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Melting Glaciers Source of Persistent Pollutants

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, May 8, 2008) New research shows that melting Antarctic glaciers are releasing once frozen stores of persistent organic chemicals, now banned in many parts of the world. Marine biologist, Heidi Geisz, a Ph.D. student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science studying the fate and effect of organic contaminants in the Antarctic, has found that DDT concentrations in penguins has remained at the same levels as they were 30 years ago, when DDT was widely used. Arctic animals such as whales, seals and birds have had a significant decline in their DDT levels during the past decades, while the more stationary Antarctic penguins have not. The study, “Melting Glaciers: A Probable Source of DDT to the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem,” published in Environmental Science and Technology (DOI: 10.1021/es702919n), identifies the melting snow and ice as the continued source of total DDT in this southern ecosystem. The release of DDT also means that other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including PCBs and PBDEs — industrial chemicals that have been linked to health problems in humans, are also being released. “DDT is not the only chemical that these birds are ingesting and it is certainly not the worst,” Ms. Geisz says. Ms. […]

Posted in Climate Change, DDT, Endocrine Disruption, Water, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 1 Comment »

USGS Identifies Contaminants in Potomac River Possibly Linked to Intersex Fish

Monday, March 24th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, March 24, 2008) Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced that they have identified ten contaminants, including pesticides, in the Potomac River, which flows through downtown Washington, DC, that could be responsible for the alarming discovery of “intersex fish,” male fish producing eggs. The suspected chemicals include: atrazine, a common herbicide used in agriculture and on lawns that is already linked to sexual abnormalities in frogs; insecticides chlorpyrifos and endosulfan; the herbicide metolachlor; and two chemicals used to add fragrance to perfumes, soaps and other products, tonalide and galaxolide. To collect the samples, USGS scientists suspended a device intended to serve as a facsimile fish in the Potomac River near the Washington, DC’s Blue Plains sewage plant. The device had a plastic-coated tube, which simulated a fish’s permeable skin, and a layer of simulated fat. According to the Washington Post, the tests on this fake fat revealed a range of potentially worrisome pollutants. Most have been found in other streams around the U.S. “The types of things we’re finding are the types of things that are associated with everyday life,” David Alvarez, a U.S. Geological Survey research chemist who analyzed samples from the Potomac told the Washington […]

Posted in Atrazine, Chemicals, Chlorpyrifos, Endosulfan, Water, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »

Researcher Shows Chemicals Alter Male Reproductive System

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, February 19, 2008) Common household chemicals and widespread pollutants are changing male reproductive health and impacting sexual function, development and cancer rates of today’s generations and possibly their offspring, according to more than 15 years of research by a Colorado State University expert. For example, one study looking at sperm counts globally from 1940, when chemicals first began to be widely produced, to the 1990s, indicates a 1.15 percent per year decline in sperm counts. These declines may be linked to chemical exposure.Rao Veeramachaneni, BVSc, MScVet, PhD, a biomedical sciences professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has found that chemicals including pesticides, common pollutants in ground water, and chemicals in plastics, make-up and nail polish are on a growing list of culprits causing developmental abnormalities such as impaired sperm quality and impotence. Reproductive health can be compromised if males are exposed at various times in life spanning from in utero up to adulthood.Dr. Veeramachaneni’s findings span the globe and are across species lines, from humans to horses, wildlife to frogs. His research, coupled with the collective findings of other experts in the field, indicates a strong link related to pollutants, and incidence of such […]

Posted in Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Endocrine Disruption, Infertility | 1 Comment »

Members of Congress Push EPA To Act on Endocrine Disruptors

Monday, September 24th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, September 24, 2007) Seven representatives wrote to the EPA last Thursday, urging the government agency to act promptly to identify and screen products for dangerous endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The letter asks EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to provide definite deadlines in the testing and control of endocrine disruptors, which are substances that interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system, responsible for hormonal and developmental processes. EPA’s regulation of these substances that mimic or alter natural hormonal processes has been slow and lacks direction to meet set goals promptly, according to the U.S. Representatives. “To date, EPA’s efforts in this area have been characterized by missed deadlines, prolonged delays, and inadequate incorporation of public input,” according to the letter from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California). Ranking Minority Member on the Committee Tom Davis (R-Virginia); Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), Wayne Gilchrest (R-Maryland), and Jim Moran (D-Virginia); and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) also signed the letter to EPA. Advocates say that EPA’s lack of urgency on endocrine disruptors leaves the American population and future generations at risk for adverse health effects from exposure to these substances through […]

Posted in Endocrine Disruption, Pesticide Regulation | No Comments »

Report Notes Greater Environmental Risks to Boys

Monday, July 16th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, July 16, 2007) In its report released on Father’s Day 2007, “Men, Boys and Environmental Threats,” the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment urges greater awareness among parents about environmental risks to boys. “All children are at risk from exposure to environmental hazards, but boys appear to be at greater risk,” said Dr. Lynn Marshall, MD, with the Ontario College of Family Physicians. The report summarizes the evidence about environmental risks to boys, specifically examining cancer, asthma, learning and behavioral disorders, birth defects and testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Below is a summary of the report’s findings. Cancer: Although cancer is rare among all children, more boys are diagnosed with cancer than girls. Among young adults (age 20—44) several cancers are on the rise, including testicular cancer. Concern arises over parents’ exposures before conception or during pregnancy. Childhood cancers are associated with exposures to pesticides, solvents, petroleum products, motor vehicle exhaust, benzene and other pollutants. Much remains unknown. Since cancer involves problems with cell division, it is logical that exposures during times of rapid cell division (especially in the womb) likely pose the greatest risk. Asthma: In the past 20 years there has been a dramatic rise in asthma […]

Posted in Children/Schools, Disease/Health Effects | 1 Comment »

Florida Gators Need Win Over Pesticides

Monday, July 9th, 2007

(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 […]

Posted in Florida, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »

Ten Years Later, EPA to Begin Screening Endocrine Disrupting Pesticides

Tuesday, June 12th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, June 12, 2007) More than 10 years after being directed to do so by Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will test 73 pesticides for their potential to damage the endocrine system and disrupt the normal functioning of hormones in the body, the agency announced in a press release yesterday. EPA is seeking comments on the draft list of 73 pesticides to be evaluated under the new screening regimen. The 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) set a 1999 deadline for EPA to develop a battery of assays with which pesticide manufacturers will be required to screen their products as possible endocrine (hormonal) disrupters, similar to tests required to determine whether chemicals cause cancer, birth defects, genetic mutations, or other problems. EPA has repeatedly pushed back the deadline and despite claims to be “a leader in endocrine disruptor research,” EPA has yet to test a single chemical under the protocol. EPA draft list of 73 pesticide ingredients, including both active and inert ingredients, were chosen based on their relatively high potential for human exposure. According to the press release, priority was given “to pesticide active ingredients where there is the potential for human exposure […]

Posted in Endocrine Disruption, Pesticide Regulation | 1 Comment »

On Africa Malaria Day, Groups Say No to DDT and Advocate Safe Methods

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, April 25, 2007) Public health and environmental activists call on the world community today to respect life, protect children, stop hazardous pesticide use, including DDT, and adopt what they call “sustainable programs that attack poverty and the conditions that give rise to insect-borne diseases such as malaria.” Africa Malaria Day is commemorated on April 25, a day set aside by African governments committed to rolling back malaria and meeting the United Nations malaria-related Millennium Development Goals. Last September, the World Health Organization came under heavy criticism from public health and environmental groups when it announced its new policy to promote the use of DDT for malaria control in developing countries. Environmental and public health advocates warn that good intentions are in this case misguided. According to the Washington, DC-based non-profit organization Beyond Pesticides, advocating a reliance on pesticides, especially DDT, as a silver bullet solution for malaria protection is extremely dangerous. When the underlying causes of pest problems are not adequately addressed, then a sustained dependence on toxic pesticides like DDT causes greater long-term problems than those that are being addressed in the short-term. “The WHO is misleading the world on DDT, which is a known cancer causing […]

Posted in DDT, Insect-Borne Disease, International | No Comments »

Organic Landscaping Safer for People and the Environment, Group Says

Tuesday, April 17th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, April 17, 2007) With questions about the safety of toxic lawn chemicals and concerns about the impact of petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers on soil health, water pollution and global warming, the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns issued its Spring message to homeowners and land managers: Go organic! As the lawn chemical companies hit the advertising airwaves this Spring pushing companies like “Lawn Doctor” and “Scotts,” the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns is urging homeowners and land managers to reject toxic pesticides and synthetic, petroleum-based fertilizers and instead adopt organic products and practices. The Coalition is a consortium of public health and environmental groups and landscapers nationwide that points to the long list of scientific studies documenting the human health, wildlife, pet, and environmental hazards associated with pesticide products used by the typical commercial lawn care companies and sold at lawn and garden centers. “Scotts Miracle-Gro Company advertising this season is particularly misleading because it suggests practices such as sweeping chemical granules off driveways and pavement after lawn application to protect local waterways, while the program they are selling introduces unnecessary health and environmental hazards given the viability of organic non-toxic practices,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. […]

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Lawns/Landscapes | 2 Comments »

Fetal Exposure to Common Chemicals Can Activate Obesity

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, Feb 21, 2007) Exposure to environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides while in the womb may make a person more prone to obesity later in life, new research indicates. Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D, professor of biological sciences at University of Missouri-Columbia’s College of Arts and Science, has found that when fetuses are exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the way their genes function may be altered to make them more prone to obesity and disease. Dr. vom Saal presented his research last week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Francisco. “Perinatal Programming of Obesity: Interaction of Nutrition and Environmental Exposures” is the title of Dr. vom Saal’s AAAS presentation. “Certain environmental substances called endocrine-disrupting chemicals can change the functioning of a fetus’s genes, altering a baby’s metabolic system and predisposing him or her to obesity,” said Dr. vom Saal. “This individual could eat the same thing and exercise the same amount as someone with a normal metabolic system, but he or she would become obese, while the other person remained thin,” he said. Obesity puts people at risk for other problems, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. […]

Posted in Children/Schools, Disease/Health Effects | 1 Comment »

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