(Beyond Pesticides, October 16, 2009) On October 14th, Earthjustice and Farmworker Justice filed a petition asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set safety standards protecting children who grow up near farms from the harmful effects of pesticide drift. The groups are also asking the agency to adopt an immediate no-spray buffer zone around homes, schools, parks and daycare centers for the most dangerous and drift-prone pesticides, organophosphates. The petition was filed by the public interest law firms on behalf of farmworker groups: United Farm Workers, Oregon-based Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noreste, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO as well as Physicians for social Responsibility, Washington-based Sea Mar Community Health Center, Pesticide Action Network North America, and MomsRising.org. Specifically, the petition states that the EPA has failed to address the facts that children are particularly vulnerable to pesticides according findings by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1993. Congress took recommendations from NAS and passed the Food Quality Protection Act in1996, requiring EPA to “ensure that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to infants and children from aggregate exposure” to pesticides. However, while EPA has made some […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 29, 2009) A new study reveals that children exposed to agricultural pesticides applied near their home have up to twice the risk of developing the most common form of childhood leukemia, according to the Northern California Cancer Center (NCCC). The study, “Residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” published in the October issue of Environmental Research, used a unique California database to reveal an elevated risk in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) among children living near applications of certain categories of pesticides used in agriculture. The study, led by Rudolph Rull, Ph.D., shows an elevated risk of ALL associated with moderate exposure, but not high exposure, to pesticides classified as organophosphates (odds ratio (OR) 1.6), chlorophenoxy herbicides (OR 2.0), and triazines (OR 1.9), and with agricultural pesticides used as insecticides (OR 1.5) or fumigants (OR 1.7). California is one of the few states in the country that requires active reporting of pesticide applications, including time, place, and the type and amount of pesticide used. For this study, researchers were able to link children’s entire residential histories from birth to the time of case diagnosis to this pesticide-use reporting database and identify agricultural pesticides that […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September, 15, 2009) On September 11, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to place additional limitations on the use of three organophosphate pesticides ”” chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion ”” to protect endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The announcement comes in response to a series of lawsuits brought by Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, and other salmon advocates, with legal representation from Earthjustice, aimed at removing toxic pesticides from salmon spawning streams throughout the northwest. In response to the litigation, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in November of 2008 released a “biological opinion” that set forth a plan for protecting Pacific salmon and steelhead from three toxic organophosphate pesticides. That decision came after almost a decade of legal wrangling between salmon advocates led by Earthjustice and the federal government. The biological opinion prescribed measures necessary to keep these pesticides out of water and to protect salmon populations in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. The announcement from EPA moves this work forward. Although the experts at NMFS recommended prohibiting aerial applications of the three pesticides within 1,000 feet of salmon waters […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 29, 2009) A new study by researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University finds a higher level of common household pesticides in the urine of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer that develops most commonly between three and seven years of age. The findings are published in the August issue of the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Researchers, in the study entitled, “Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Exposure to Pesticides,” caution that these findings, which do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship, suggest an association between pesticide exposure and development of childhood ALL. “In our study, we compared urine samples from children with ALL and their mothers with healthy children and their moms. We found elevated levels of common household pesticides more often in the mother-child pairs affected by cancer,” says the study’s lead investigator, Offie Soldin, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Lombardi. Dr. Soldin cautions, “We shouldn’t assume that pesticides caused these cancers, but our findings certainly support the need for more robust research in this area.” Previous studies have found that exposures to certain pesticides increases the risk of developing certain cancers and degenerative diseases. The study was conducted between January 2005 and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 17, 2009) High levels of pyrethroid pesticides in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the number one river system on America’s Most Endangered Rivers List of 2009, has been linked to heavy urbanization in the region. Leading a study to understand the collapse of the delta’s ecosystem, University of California-Berkeley toxicologist Donald Weston, Ph.D. found that these pesticides most likely reached the river from urban storm drains, collecting household pesticide disposal and runoff from lawns of 1.4 million residents in the Sacramento region. Five years ago, a study by Dr. Weston and his colleague Michael J. Lydy, Ph.D of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale found that synthetic phyrethroids were collecting in river and creek sediments at levels that are toxic to bottom dwelling fish. Current research holds that there are enough pyrethroids to kill tiny shrimp, which are said to be the first link in the aquatic food chain. Pyrethroids are synthetic versions of pyrethrin, a natural insecticide found in certain species of chrysanthemum. It initially came on the market as a ”˜safer’ alternative to the heavily regulated and highly toxic organophosphates, such as diazinon and chlorypyrifos. Despite the fact that there are plenty of effective pest control […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 25, 2009) Although it is known that infants are more susceptible than adults to the toxic effects of pesticides, this increased vulnerability may extend much longer into childhood than expected, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Among newborns, levels of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), an enzyme critical to the detoxification of organophosphate pesticides, average one-third or less than those of the babies’ mothers. It was thought that PON1 enzyme activity in children approached adult levels by age two, but instead, the UC Berkeley researchers found that the enzyme level remained low in some individuals through age seven. Based upon the findings, reported in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the study authors recommend that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-evaluate the current standards for acceptable levels of pesticide exposure. “Current EPA standards of exposure for some pesticides assume children are three to five times more susceptible than adults, and for other pesticides the standards assume no difference,” said Nina Holland, Ph.D., UC Berkeley adjunct professor of environmental health sciences and senior author of the paper. “Our study is the first to show quantitatively that young children may be more susceptible to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 8, 2009) A new epidemiological study finds that Parkinson’s disease patients who have been exposed to pesticides through their work show elevated rates of the disease. The researchers find that French farmworkers have nearly double the risk for the disease if exposed to pesticides, with a dose-effect for the number of years of exposure. When they looked at the three major classes of pesticides (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides), they find that the farmworkers who used insecticides had over a two-fold increase in the risk of Parkinson’s disease. A slightly higher risk is found for exposure to organochlorine insecticides. According to the study, these associations are stronger in men with older onset Parkinson’s disease than in those with younger onset Parkinson’s. The study, “Professional Exposure to Pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease,” published in Annals of Neurology, involved individuals affiliated with the French health insurance organization for agricultural workers who were frequently exposed to pesticides in the course of their work. Occupational health physicians constructed a detailed lifetime exposure history to pesticides by interviewing participants, visiting farms, and collecting a large amount of data on pesticide exposure. These included farm size, type of crops, animal breeding, which pesticides were used, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 26, 2009) Following safety concerns and recalls of peanut butter products and spinach, new food safety legislation has been introduced by the U.S. Congress. They have stirred fears that the future of food safety regulations will be designed for Big Agriculture, and will harm organic and small farmers, and even home gardeners. H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, and H.R. 759, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Globalization Act of 2009, are responsible for many of those fears. Due to growing concerns and rumors regarding these, and other, bills, Food & Water Watch (FWW) has summarized some of the chief points of each bill. FWW explains that H.R. 875 would turn FDA into two agencies: one that regulates food, and another for drugs and medical devices. It increases processing plant inspections, as the latest peanut butter recalls were traced to one terribly mismanaged plant. It requires farms to write a “food safety plan,” and extends FDA authority to include farms. It also requires imported food to meet the same safety standards as domestic products. It does not, however, establish mandatory animal identification, like the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), nor does it regulate backyard […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 5, 2009) A new study published in the March 2009 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives finds that pesticide combinations cause more harm to endangered salmon than ndividual pesticide exposure. This means that single-pesticide risk assessments required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inadequately assess hazards. Mixtures of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides are commonly detected in freshwater habitats that support threatened and endangered species of Pacific salmon. According to the researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and Washington State University, these pesticides inhibit the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and thus have potential to interfere with behaviors that may be essential for salmon survival. The researchers measured brain AChE inhibition in juvenile coho salmon exposed to sublethal concentrations of the organophosphates diazinon, malathion, and chlorpyrifos, as well as the carbamates carbaryl and carbofuran. The pesticides were tested individually and in combination. They plotted AChE levels on a curve to determine whether the toxicologic responses to binary mixtures were additive, antagonistic (lesser than additive) effect, or synergistic (greater than additive). The authors observed addition and synergism, with a greater degree of synergism at higher exposure concentrations. Several combinations of organophosphates were lethal at concentrations that were […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 11, 2009) Connecticut lawmakers are taking an interest in the much debated cause of a massive die-off of lobsters that has all but wiped out the state’s 40 million dollar industry, according to the Easton Courier. Fishermen and environmentalists blame the use of the insecticide malathion, a hazardous organophosphate, currently used in community mosquito eradication programs, however the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) argues that there is not enough scientific data to lead to the banning of the chemical. The huge die-off of lobsters began in 1999, days after towns in Fairfield County, Westchester County and Long Island, as well as New York City, sprayed malathion to kill mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus. Also at that time, remnants of hurricane Floyd drenched the state and washed the pesticide into Long Island Sound. The DEP, however, says the storm caused many other factors that led to the mass die-off. However, the lobster population has yet to recover. State lawmakers find DEP’s position on malathion puzzling. Rep. Richard Roy (D-Milford), chair of the House Environment Committee, and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwal) are questioning DEP about its efforts to restore the state’s lobster industry while […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 22, 2008) The U.S. EPA has filed an administrative complaint, seeking a maximum penalty of only $4,550, against a pest control company that sprayed pesticides in a couple’s home, causing the wife to die shortly thereafter. It has been more than three years since the incident took place in Florence, Oregon. Swanson’s Pest Management of Eugene, Oregon sent an employee to a home on June 29, 2005 to apply Conquer Residential Insecticide Concentrate, active ingredient esfenvalerate, and ULD BP-100 Contact Insecticide, active ingredient pyrethrin. The couple returned to their home two and a half hours later and immediately fell to the ground due to the fumes. Paramedics were called in and they too experienced respiratory distress or became ill when they entered the treated home. According to The Oregonian, Florence Kolbeck was 76 years old and died of cardiac arrest as a result of the exposure. Her husband, Fred, was hospitalized for respiratory distress. The complaint was filed following a review of Swanson’s use of the two pesticides, finding that the company failed to properly ventilate the home prior to the occupants re-entering, and improperly applied Conquer as a “space spray” at nearly three times the allowable […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 16, 2008) According to a new study, published in the December 2008 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, pregnant women continue to be exposed to pesticides in the home. In fact, 75% of the sampled homes of pregnant women in inner-city New York are contaminated with piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a pesticide synergist linked to cancer and other health problems. Following the Environmental Protection Agency’s phase-out agreements with the manufacturers of organophosphate insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon in 2000 and 2001, the Columbia University researchers sought to determine the impact of the new regulations on pest infestation levels, pesticide use, and pesticides measured in indoor air samples. They enrolled 511 pregnant women from inner-city New York between 2000 and 2006. Permethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide; PBO, a pyrethroid synergist; chlorpyrifos; and diazinon were measured in 48-hr prenatal personal air samples. Data on pest infestation and pesticide use were collected via questionnaire. 88% of women report using pesticides during pregnancy and 55% report using higher-exposure pesticide applications (spray cans, pest bombs and/or professional pesticide applicators). Self-reported pest sightings and use of higher-exposure applications increased significantly after the regulations were implemented. PBO, cis-, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 21, 2008) On November 18, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released a biological opinion that sets forth a plan for protecting Pacific salmon and steelhead from three toxic organophosphate pesticides. The decision comes after almost a decade of legal wrangling between salmon advocates and the federal government. In the biological opinion, federal wildlife scientists comprehensively reviewed the science regarding the impacts of pesticides on salmon and ultimately concluded that current uses of the insecticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion jeopardize the existence of these imperiled fish. The biological opinion prescribes measures necessary to keep these pesticides out of water and to protect salmon populations in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. The new mitigation measures must be implemented within one year. They include: * Prohibiting aerial applications of the three pesticides within 1,000 feet of salmon waters * Prohibiting ground applications of the three pesticides within 500 feet of salmon waters * Requiring a 20 foot non-crop vegetative buffer around salmon waters and ditches that drain into salmon habitat * Prohibiting applications of the three pesticides when wind speeds are greater than or equal to 10 mph “Keeping these pesticides out of the water is a major step […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 18, 2008) At least one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness, a condition caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas, and no effective treatments have yet been found, a federal panel of scientific experts and veterans concludes in a landmark report released November 17, 2008. The Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses presented the report to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake at Veterans Administration (VA) headquarters in Washington, DC. Scientific staff support to the Committee is provided by the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). “The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is the result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time,” the report says. The 450-page report brings together for the first time the full range of scientific research and government investigations on Gulf War illness and officially resolves many questions about the condition. The report found that Gulf War illness fundamentally differs from stress-related syndromes described […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 11, 2008) Researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine have linked organophosphate pesticides to the epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The researchers specifically link neonatal low-dose parathion exposure in rats to disruption of glucose and fat homeostasis. The study, “Exposure of Neonatal Rats to Parathion Elicits Sex-Selective Reprogramming of Metabolism and Alters the Response to a High-Fat Diet in Adulthood,” was published in the November 2008 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. It follows research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that links pesticide exposure to type 2 diabetes using epidemiological data from the Agricultural Health Study. Although most studies of organophosphates focus on their neurotoxicity, there is increasing evidence that these agents may also have a lasting impact on metabolic function. According to authors, obesity and consequent type II diabetes are rising at epidemic rates in the U.S. and many other countries around the world. Two of three U.S. adults are now classified as overweight. There are epidemiologic links between pesticide exposure and diabetes, and the same subpopulations that have the highest rates of obesity””inner-city, low-socioeconomic-status, agricultural populations””are also those that have greater exposure to organophosphates and other pesticides. The researchers chose parathion […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 20, 2008) Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are among a toxic soup of hazardous chemicals found in the bodies of pregnant women, according to an National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) led study doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.07.014 published in the October issue of the journal Environmental Research. The population-based birth cohort study analyzed urine specimens of one hundred pregnant women. The study builds on the existing body of evidence that shows that low-level exposure to chemicals impact human health, especially pregnant women and their children. The research is part of the Generation R Study, which includes 9778 participants in the Netherlands and focuses on growth and physical development, behavioral and cognitive development, childhood diseases and health, and health care for pregnant women and children. The Generation R Study allows the researchers to follow-up with the study participants and “provides an opportunity to efficiently address questions regarding the reproductive and development effects of prenatal exposures.” Besides finding high levels of OP pesticides, the researchers find some suspected endocrine disrupting compounds including bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. Animal studies show that these chemicals can affect brain and reproductive development. According to the researchers, exposure to OP pesticides and some phthalates were significantly higher […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 1, 2008) Last week, a jury awarded $1 million in compensation to an organic farm in Santa Cruz, California, whose herbs were contaminated by pesticides. The jury found that organophosphate pesticides, used on vegetables on neighboring farms, drifted onto the organic farm, leaving the herbs in violation of organic standards. The organic farm, Jacobs Farm Del Cabo, filed a lawsuit against the pesticide application company Western Farm Service, Inc. in May 2007. The suit sought an order to stop Western Farm Service from spraying pesticides that contaminate crops at Wilder Ranch State Park, where Jacobs Farm leases 120 acres. Compensation for losses, in the sum of $1 million, which resulted from pesticide contamination, was also sought. The court ruled that pesticide applications by Western Farm Service resulted in trespass of the pesticides onto Jacobs Farm and were legally determined to be a nuisance depriving Jacobs Farm of the right to use and enjoy the land, caused by negligence on the part of Western Farm Services. The jury found that Jacobs Farm was damaged in the sum of $1 million and Judge Robert Atack ordered judgment in that amount against Western Farm Service. The organophosphates, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 4, 2008) According to a new Center for Public Integrity investigation, Perils of the New Pesticides, pyrethrins and pyrethroids were responsible for more than 26 percent of all major and moderate human incidents involving pesticides in the United States in 2007, up from just 15 percent in 1998 ”” a 67 percent increase. This is based on an analysis of adverse reaction reports filed with the Environmental Protection Agency by pesticide manufacturers. As a result of the Center’s investigation, the director of the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs said the agency would begin a broad study of the human health effects of these chemicals this year. “The alarming rise of pesticide-related incidents attributed to pyrethrin and pyrethroid affiliated products is a serious concern for the millions of households that use them,” said Center Executive Director Bill Buzenberg. “The Center for Public Integrity uncovered this public safety issue through more than a dozen Freedom of Information Act requests and crunching the data. This should be basic public information if the EPA were doing its job.” Data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers reveals a similar trend that supports the EPA data analyzed by the Center. The […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 16, 2008) People exposed to pesticides are more likely to suffer changes in nerve responses and severe weakness in their neck and limb muscles in the days before they succumb to their symptoms. This is according to a new study, which found that the major cause of death was as a result of respiratory failure following acute organophosphate poisoning. The study entitled, “The Spectrum of Intermediate Syndrome Following Acute Organophosphate Poisoning: A Prospective Cohort Study from Sri Lanka” published in the open-access journal Public Llibrary of Science (PloS) Medicine was a collaboration between researchers from Sri Lanka, Australia, and the UK. These researchers examined and assessed 78 consenting symptomatic patients with organophosphate poisoning and found that 10 suffered severe weakness in their neck and limb muscles and five of these eventually developed respiratory failure. Respiratory failure is the major cause of death after poisoning by organophosphates. Lead author Pradeepa Jayawardane, clinical pharmacology lecturer at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura in Sri Lanka, and colleagues realized that there are changes in nerve transmission that are presented before individuals with organophosphate poisoning develop muscle weakness, also known as intermediate syndrome (IMS). IMS results in muscle weakness in the limbs, […]

*July 14, 2008 Update: Officials have reported that the cause for poisoning of these Maryland residents was jimsonweed, not pesticides. Jimsonweed was found in the garden of the home where the stew had been prepared. Symptoms are similar to organophosphate pesticide poisonings. (Source: NBC4) (Beyond Pesticides, July 10, 2008) Showing just how toxic common pesticides can be, six people in Gaithersburg, Maryland who ate potentially contaminated stew have been hospitalized with probable pesticide poisoning. Reports say that mint leaves from a backyard garden that were in a potato stew are suspected to have contained organophosphate pesticide residues. Unfortunately, the media is reporting this as a case of failing to wash produce properly, which does not address the root of the pesticide poisoning problem””that pesticides are hazardous and their uses cause harm. In fact, when EPA registers pesticides for use in food production, whether in the garden or commercial agriculture, it does not disclose or warn the public about pesticide residues or require the washing of treated food commodities, and it does not point to the availability of nontoxic alternatives. The Washington Post reports, “In a textbook illustration of the importance of thoroughly washing plants and vegetables before eating them, authorities […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 10, 2008) According to scientists at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, real-world pesticide combinations, such as those found in Canada’s Nicomekl River, may contribute to latest decline in the region’s endangered salmon populations. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T), a publication of the American Chemical Society, examines the impact by simulating the river’s low-level pesticide mixture to examine its effects on fish. The study used steelhead trout, a member of the salmon family, and found that the pesticide mix can deaden the trout’s sense of smell. This could harm the fish’s ability to avoid predators, find mates, and migrate back to sea, the researchers say, and could contribute to the threatened and endangered status of salmon species. “Most laboratory studies examine the effects of a single chemical, often at high concentrations, but real-world streams contain a mixture of chemicals at very low concentrations,” Keith Tierney, Ph.D., the study’s coauthor, told ES&T. Dr. Tierney and his colleagues re-created river water in the laboratory under controlled conditions with carefully measured levels of the 10 most frequently occurring pesticides in British Columbia’s Nicomekl River. The mixture contained four major classes of pesticides, including the commonly […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 27, 2008) A population-based study looking at how genes and environmental factors interact shows that pet shampoos containing insecticides may trigger autism spectrum disorders (ASD), reports New Scientist. The study findings, presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, show that mothers of children with an ASD are twice as likely to have used an insecticidal pet shampoo during the prenatal and/or postnatal period when compared to mothers of healthy children. The strongest association was during the second trimester of pregnancy. According to the researchers, pet shampoos often contain pyrethrins and previous animal research has found that pyrethrins are designed to target the central nervous system in insects, rodents and other species and can cause death of neurons and compromise the blood-brain barrier in early life.Examining participants in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study, researchers from the University of California, Davis looked at 333 children with ASD and 198 healthy children between the ages of two and five, and their families. In-depth questionnaires and blood and urine samples were collected. Isaac Pessah, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the study and professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine at […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 8, 2008) A team of University of Michigan scientists discover interactions between genes and organophosphate exposure cause some forms of motor neuron disease (MND). The study, which appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, shows the mutations in one key gene (neuropathy target esterase, or NTE) that causes a previously unknown type of inherited MND. The scientists also find the mutations caused changes in a protein already known to be involved when people develop neurologic disorders as a result of exposure to toxic organophosphate chemicals commonly used in solvents and insecticides and also as “nerve gas” agents. Motor neuron disease is a rare, devastating illness in which nerve cells that carry brain signals to muscles gradually deteriorate. One form of it is Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). For most MND patients, the cause is unknown. Figuring out why these people develop the disease, which causes muscles to weaken, atrophy and cease to function, is an important step in developing therapies to treat or prevent motor neuron disease. Motor neuron disease affects five per 100,000 people. “Our findings support the possibility that toxic organophosphates contribute to motor neuron disease in […]