United States would not have been possible without the leadership of advocates, farmers, breweries, and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which led to the strengthening of organic standards for beer back in 2010. The growth of this sector and transition to truly organic beer speaks to the spirit of “continuous improvement,” the original design of the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), and the importance of mobilizing the public to engage in the public input process that continues to keep organic law strong in opposition to those seeking an easier path to the organic label. Continuous Improvement and Organic Hops In the original drafting of OFPA, advocates came together to determine how to encourage the development of certified organic sectors despite the lack of available, verifiable organic inputs for many products—beer included. With this spirit in mind, the improvement of standards for beer encapsulates the significance of OFPA in the context of its flexibility, incentives, and the statutory intent to encourage […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 20 2024) The perpetual use of pesticide coated seeds and tillage changed the composition of various beetle, spider, and other epigeal arthropod communities on New Hampshire farmland, according to a recent study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment. Researchers fell short of finding conclusive results about the multi-variable impacts of both practices on biodiversity but raise notable issues on the impact of treated seeds. This research builds on the existing peer-reviewed scientific literature that highlights the threats of toxic pesticides and pesticide-coated seeds. Environmental and public health advocates are in agreement with organic and agroecological farmers who reject chemical-intensive land management practices. “At the root of the cascading crises of public health collapse, biodiversity loss, and the climate crisis is a reliance on petrochemical-based toxic products, rather than public policy and investments that strengthen consumer and institutional trust of nature-based, organic systems,” says Max Sano, organic program associate at Beyond Pesticides. “This is consistent with various interactions I have had with advocates across New England who are demanding action to stymie the impending biodiversity collapse enabled by government inaction.” Background and Methodology This study was coauthored and led by environmental researchers at the Department of Natural Resources […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 19, 2024) Researchers at Stanford University recently published a study in Cancer, an international interdisciplinary journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS), that reveals a correlation for numerous pesticides with increased prostate cancer occurrence and associated death. The study finds that exposure to 22 pesticides is positively associated with prostate cancer. The 22 pesticides include 2,4‐D, acephate, azoxystrobin, bifenthrin, carbaryl, chloropicrin, cloransulam‐methyl, cyhalothrin‐lambda, diflufenzopyr, diuron, glyphosate, hexazinone, linuron, methyl parathion, pendimethalin, propiconazole, sulfosate, thiamethoxam, thifensulfuron, tribenuron methyl, trifloxystrobin, and trifluralin. (See more on 2,4-D and cancer prevalence here and here.) As prostate cancer is a leading national health concern, the authors investigate agricultural pesticide exposure and compared it to prostate cancer incidence and mortality across counties in the contiguous U.S. “The geographic variation in prostate cancer incidence and mortality suggests that regional environmental factors, such as pesticide exposure, may contribute to the development of prostate cancer,” the researchers postulate. In comparing county‐level associations of 295 pesticides and prostate cancer reports, the authors were able to conduct an environment‐wide association study (EWAS) to determine any statistically significant links. “We acquired annual estimated total usage data (kg per county) for all pesticides reported and applied to agricultural crops grown […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 15, 2024) There are many pie-in-the-sky ideas to address the climate crisis while allowing business as usual in the extractive and industrial systems that are causing the crisis. Prominent among them are geoengineering to block sunlight and building industrial plants to prevent carbon dioxide (CO2) from reaching the atmosphere, known as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Like geoengineering, CCS is a “solution for the future that always will be.” It has garnered decades of hype, research, and government funding of prototype projects without doing much of anything to remove carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains numerous revenue streams aimed at coping with the climate crisis, including CCS. But it is a mixed bag of good and bad ideas. Beyond Pesticides analyzed the IRA in 2022, lauding the act’s “provision of unprecedented sums to address the existential threats we face related to climate, biodiversity, and health.” These include about $21 billion for “climate smart” agriculture and programs to reduce petrochemically dependent farming. But the analysis also details the many provisions for infeasible and counterproductive projects. Rather than complex and expensive technological projects, the best practitioners of CCS are […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 14, 2024) The destructive impact of Hurricane Milton, a climate-change-fueled extreme weather event that smashed into Florida in early October, led to the temporary closure of all phosphate mining facilities, integral to petrochemical fertilizer production, in the state after reported wastewater spillage, according to reporting by Tampa Bay Times. The Mosaic Company, the largest phosphate mining company in Florida, reported at least 17,500 gallons of wastewater from one of their processing plants leaked into Tampa Bay (“The Bay”), according to a company press release. It is unclear to local communities if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will permit the company’s request earlier this year to test 1,200 tons of phosphogypsum, an industrial byproduct of phosphate rock mining, as a potential material in roadways. Local advocates find this alarming given a reported tear in a gypsum stack operated by Mosaic in one of its plants in New Wales. The wastewater was used as a storage medium for phosphogypsum, which when dissolved contains cancer-causing radon, according to reporting by Reuters. Besides phosphate waste leakage, over 30 waterways across Tampa Bay were polluted after back-to-back hurricanes (Tropical Storm Debby in August, Hurricane Helene in September, and Hurricane Milton in […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 13, 2024) A study in Chemosphere, conducted by researchers from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Germany, reveals the varied lethal and sublethal effects of different glyphosate mixtures through tests on the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis (X. laevis). After exposing embryos to four glyphosate formulations, mortality, morphological defects, altered heartbeat rate, and impaired heart-specific gene expression are observed. Glyphosate, an herbicide and popular weed killer in many Roundup® products, is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in waterbodies worldwide, threatening aquatic organisms and overall biodiversity. This study investigates the effects of Glyphosat TF, Durano TF, Helosate 450 TF, and Kyleo, four formulations containing glyphosate, as compared to the effects of pure glyphosate on embryonic development in amphibians. The formulations consist of varying concentrations of the active ingredient glyphosate, as well as other active and inert ingredients. The authors share that, “Glyphosat TF contains 34% glyphosate and 10–20% d-glucopyranose, while Durano contains 39–44% glyphosate and 1–5% N–N-dimethyl-C12-C14-(even numbered)-alkyl-1-amines. In Helosate most of the ingredients are listed – 50–70% glyphosate, 1–10% isopropylamine, 1–3% lauryl dimethyl betaine, 0.25–1% dodecyl dimethylamine. Kyleo only lists the active ingredients glyphosate (27.9%) and 2,4-D (32%).” 2-cell stage embryos (early […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 12, 2024) With revelations reported last month by Investigate Midwest and previously by The Guardian showing that Syngenta, the manufacturer and registrant of paraquat, kept secret scientific information on the weed killer’s adverse effects related to Parkinson’s disease, there is increasing concern that endocrine-disrupting properties have not been fully disclosed. Endocrine-disrupting synthetic chemicals, derived from fossil fuels, will be the focus of Session 2 of Beyond Pesticides 41st National Forum: Imperatives for a Sustainable Future on Thursday, November 14 from 1:00-3:00pm (EST). Keynote Speaker The keynote speaker, Tracey Woodruff, PhD, will address the scientific, health, and regulatory issues associated with societal reliance on these chemicals. Dr. Woodruff, a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) senior scientist and policy advisor, is the director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, and professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco.  Roundtable Discussion Dr. Woodruff’s talk will be followed by a roundtable with panelists, including a former senior scientist focusing on ecosystem effects, a breast cancer activist, and a farmworker advocate who will share their experience and insight into both the regulation of hazardous materials […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 5, 2024) Published in the journal Frontiers in Toxicology, a recent study uncovers serious flaws in the pesticide registration process at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with an in-depth evaluation of the agency’s failure to protect the public from the harmful effects of five neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides—as mandated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and amendments, including Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. This coincides with EPA’s ongoing review to renew their approval for the next 15 years (set to be announced in 2025). The report is based on the first comprehensive assessment of unpublished rodent-based Developmental Neurotoxicity (DNT) studies, conducted between 2000-2003 and submitted by pesticide manufacturers as part of the registration process. All five neonicotinoids evaluated—acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam—are associated with significant shrinkage of brain tissue at the highest dosage, according to EPA data reports (see acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam). However, with little or no data regarding the chemicals’ impacts at low and mid-level dosages, EPA has either failed to find a “No Observed Adverse Effect Level” (NOAEL) or, seemingly at random, set the NOAEL at the mid-level dosage. The evaluation suggests that perinatal exposure to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 4, 2024) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week opened a public comment period on the regulation of endocrine-disrupting pesticides, a proposal that lays out a drawn-out 10-year process that is narrow in evaluating the underlying mechanism that causes endocrine disruption. The proposal, published in the Federal Register as a partial settlement agreement and consent decree, responds to a lawsuit filed by farmworker and health groups challenging the agency’s failure to test and regulate endocrine-disrupting pesticides. Earlier in the year, after over 25 years of delay following the 1996 Congressional mandate to determine whether pesticides disrupt the endocrine system of humans and other organisms, EPA issued a proposal for modifying its approach to the implementation of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP).  The National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences explains endocrine disruptors this way: “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are natural or human-made chemicals that may mimic, block, or interfere with the body’s hormones, which are part of the endocrine system. These chemicals are associated with a wide array of health issues. . . Endocrine glands, distributed throughout the body, produce the hormones that act as signaling molecules after release into the circulatory system. The human body is […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2024) STARTS TOMORROW—NATIONAL FORUM: IMPERATIVES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. A legal victory in federal court is the latest in a series of attempts to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fulfill the mandate given to it by Congress in 1996 to test all pesticides for their endocrine disrupting effects and regulate them accordingly. The case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California was brought by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and a collection of agricultural workers’ organizations, farmers’ groups, and pesticide activists. Beyond Pesticides wrote in 2019, EPA’s “Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) began, then virtually stopped, its review and regulation of endocrine disrupting pesticides, despite [its 1996 Congressional mandate] to develop a screening program within two years and then begin regulating.” (See timeline, Figure 2, p11.) After the release of a  a damning 2021 Office of Inspector General (OIG) report (see Beyond Pesticides’ reporting) on the agency’s lack of progress in protecting the population from potentially damaging endocrine disruption impacts of exposures to synthetic chemical pesticides (and other chemicals of concern), CFS wrote: “The 2021 [OIG] report included the shocking revelation that some EPA staff were instructed to function as […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 28, 2024) STARTS WEDNESDAY—NATIONAL FORUM: IMPERATIVES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. As scientific articles and regulatory reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focus on individual pesticides or families of pesticides and specific health outcomes associated with exposure, legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), S. 5084, Safe School Meals Act (SSMA), proposes a holistic response to the protection of children by banning pesticides in school lunches. While focused on the elimination of certain individual pesticides and other chemicals of known concern, the bill unilaterally allows children to be served food from certified organic farms. The overwhelmingly large body of scientific findings on the adverse effects of pesticides in the food that children eat in schools and generally. For example, last week Beyond Pesticides commented on EPA’s Draft Human Health and/or Ecological Risk Assessments for Several Pesticides, citing scientific findings that, “Neonicotinoids . . .have been found to affect mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) [which] are of critical importance to human brain function, especially during development and for memory, cognition, and behavior.” (See more here.) This month, Jennifer Sass, PhD, et al., in Frontiers in Toxicology, published a review of  unpublished rodent developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) studies […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 25, 2024) To better understand synergistic interactions between multiple stressors, researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, analyze exposure to the pyrethroid insecticide esfenvalerate with two nonchemical environmental factors: elevated temperature and food limitation. In their recent publication in Environmental Pollution, the authors find the greatest synergistic effects when Daphnia magna (D. magna) are subjected to esfenvalerate under conditions experienced with climate change including lower food availability and increased temperature. D. magna, also known as daphnids or water fleas, are small planktonic crustaceans that represent an essential part of the food web in lakes and ponds. Impacts on populations of daphnids can lead to effects throughout multiple trophic levels that impact overall biodiversity. As the researchers state, “Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate in response to multiple environmental stressors… A key challenge is understanding synergistic interactions between multiple stressors and predicting their combined effects.” To study this, a Stress Addition Model (SAM), which predicts the cumulative effects of interacting stressors, was utilized and compared to laboratory data using 24-hour-old neonates of D. magna. The organisms were subjected to various conditions, singularly and in combination, including increased temperature, lower quantities of food, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 24, 2024) When U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced S. 5084, Safe School Meals Act (SSMA) in September, he identified four objectives: Directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set safe limits for heavy metals in school meals. The limits will be based on a threshold of reasonable certainty of no harm to school-age children from aggregate exposure. If the agencies fail to set these limits within two years, the limits will automatically be set to non-detectable until the agencies can determine a safe level of exposure. Banning glyphosate, paraquat, and organophosphate pesticide residues in school meals. Certified organic farms would automatically meet this requirement. Banning PFAS, phthalates, lead, and bisphenols in food packaging in school meals. Directing FDA to reevaluate food additives with known carcinogenic, reproductive, or developmental health harms, such as artificial food dyes, and ban their use in school meals prior to the completion of FDA’s analysis. While groups like Beyond Pesticides applaud Senator Booker’s initiative to restrict exposure to some of the most hazardous toxicants, especially the most vulnerable subpopulation of children, their goal is to provide organic food to school children. In this spirit, groups have advocated that the U.S. Department […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 23, 2024) The stark contrast of two political parties emerged around this summer’s reporting of the Project 2025 blueprint—created by extreme right-wing conservatives—that proposes the gutting of environmental and public health policy and implementation. Many political observers say “Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project,” formally titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” will be embraced by a second Trump Administration, despite denials that are challenged by insiders as outright lies. While the public became aware of Project 2025 plans to gut the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many other agencies, the Biden Administration was announcing the emergency ban (see also August 6 announcement), finalized yesterday, of the weed killer Dacthal, exercising an EPA authority that has not been used in 45 years since the banning of 2,4,5-T (50% of the mixture of Agent Orange). With this decision, EPA set an important precedent for proclaiming (i) an unacceptable harm, (ii) its inability to mitigate the pesticide’s hazards with typical risk mitigation measures, and (iii) the availability of alternatives that made the chemical unnecessary. In dramatic contrast, the Trump supporters behind Project 2025 are intent on politicizing science to undermine governmental structures and laws established to protect public health […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 21, 2024) To solve the existential crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and human disease, Beyond Pesticides is urging that organic agriculture grows—over the next decade becoming universally adopted for all agriculture. However, with the expiration of the Farm Bill on September 30, 2023, and subsequent one-year extension, core organic programs including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) will expire without Congressional action. This leaves thousands of organic farmers with a huge net increase in their annual certification costs—and presents a disincentive for others to make the transition to organic. The OCCSP will disappear in 2025 unless Congress passes a five-year Farm Bill with funding or includes sufficient funding in a stopgap bill this fall. Chemical-intensive agriculture, with its dependence on petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, is a major contributor to the existential health and environmental crises and contamination of air, land, and water. Organic agriculture, certified and labeled in compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) provides: A definition of organic agriculture that defines health-biodiversity-climate friendly practices; A requirement for a systems plan that establishes baseline management practices to create resiliency and prevent pests; A rigorous process for an allowed/prohibited substances list with a mechanism for […]

Beyond Pesticides (October 17, 2024) On September 30, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened a public comment period about production of specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’)—including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). EPA is collecting information on the fluorination process of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and other plastic containers to inform possible regulatory action under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The deadline for submitting comments is November 29, 2024. PFOA and twelve other PFAS compounds are created during the fluorination of HDPE plastic containers by Inhance Technologies, LLC, the only U.S. company manufacturing containers using this fluorination technique (see here). Studies by EPA, independent researchers, and the company itself demonstrate that PFAS leaches from container walls into contents, exposing millions to these toxic chemicals without their knowledge. EPA notes, “Long-chain PFAS like PFOA, PFNA, and PFDA build up in our bodies and the environment over time. Even small amounts can significantly contribute to people’s long-term exposure and health risk for cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.” The adverse effects of PFAS exposure are linked to serious health issues, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 15, 2024) In Environmental Epidemiology, researchers from Columbia University and the University of Southern California, along with representatives from the nonprofit Comite Civico del Valle in Brawley, California, report the heightened risk of wheezing for five- to twelve-year-olds in the rural communities of California’s Imperial Valley. Through a school-based survey, the authors find associations between living near pesticide applications and more wheeze symptoms among the children. According to the authors, residents of the Imperial Valley, which is located near the border between the United States (U.S.) and Mexico, “are primarily Latino, 1 in 3 children live in poverty, and there is a 20% unemployment rate. The county faces poor air quality and excess particulate matter levels. Further, one in five children is diagnosed with asthma and the rate of asthma-related pediatric emergency room visits and hospitalizations is two times the CA state average.” This highlights the disproportionate risk for residents in this area regarding environmental exposure to harmful chemicals. Children are already more susceptible to health complications following pesticide exposure, as they take in greater amounts of toxic chemicals relative to their body weight and have still-developing organ systems. Young children in environments with higher levels of […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 9, 2024) An agrichemical industry-funded study published in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability dissects the development of national organic standards and opportunities that can be applied in expanding the use of “regenerative” agriculture. Not surprisingly, the study authors offer support for integrated pest management (IPM) and reassurance of a rigorous pesticide registration review process before the chemicals are marketed. The study included a survey of five farmers, who farm a total of 100,000 acres, but do not have extensive experience farming organically. For those practicing regenerative organic practices and organic advocates, the bottom line is that the study concludes that a list of criteria that would be needed for regenerative agriculture criteria (e.g., list of allowed substances) already exists within the standards and requirements of the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and the National Organic Program. Environmental and public health advocates are concerned about this piece representing an industry position being cloaked in an academic journal serving as an obstacle to the widespread adoption and improvement of organic principles and practices. The study was written by four authors with varying levels of connections to CropLife America (the major agrichemical industry trade group), including academic researchers with […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 8, 2024) A comprehensive literature review in Endocrines, published in September, amasses hundreds of studies on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that showcase adverse effects on growth, development, reproduction, and metabolism. The authors, a team of scientists and academics from Brazil, shed light on the link between EDC use and thyroid dysfunction, leading to increasingly prevalent illnesses and deadly diseases.     EDCs are any synthetic or natural compounds that hinder endocrine system functions and create harmful effects on organisms. These chemicals can impact the thyroid gland, which is vital in producing hormones and plays a role in several body functions. As the researchers state, “Several EDCs have been classified as thyroid disruptors, impairing thyroid hormone [TH] production, synthesis, metabolism, transport, and/or actions. Notably, thyroid disorders are the second most prevalent endocrine disease worldwide, with incidence increasing significantly in recent years.” The authors continue, “[S]tudies have correlated this rise in thyroid dysfunctions and cancers with increased exposure to EDCs. Although many EDCs are linked to thyroid dysfunction, this review focuses on the deleterious effects of plasticizers, organochlorine pesticides, and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances on thyroid function. These contaminants are commonly found in food, water, and everyday products.” This review helps […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 1, 2024) While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received accolades for its August 7, 2024, decision to ban the herbicide Dacthal (or DCPA—dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate), it also leaves many people asking, “Why Dacthal and not other very hazardous pesticides?” Paraquat, for example, poses similar elevated hazards to people and the environment, has no antidote, and has viable alternatives. Therefore, Beyond Pesticides is challenging EPA to apply the same standard that removed Dacthal from the market to the long list of pesticides that are contributing to a health crisis, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency.  In the case of Dacthal, EPA used the “imminent hazard” clause of the federal pesticide law to immediately suspend the chemical’s use. At the same time, the agency is exercising its authority to prohibit the continued use of Dacthal’s existing stocks, a power that EPA rarely uses. Additionally, the agency, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found that there were alternatives to Dacthal. Based on the reasoning in the Dacthal decision, EPA should ban paraquat, Beyond Pesticides says. >> EPA must apply the standard of the Dacthal decision to paraquat and issue an emergency suspension and prohibit use of existing stocks.  Paraquat […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 26, 2024) DNA damage is significantly higher in Latinx children from rural, farmworker families than children in urban, non-farmworker families, according to a recent study published by French and American authors in the journal Exposure and Health. Not only do farmworker children test positive for organophosphate pesticides more frequently than non-farmworker children, but the study finds that farmworker children also experience an increased frequency of DNA damage associated with the presence of organophosphate exposure. These results highlight the disparities in exposures and outcomes for children from vulnerable immigrant communities. Advocates note that as long as pesticides remain in use, farmworkers and their families will continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of the toxic effects of these chemicals (see here, here, and here); another in a long line of reasons to shift away from toxic synthetic pesticide use to the adoption of proven organic, regenerative agricultural practices. (See here, here, and here). Methodology The study assesses pesticide exposure and DNA damage in 45 Latinx children ages 10 to 12 from rural, farmworker families (30) and urban, non-farmworker families (15). Participants were selected from a larger study, Preventing Agricultural Chemical Exposure (PACE5)—a community-based research project by the North Carolina […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 25, 2024) In a semiannual report released in August 2024, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) identifies a number of “unresolved” issues that strike the core of the agency’s failure to carry out its responsibilities to protect health and the environment. One of the issues identified is EPA’s failure to conduct an adequate and independent assessment of the cancer effects of the fumigant, 1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D or Telone). OIG’s original report, The EPA Needs to Improve the Transparency of Its Cancer-Assessment Process for Pesticides, was issued in 2022 and concluded that EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) engages in secret meetings with industry, elevates unqualified individuals to decision-making roles, uses an untested scientific approach, fails to conduct a simple literature review, and neglects public transparency. Other pesticide issues that OIG identified in its report include: The EPA Needs to Determine Whether Seresto Pet Collars Pose an Unreasonable Risk to Pet Health The EPA Has Not Verified that Its Laboratories Comply with Hazardous Waste Requirements EPA Needs an Agencywide Strategic Action Plan to Address Harmful Algal Blooms EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program Has Made Limited Progress in Assessing Pesticides EPA Needs to Evaluate the Impact of the Revised Agricultural Worker […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 24, 2024) Recent commentary in Frontiers in Toxicology by two researchers, Maricel Maffini, PhD and Laura Vandenberg, PhD, highlights the pitfalls in the current regulatory systems in the United States (U.S.) for chemicals that threaten human health. Despite many advancements in science over the past few decades, and the wealth of studies that tie chemical exposure to negative health effects, risk assessments, and subsequent risk management, remain “static” and “outdated,” according to the authors. “There is increasing concern amongst public health professionals, environmental health scientists, and medical organizations about exposures to synthetic chemicals,” the researchers say. “These organizations’ concerns are based on the overwhelming evidence showing associations between chemical exposures and adverse health outcomes in human populations.” Such concerns have sparked a debate on current regulatory methods for chemicals that are present in highly used products, such as pesticides, plastic containers, and food.    The authors continue, “There are now thousands of studies showing associations between these chemicals and adverse health effects in humans including neurological disorders and learning disabilities, metabolic outcomes, infertility, thyroid dysfunction, and cancers.” Additional health effects can be seen in the Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database. Of the many harmful chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances […]