Page 175 – Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

12
Jun

Pesticides Contaminate Deep-Sea Food Web

(Beyond Pesticides, June 12, 2008) A new study reports that pesticides, including DDT and tributyltin (TBT), have been found in deep-sea squids and octopods. This study is the first to analyze the chemical contamination of these deep sea organisms, and adds to the body of literature that demonstrates the far-reaching effects of pesticide use on global ecosystems. Pesticide contamination has been documented as far away from the point of use as the arctic and now the deep sea.

In the study, to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, Michael Vecchione of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and colleagues from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of The College of William and Mary report finding a wide variety of chemical contaminants in nine species of cephalopods, a class of organisms that includes cuttlefishes and nautiluses along with squids and octopods. Cephalopods are important to the diet of cetaceans, which are marine mammals such as whales, dolphins and porpoises. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the blubber of whales and some deep sea fish has already been documented.

The twenty-two specimens analyzed were taken from depths between 1000 and 2000 meters (approximately 3,300 and 6,600 ft.) in the North Atlantic Ocean. “The cephalopod species we analyzed span a wide range of sizes and represent an important component of the oceanic food web,” Vecchione said. “The fact that we detected a variety of pollutants in specimens collected from more than 3,000 feet deep is evidence that human-produced chemicals are reaching remote areas of the open ocean, accumulating in prey species, and therefore available to higher levels of marine life. Contamination of the deep-sea food web is happening, and it is a real concern.”

Pesticides discovered in the tissue of these organisms include tributyltin (TBT) and dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have many sources, one of which is creosote used for wood preservation. The scientists also discovered high levels of other industrial pollutants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs).

TBT was once used on nearly all of the world’s 30,000 commercial ships as an algae and barnacle killer, but is now subject to an international ban because of its severe effects on marine wildlife and its persistence in the aquatic environment. However, TBT containing compounds are still registered for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as bacteriocides, microbiocides, fungicides, algaecides, slimicides, and virucides and can be used in livestock operations and hatcheries, materials preservation, and non pressure-treated wood operations. The EPA recently had a comment period for the reregistration of TBT-containing compounds.

The results of this study highlight how critical it is to take regulatory action on chemicals that are persistent in the environment and reach all ends of the food web, including humans who eat contaminated seafood. The ban on TBT used on ships will not signal an end to the presence of TBT in aquatic ecosystems for many years to come, just as the U.S. ban on DDT in 1972 did not put an end to DDT contamination within the U.S. (DDT is still in use in some countries for mosquito control, despite its toxicity and the availability of less toxic alternatives). Other chemicals that have similar persistence and chemical characteristics to DDT, such as lindane are still registered for some uses in the United States.

While the use of many persistent chemicals is on the decline because of mounting evidence of their lingering negative effects, the use of some persistent pesticides in different chemical families is increasing. Despite the public health and environmental threats they pose, these chemicals have largely avoided public scrutiny. One such chemical that Beyond Pesticides finds particularly disconcerting is the ubiquitous triclosan. This antimicrobial pesticide has been linked to numerous adverse health effects in humans and aquatic life, and triclosan levels in waste water have been steadily increasing. For more information on triclosan, please see the Beyond Pesticides antibacterials page. EPA’s comment period for the reregistration of triclosan is open and you may submit public comments here.

Source: NOAA

Posted in DDT, Tributyltin, Water by: Beyond Pesticides
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11
Jun

House Passes New Bill to Help Schools Go Green

(Beyond Pesticides, June 11, 2008) The House of Representatives has passed legislation that will provide nearly $7 billion in grants to help K-12 schools go green. Entitled, “21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act” (H.R. 3021), the bill, sponsored by Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY), will help schools to become more energy efficient and healthier. There is a special emphasis on low-income schools where children are most at risk from unhealthy facilities and on schools that still suffer from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

The legislation passed by the House on June 4, will allow the Secretary of Education to distribute funds to K-12 school districts according to a need-based formula, to make them more energy efficient, healthy, and high performing. Funding can also be used for asbestos removal services, energy efficiency improvements, lead abatements, and technology upgrades.

The bill will also help school districts, which are struggling to make essential improvements, to create better school facilities and save significant amounts of energy and help to reduce greenhouse gases. Thirty-nine percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, and each green and energy efficient school will lead to annual emission reductions of 585,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) — the principal greenhouse gas.

In order to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in schools, the bill:

Calls for school districts to use funds to meet one of three widely recognized green building standards or equivalent state or local standards.’

Requires school districts to publicly report the educational, energy and environmental benefits of projects, how they meet green building standards, and the percentage of funds used for projects at low-income and rural schools.

Requires the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to create a database of the best practices in school construction and to provide technical assistance to states and school districts regarding best practices.

A green school costs less than two percent more than conventional schools – or about $3 per square foot — but provides financial benefits that are 20 times as large, typically utilizing 33 percent less energy and 32 percent less water than a traditionally designed school — enough savings to hire two additional full-time teachers.

Close to 60 million students spend up to 40 hours a week in facilities that are often unhealthy and a hindrance to their ability to learn. Many school environments are a cause of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Improving the environment where children spend the majority of their time can significantly improve the health of students and increase student morale and confidence.

Along with energy efficiency and the removal of dangerous contaminants like lead and asbestos, green and healthy schools also need to protect children from the risks posed by pesticides through the adoption of school pest management policies and programs to create healthier learning environments. Pesticide exposure can adversely affect a child’s neurological, respiratory, immune, and endocrine system and have been shown to cause or exacerbate asthma symptoms. Beyond Pesticides believes that central to this effort to protect children’s health should be activities aimed at public education on pesticide hazards and efficacy of alternatives, and the continued development of model communities that serve as examples.

For more information on Healthy Schools, visit our Children & Schools program page.

Source: Earth Day Network Press Release

Posted in Children/Schools, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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10
Jun

Study Shows Real-World Pesticide Mixtures Harm Salmon

(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 used agricultural pesticides atrazine and diazinon. The researchers exposed the trout to the mixture for 4 days instead of the more typical 30 minutes used in other studies. “Fish live in rivers [for long periods], so a longer exposure is more realistic,” Dr. Tierney said.

The research team also tested a pesticide mixture both at one-fifth and at double the concentrations found in the river. At the lowest pesticide levels, the fish’s response to odor was not impaired measurably, but they had higher levels of enzymes that detoxify contaminants. In some cases, animals can build up these enzymes and potentially gain protection from later pulses of the contaminant at higher concentrations, which occur commonly in streams during runoff events. However, that did not occur in this case. Regardless of the initial exposure level, the fish did not produce enough detoxifying enzymes to prevent damage from a later large pulse of pesticides.

“It’s the norm to find pesticides occurring as mixtures,” Nathaniel Scholz, Ph.D., ecotoxicology program manager at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center told ES&T. These mixtures can combine in ways that produce effects not caused by the individual chemicals. In his research, Dr. Scholz found that very low levels of copper impair salmon’s olfaction and thereby the fish’s ability to detect and avoid predators. Testing individual pesticides offers the advantage of ascribing effects to one chemical, he says, but testing all of the possible combinations in a stream quickly becomes “insurmountable.” The new study’s approach is more realistic, but “you don’t know which component drove the effect,” he says, so further tests are required.

Pesticides sprayed on agricultural crops are widespread in streams in the Northwest and half of the waters sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey contain six or more pesticides. Pesticides found in salmon watersheds were at concentrations at or above levels set to protect fish and other aquatic life. The pesticides used in Dr. Scholz’s study include the organophosphates malathion, chlopyrifos and diazion, among others. Organophosphates are neurotoxic and kill cells by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that helps neurons communicate. This in turn harms the ability of salmon to feed. Diazinon also reduces sperm production in male salmon even at extremely low levels.

In a 2002 order, a U.S. District Court in Seattle found that the federal government had failed to protect threatened species of salmon and 26 other endangered species from toxic pesticides. The judge ordered EPA to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to identify permanent measures needed to protect the salmon and others from pesticides. Despite the ruling, federal agencies have been negligent in their efforts to protect declining salmon populations. In November 2007, fishing and environmental groups seeking to force the federal government to uphold the five-year-old rule once again filed a lawsuit (See the November 7, 2007 Daily News Blog).

For more information on endangered salmon see articles from the Spring 2002 and Summer 1999 issues of Pesticides and You.

Posted in Atrazine, Chemicals, Diazinon, Water, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. by: Beyond Pesticides
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09
Jun

Fed Launches Organic Lawn Management in Capitol Region

(Beyond Pesticides, June 9, 2008) The General Services Administration (GSA) has begun using organic fertilizer on the grounds of all its federal buildings in the National Capital Region. The region, which is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, includes the District of Columbia, as well parts of Virginia and Maryland. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), GSA is using 100-percent organic pelletized chicken manure at 64 sites, covering 84 acres. The poultry litter is being collected by a private company and converted to usable organic fertilizer, then transported by truck to the region, and applied at the GSA properties.

“Use of organic fertilizer is but one of many sustainable practices that GSA employs in our landscaping program,” commented GSA Regional Administrator Tony Reed. “In this first year of utilizing this approach for all of our buildings in the National Capital Region, we have applied 80 tons, enriching our landscapes at the same time we are helping to clean up Chesapeake Bay.”

Chemical fertilizer, pesticides, animal manure, and poultry litter are major sources of excess nitrogen and phosphorus that cause water quality problems in the Chesapeake Bay. These pollutants get washed into local rivers, streams, and groundwater and eventually reach the bay, where they contribute to massive algae blooms. As these blooms die off and decompose, they rob the bay of dissolved oxygen creating dead zones in which fish and other aquatic life cannot survive.

“GSA is providing a reasonable alternative for poultry farmers to traditional manure applications, creating a sustainable new market for this material. GSA’s switch to all organic fertilizer sets a good example of the kind of steps we all need to take to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay,” said EPA Regional Administrator Donald S. Welsh.

For more than a decade, GSA has implemented an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program in 30 million square feet, approximately 7,000 federal buildings, in the capital area without spraying toxic insecticides.

Over four acres of Washington, DC’s National Mall has been maintained organically by the National Park Service (NPS) over the past year. The growth of the pesticide-free zone movement around the country and the passage of pesticide-free public land policies are very promising. For more information on organic turf management, please visit Beyond Pesticides’ Lawns and Landscapes program page. To find a service provider that practices least- or non-toxic methods, visit the Safety Source for Pest Management.

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Lawns/Landscapes, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., Water by: Beyond Pesticides
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06
Jun

Study Shows Increased Diabetes Risk from Pesticide Exposure

(Beyond Pesticides, June 6, 2008) A recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), finds pesticide applicators with regular exposure to pesticides to be at a greater risk of type-2 diabetes. Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwn028), the study shows specific pesticides produce between a 20 and 200 percent increase in risk. Researchers looked at data from 31,787 pesticide applicators in North Carolina and Iowa over a period of five years. In that period, 1,171, or 3.7 percent, had developed diabetes, particularly for applicators in the highest category of lifetime days of use of any pesticide.

“The results suggest that pesticides may be a contributing factor for diabetes along with known risk factors such as diabetes, lack of exercise and having a family history of diabetes,” said Dale Sandler, PhD, chief of the Epidemiology Branch of NIEHS. “Although the amount of diabetes explained by pesticides is small, these new findings may extend beyond the pesticide applicators in the study.”

Freya Kamel, PhD, of NIEHS noted that “all of the seven pesticides” associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes are chlorinated compounds: aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, dichlorvos, trichlorfon, alachlor, and cyanazine. “We don’t know yet what the implication of that is, but it can’t be a coincidence. I think it’s an important clue for future research,” said Dr. Kamel. Trichlorfon bore the strongest correlation; applicators who used it both frequently and infrequently show an 85 percent increase in risk for diabetes, while those who applied it more than 10 times experience nearly a 250 percent increase in risk.

“This is one of the largest studies looking at the potential effects of pesticides on diabetes incidence in adults,” said Dr. Kamel. “It clearly shows that cumulative lifetime exposure is important and not just recent exposure.” Weight and fitness also play a roll, researchers reported, as chemicals may be stored in body fat.

This is not the first study to report on the link between organochlorine pesticides and diabetes. Earlier this year, University of Cambridge scientists studied the role that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) play in the risk of adult onset diabetes, as did a study in 2007. The study looked at in this latest research also offer a wealth of connections to other health effects, including cancer, endocrine disruption, developmental effects, neurotoxicity, and others.

To find out how you can manage homes, buildings, lawns and landscapes without using toxic chemicals, visit Beyond Pesticides’ alternatives fact sheets. To find a pest control company in your area that uses less- and non-toxic products, visit the Safety Source for Pest Management.

Sources: Science Daily, United Press International, News Inferno, Reuters

Posted in Alachlor, Aldrin, Chlordane, Cyanazine, DDVP, Diabetes, Dichlorvos, Heptachlor, Trichlorfon by: Beyond Pesticides
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05
Jun

Amidst Food Crisis, Agrochemical Companies Prosper

(Beyond Pesticides, June 5, 2008) While the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) High Level Conference on Food Security in Rome convenes June 3-5, 2008, some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are trying to shed light on the fact that as hundreds of millions of people throughout the world are hungry, agrochemical companies that make pesticides and genetically engineered seeds are making record profits. Although UN chief Ban Ki-moon has declared the summit a success with “a clear sense of resolve, shared responsibility and political commitment among member states to making the right policy choices and investing in agriculture in the years to come,” many NGOs fear that the policies will only continue in the model of the green revolution, which ushered in the widespread use of pesticides and fertilizers in farming. This model favors large agrochemical companies that manufacture pesticides and genetically engineered seeds and perpetuates the environmental and social devastation that goes hand in hand with industrial agriculture.

The Food Summit in Rome follows the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD) (also sponsored by the FAO) conference held in April of this year, which stressed the importance of agroecological and organic approaches to farming in order to alleviate poverty and improve food security. Corporate representatives, though invited to participate in this assessment, were dissatisfied with the results, which stated that: “Technologies, such as high-yielding crop varieties, agrochemicals and mechanization have primarily benefited the better resourced groups in society and transnational corporations, rather than the most vulnerable ones.” Deborah Keith, a scientist from chemical giant Syngenta walked out of the proceedings and called instead for actions similar to those taken during the green revolution, highlighting the industry’s view of the importance of biotechnology.

With this as the backdrop, Monsanto, maker of pesticides and genetically engineered seeds, announced an initiative today to “help increase global food production in the face of growing demand, limited natural resources and a changing climate.” Among the benefits Monsanto pledges to do produce is to “improve farmers’ lives.” When many farmers’ and peasants’ organizations are calling for changes to the corporate control of agriculture and the industry has ignored the recommendations of the IAASTD that incorporated farmer input as to bettering their lives and livelihoods, this statement forces one to ask who really benefits from the scientific “advancements” companies develop. As millions struggled to feed their families, Monsanto posted record profits last year of nearly $1 billion, up from just over $700 million the year before. Syngenta also posted record profits in 2007 of $1.1 billion, up over 60% from 2006.

Producers of genetically engineered seeds claim they will reduce pesticide use and increase drought resistance, among other things, but many studies have emerged since their widespread adoption in the 1990s showing otherwise. Insect resistance, weed resistance (the development of “super weeds”), and cross contamination of other crops have been documented. These impacts threaten the sustainability of agriculture.

TAKE ACTION: Don’t let corporations continue to gain control over agriculture, spreading the use of toxic chemicals and genetically engineered seeds. Vote with your dollars and buy organic, fair trade items that support better farming practices and sustainable livelihoods.

Posted in Genetic Engineering, International, Monsanto by: Beyond Pesticides
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04
Jun

EPA Tightens Controls for Ten Rodenticides, Leaves Major Exposure Risk

(Beyond Pesticides, June 4, 2008) On May 29, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final risk mitigation decision for ten rodenticides, which outlines new measures it says will help protect children and the public from accidental poisonings as well as to decrease exposures to pets and wildlife from rodent-control products. However, because the decision omits key uses, allows continued applicator use of dangerous formulations, and recognizes a lack of product efficacy without a fully integrated program (yet does not require it on the label), environmentalists feel the final risk mitigation decision falls short of adequately protecting the health of people, wildlife and the environment.EPA is requiring that ten rodenticides used in bait products marketed to consumers be enclosed in bait stations, making the pesticide inaccessible to children and pets, and is also prohibiting the sale of loose bait, such as pellets, for use in homes. These ten rodenticides are:

”¢ Brodifacoum
”¢ Bromadiolone
”¢ Bromethalin
”¢ Chlorophacinone
”¢ Cholecalciferol
”¢ Difenacoum
”¢ Difethialone
”¢ Diphacinone
”¢ Warfarin
”¢ Zinc phosphide

Exposure to children is also a major concern for these chemicals. According to the 2006 Annual Report of the American Association Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System, over 40,000 cases of exposures to rodenticide products occurred in children six years and younger. Data also indicate that children in low-income families are disproportionately exposed. The EPA concedes that the number of exposure incidents resulting in symptomatic diagnoses and/or requiring treatment is unacceptably high.The EPA also believes that a major cause of the child exposure incidents is residential users’ failure to adequately comply with label directions which have required the application of rodenticide bait products in locations inaccessible to children. To reduce these risks, EPA is requiring that all rodenticide bait products available for sale to consumers be sold only in tamper-resistant bait stations. Loose bait, such as pellets, will be prohibited as a bait form for residential use.

Rodenticide products containing brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone and difenacoum are known to pose the greatest risk to wildlife and will no longer be allowed to be sold or distributed in the consumer market. However, use by professional applicators will be permitted, and bait stations will be required for all outdoor, above-ground uses for products containing these ingredients. EPA says this will reduce the amount of product in the environment, providing additional protection for wildlife from poisonings by these more toxic and persistent products. However, many wildlife poisonings do not come from direct contact with the bait. These rodenticides have been involved with the poisonings of federally listed threatened and endangered species, for example the San Joaquin kit fox and Northern spotted owl. Rodents can feed on poisoned bait multiple times before death, and as a result their carcasses contain residues that may be many times the lethal dose. Poisonings occur when predators or scavengers feed on these poisoned rodents.

While these measures, taken to protect the residential consumer and children, are commendable, there are several shortcomings. Human and wildlife exposures to these toxic chemicals, though slightly minimized, would nevertheless continue because of their continued availability for use in agricultural production and to pest control operators. Pest control operators will still be allowed to use these chemicals in homes, at their discretion, which means residential exposures continue, albeit at slightly lower levels. These measures also do not apply to rodenticide field uses, or to tracking powder products, which may utilize any of the ten rodenticides, and thus continue to impact residential consumers and non-target wildlife.

EPA, to its credit, recognizes that the use of toxic chemicals to control rodents is itself not effective rodent management. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices are recommended by the EPA for rodent control in and around households. EPA advises that effective rodent control requires sanitation, rodent proofing, and removal of rodent harborage; habitat modification to make an area less attractive to rodents, and discourage new populations from recolonizing the area. Non-chemical devices such as snap traps and other trapping systems are also affordable and quite effective as a method for rodent control.

However, while EPA recognizes that IPM practices are safe and effective methods for controlling rodents, the dependency on the rodenticides as a means of control continues. Given that EPA acknowledges that effective rodent management will not be achieved without the adoption of safer IPM techniques, it is imperative that these practices are promoted to the consumer so that efforts can work toward the elimination of public and environmental exposures to low levels of toxic rodenticides. To do this, rodenticide labels must require the users to establish IPM practices and only allow the introduction of poisons as a part of this approach as a last resort.

Even as a last resort, millions of pounds of rodenticides will be applied to homes every year and measures to protect children from these household poisons have been long overdue. In 1998, new safety regulations- which required manufacturers to include two safety measures to protect children: an ingredient that makes the poison taste more bitter, and a dye that would make it more obvious when a child ingested the poison – were revoked in 2001 after the EPA announced that a “mutual agreement” was reached with the chemical manufacturers.

In response, the Natural Resources Council (NRDC) and the West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT) filed a lawsuit in 2004, challenging EPA’s regulations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Administrative Procedure Act. In 2005, a New York City’s federal court ruled that the EPA failed to protect children from exposure to chemical rat poisons, and failed to require chemical manufacturers to strengthen safeguards. (See Daily News of August 17, 2005.)

Beyond Pesticides believes that IPM is a vital tool that aids in the rediscovery of non-toxic methods to control rodents and facilitates the transition toward a pesticide-free (and healthier) world. It offers the opportunity to eliminate or drastically reduce pesticide use and to minimize the toxicity of and exposure to any products that are used. Sanitation, structural repairs, mechanical and biological control, pest population monitoring are some IPM methods that can be undertaken to control rodents. For more information on IPM, contact Beyond Pesticides or visit our IPM program page.

For more information on EPA’s risk assessment of the ten rodenticides, visit http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/rodenticides/finalriskdecision.htm. To learn more about rodenticides, visit Beyond Pesticides’ Rodenticides fact sheet. For least toxic control of mice and other pests visit the alternatives page.

For more background information on EPA’s regulatory decision and to view previous public comments, please visit www.regulation.gov and enter docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0955, or click on this link.

Source: U.S. EPA Mitigation Decision

Posted in Announcements, Antibacterial, International, Pesticide Regulation, Rodenticide, Rodents by: Beyond Pesticides
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03
Jun

Survey Finds America’s Lawns Could Be Much “Greener”

(Beyond Pesticides, June 3, 2008) The National Gardening Association’s (NGA) 2008 Environmental Lawn and Garden Survey finds that only one out of five U.S. homeowners chooses lawn and landscape practices classified as “green” by NGA —and the association’s standards were not even very high.

To evaluate homeowner lawn care practices, NGA used its “Eco-Scorecard” to ask respondents which of 12 environmentally friendly lawn, garden, and landscape practices they will follow at home this year. Unfortunately, maintaining an organic lawn, didn’t even make the survey. Instead NGA, which partners with companies that manufacture and sell lawn chemicals, asked questions like, “Do you read and follow the label carefully when using pesticides and fertilizers?” 49% said “yes.”

Beyond Pesticides has previously told the NGA that label compliance does not adequately protect people, pets and the environment because of deficiencies and limitations in EPA’s pesticide regulatory review process, which is focused on risk assessment calculations that, among other things, ignore the effect of chemical mixtures on lawns, low level exposure, endocrine disrupting effects, and the full range of impacts on children and pets. Beyond Pesticides has urged organizations like NGA to embrace the precautionary principle and the elimination of cosmetic or aesthetic uses of hazardous pesticides in the management of lawns and landscapes because these areas can be effectively managed without them. See Beyond Pesticides comments on the Environmental Guidelines for Responsible Lawn Care and Landscaping, written by a committee that included NGA.

Many organic-friendly practices, including high mower height and composting did make the NGA survey, with about 40% answering positively.

The results of the survey are as follows:

Water your lawn and plants only when they need it. Use water wisely. 63%

Read and follow the label carefully when using pesticides and fertilizers. 49%

Leave grass clippings in place on your lawn. 44%

Keep fertilizer, pesticide, yard, and pet waste out of water sources and off pavement. 43%

Apply mulch around trees, shrubs, or garden areas. 40%

Choose and use the right plants in the right spot for your climate, sun/shade, soil, and rainfall. 39%

Cut your lawn at the highest recommended mower setting. 39%

Recycle yard waste by composting grass clippings, leaves, and other organic materials. 31%

Before using pesticides to control insects or weeds, make sure the problem and the most appropriate method to control the problem are correctly identified. 29%

Use only well-adapted or native plants in your landscaping and remove poorly adapted, exotic, or invasive plants. 26%

Learn more about how to best care for the lawn, specific plants, soil, and wildlife at your home. 20%

None of the above. 10%

“The fact that only 2 out of 12 environmentally friendly lawn, garden, and landscape practices on the Eco-Scorecard are followed by a majority of households with a yard or garden indicates there’s a real need for improvement in people’s appreciation for the impact each of us can have on the environment in our own backyards. Most homeowners have a lot to learn about ‘green’ lawn and landscape practices,” said Mike Metallo, NGA president.

Beyond Pesticides agrees that the results of the survey are disappointing, and believes that NGA, which offers a lot of valuable information on its website (including edible landscaping and urban gardening), should be doing more to promote pesticide-free lawns, rather than the legally prescribed use of pesticides on lawns. On a brighter note, the growth of the pesticide-free zone movement around the country and the passage of pesticide-free public land policies are very promising.

For more information on organic turf management, please visit our Lawns and Landscapes program page. To find a service provider that practices least- or non-toxic methods, visit the Safety Source for Pest Management.

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Lawns/Landscapes by: Beyond Pesticides
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02
Jun

Michigan Neighborhood Contaminated with Dioxin, Dow Blamed

(Beyond Pesticides, June 2, 2008) Residential properties in Saginaw, Michigan contain unacceptably high levels of dioxin contamination, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5. Soil from the Riverside Boulevard area, a neighborhood along the Lower Tittabawassee River and downstream from the Dow Chemical Company’s manufacturing plant, was recently sampled and analyzed by EPA and evaluated in collaboration with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Michigan Department of Community Health. Past waste disposal practices, fugitive emissions and incineration at the plant have resulted in on- and off-site contamination of nearby waterways. Dow’s manufacturing of chlorine-based products and other chemicals results in dioxins, as well as furans, chlorobenzenes and heavy metals, as byproducts.

According to the Chicago Tribune, soil samples “from one yard was 23 times higher than what the EPA considers reasonable safe.” Former administrator for EPA’s Region 5, Mary Gade, had been aggressively pushing Dow to properly cleanup the area, until she was forced out, states the Chicago Tribune. Dow’s previous dioxin cleanup of the 300 residences included cleaning inside the homes and laying wood chips over the contaminated soil around the homes, which is believed to be ineffective in protecting people and wildlife from dioxin exposure.

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, stated during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing that the recent ousting of Ms. Wade “raise[s] warning signs about the credibility of the EPA and the agency’s commitment to ”˜protect the environment and our health,” according to the Orlando Sentinel. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, is quoted as stating that this “seems to be a clear case where policy was driven by politics.”

“This cleanup is a high priority as this dioxin contamination is in a residential neighborhood,” said EPA Region 5 Superfund Division Director Richard Karl in a press statement. “We will continue to work with the state agencies to evaluate results of sampling from other residential areas and consider appropriate actions.”

Although EPA states that the recent sampling project was prompted by Dow’s February 2008 disclosure to the agencies of an elevated dioxin level found in a residential soil sample collected by Dow in November 2007, the Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel state that Ms. Wade had been working to get Dow to clean up the 50 miles below its plant for over a year. Under the company’s Michigan operating license that requires Dow to conduct corrective action for historic releases, MDEQ has been requiring Dow to conduct floodplain soil, riverbank and sediment sampling in and along the Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland.

Dow’s Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. EPA and Dow negotiated the terms of the cleanup of three industrial sites Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers downstream of its Midland, Michigan, facility last year. Ms. Wade then ordered more dredging, which showed dioxin levels along a Saginaw park to be 1.6 million parts per trillion, the highest amount ever found in the U.S., according to a May 2nd article in the Chicago Tribune. In January, 2008, talks between EPA and Dow ended unsuccessfully when EPA determined that Dow’s cleanup offers were not comprehensive enough. The residential cleanup site is the first time Dow has been told by EPA to cleanup dioxin in a residential area near its Midland plant.

The Tribune’s May 2 article paints quite a picture of what it is like to live in the area: “Many local residents see Dow as a lifeline in a region plagued by plant closings and layoffs. But all along the two wide streams that cut through this old industrial town, signs warn people to keep off dioxin-contaminated riverbanks and to avoid eating fish pulled from the fast-moving waters. Officials have taken the swings down in one riverside park to discourage kids from playing there. Men in rubber boots and thick gloves occasionally knock on doors, asking residents whether they can dig up a little soil in the yard.”

Dioxins are a family of chemicals that have been linked to cancer, weakened immune systems and reproductive problems. The teratogenic (i.e. ability to cause developmental malformations) and mutagenic compounds are not only a byproduct of manufacturing processes but are contained in one of Dow’s most used herbicides, 2,4-D. 2,4-D is commonly found in weed and feed lawn products and is used widely for vegetation control in agriculture as well. Advocates have cited Dow as a leader in obscuring the science and weakening the regulation of these and other deadly chemicals. Beyond Pesticides is working to make consumers aware of the dangers of these products and hold companies accountable for their wrongdoings.

Posted in Dow Chemical, Michigan by: Beyond Pesticides
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30
May

Study Finds Atrazine Disrupts Human Hormone Activity

(Beyond Pesticides, May 30, 2008) A recent study has linked the common herbicide atrazine with endocrine disruption in both fish and human cells. Entitled “The Herbicide Atrazine Activates Endocrine Gene Networks via Non-Steroidal NR5A Nuclear Receptors in Fish and Mammalian Cells,” the University of Califonia, San Francisco (UCSF) research examines the reaction of zebrafish to environmentally relevant levels of atrazine, and mirrors the study in human placental cells. The zebrafish, which are particularly sensitive to endocrine disruptors, are “feminized” in greater proportion than the unexposed control group. Fish exposed to atrazine for 48 hours at levels found in agricultural runoff produced twice as many female fish as male.

“These fish are very sensitive to endocrine disrupting chemicals, so one might think of them as ‘sentinels’ to potential developmental dangers in humans,” said senior author Holly Ingraham, PhD. “These atrazine-sensitive genes are central to normal reproduction and are found in steroid producing tissues. You have to wonder about the long-term effects of exposing the rapidly developing fetus to atrazine or other endocrine disruptors.”

In human cell studies, the researchers found that atrazine activates genes involved in hormone signally and steroid synthesis. “Endocrine-related cell types with a capacity for steroid generation appear to be especially sensitive,” researchers report. “The human data provide a brand new framework to look at atrazine,” adds Dr. Ingraham.

The study is contributing to the growing international chorus calling for regulatory action. Tim Morris, MP of the Green Party of Tasmania, said “This study from UCSF is the first to identify the full effects of atrazine on human cells, so we must take note of its worrying findings regarding the feminisation of juveniles and the disruption of human placental cells, and ban Atrazine from Tasmania until it can be proven safe for use around humans.”

Atrazine is also a concern in the United States, being the second-most widely used herbicide in the country. It is found widely in water systems in the midwest and other areas, and has a long history of contributing to developmental problems in wildlife. The greatest concern, perhaps, is that atrazine affects cells at extremely low levels. The UCSF study finds “definite effects at 2 parts per billion (ppb); the U.S. EPA has set drinking water limits for humans at 3 ppb for atrazine.”

Atrazine is not the only commonly used pesticide that causes harm at low levels. For more background on how low-dose exposure is effecting humans, see “Facing Scientific Realities: Debunking the ‘Dose Makes the Poison’ Myth.“

Sources: Environmental Science & Technology, Science Daily, The Greens Tasmania

Posted in Atrazine, Endocrine Disruption, Water by: Beyond Pesticides
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29
May

Organochlorine Pesticide Linked to Behavioral Deficit in Infants

(Beyond Pesticides, May 29, 2008) A study published in the May issue of Environmental Health Perspectives shows a link between prenatal exposure to the pesticide DDT and poor attention-related skills in early infancy. This study follows in a long line of recent studies associated with the negative health effects of DDT including: diabetes; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; breast cancer; and autism. Despite the fact that DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, concentrations of this toxic chemical’s major metabolite, DDE, have remained alarmingly high in many ecosystems, including the waters of Los Angeles County, the arctic, and even U.S. national parks. All studies documenting the health effects of DDT and chemicals in the same family, organochlorines, are particularly important not just for understanding the lingering effects of DDT from days past, but because many countries continue to employ DDT as a method in controlling mosquitoes that transmit malaria, despite its toxicity, weakening efficacy, and availability of safer alternatives. Other organochlorines are still registered for use in the U.S.The study looked at 788 mother-infant pairs who met several criteria, which included living in a town adjacent to a Superfund site in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a location with known organochlorine contamination. Cord blood samples were taken at birth from the infants (ill, pre-term, and infants born by Caesarian-section were excluded), and then tested for DDE (dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene), as well as 51 individual congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The researchers then utilized the Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale (NBAS) to measure infants’ alertness, consolability, self-quieting activity, hand-to-mouth facility, irritability, elicited and spontaneous activity, and motor maturity. The results show consistent inverse associations between the levels of cord serum of both PCBs and DDE and attention-related outcomes. Thus, the higher the exposure to the organochlorines, the poorer the infant’s performance.

Although DDT has historically received the most press of all the organochlorine pesticides, this family encompasses a number of pesticides still registered for use in the U.S.. These chemicals, while inducing various harmful health effects, have in common their persistence in the environment and human bodies. Earlier this year, during the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) comment period for the reregistration of endosulfan, an organochlorine used in the U.S. on cotton, tomatoes and other crops but banned in over 20 countries, many scientists and activists urged the agency to withdraw the registration of this toxic pesticide. Lindane, another organochlorine still registered for use as an anti-lice shampoo in the U.S., has been banned in California and is under consideration for severe restrictions in the Michigan Senate. Pentachlorophenol, an organochlorine used as a wood preservative mainly in utility poles in the U.S., is currently undergoing EPA’s reregistration process.

Public health advocates call for a complete phase-out of DDT and other organochlorine chemicals given evidence of their persistence and harmful effects on health and the environment.

TAKE ACTION: Pentachlorophenol (PCP):The EPA comment period for the reregistration of pentachlorophenol is open. Send a comment to them and let them know that we need to stop using harmful organochlorine chemicals for our environment and our health. You can submit comments online at: www.regulations.gov, Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0402. If submitting by mail, send to Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.

Lindane: Follow the lead of California and Michigan and encourage your legislature to ban the use of lindane, an unnecessary and harmful chemical used in the treatment of lice.

Endosulfan: Although the comment period has officially closed for the reregistration of endosulfan, you can still send a letter to the EPA. See the letter sent by scientists, and public health advocates.

Posted in DDT, Disease/Health Effects, Endosulfan, Lindane, Massachusetts, Pentachlorophenol, Pesticide Regulation, Wood Preservatives by: Beyond Pesticides
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28
May

Researchers Looking For Alternatives to DEET

(Beyond Pesticides, May 28, 2008) Researchers have begun preliminary work to find suitable and safe alternatives to the widely used mosquito repellent DEET. Several possibilities have been identified, which repel mosquitoes for longer periods of time, but their safety for use on humans still needs to be investigated.Researchers, with funding from the Department of Defense, set out to determine what makes insect repellents work, and then to use that information in finding more effective ways to chase away disease-carrying insects. Insect repellents are used to repel biting insects such as mosquitoes and ticks that spread diseases such as encephalitis, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, malaria and dengue fever.

Ulrich R. Bernier, PhD, co-author of this study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences http://www.pnas.org/ and research chemist at the Agriculture Department’s mosquito and fly research unit in Gainesville, Fla., remarked that several of the new chemicals reviewed were “just phenomenal.”

Using previous USDA data on hundreds of chemicals collected over 50 years, the researchers rated chemicals from “1” to “5” on ability to repel insects, and then focused on what the most effective ones ”” the 5s ”” had in common. They were able to narrow the study down to 34 molecules, 23 that had never been tested before and 11 that had been tested, with a focus on a class of chemicals known as N-acylpiperidines.

Tests conducted using cloth treated with the chemicals were very promising. Some of the chemicals repelled mosquitoes for as long as 73 days and many worked for 40 to 50 days, compared to an average of 17.5 days with DEET. The 10 most effective were narrowed down to seven, with eliminations based on concerns about toxicity and high cost to produce. Safety testing to make sure these chemicals are safe to be applied on human skin is expected to begin this summer.

DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is commonly used as an insect repellent but its use has become highly controversial. Scientists have raised concerns about the use of DEET and seizures among children, even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that there is not enough information to implicate DEET with these incidents. DEET is quickly absorbed through the skin and has caused adverse effects including severe skin reactions including large blisters and burning sensations. Laboratory studies have found that DEET can cause neurological damage, including brain damage in children

Its synergistic effect with other insecticides is also a major health concern. DEET, when used in combination with permethrin – a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide, likely facilitates enhanced dermal absorption of permethrin and induces symptoms such as headache, loss of memory, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and ataxia, which causes an inability to coordinate muscular movements. Several studies done by a team of Duke University researchers lead by Mohammed Abou-Donia suggest that DEET in conjunction with permethrin-impregnated clothing may be linked to Gulf War Syndrome. (See Review of Study.) DEET was originally developed for military use in 1946 and was then registered for use on the general public in 1957. According to the EPA, more than one third of the U.S. population uses DEET-containing products every year.

Safer alternatives to DEET include picaridin, citronella and other essential oils, like oil of lemon eucalyptus. For more information on safer methods to protect yourself from mosquitoes and other insects, please visit Beyond Pesticides’ fact sheet on mosquito repellents.

Source: Associated Press

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, DEET, Insect-Borne Disease by: Beyond Pesticides
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27
May

Pet Shampoos Containing Insecticides Linked to Autism

(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 UC Davis, told the New Scientist, “Autism is associated with an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters within the brain, and one could hypothesize that children with an imbalance in this system may be more sensitive to the effects of pyrethrins.”

Autism, which is on the rise in both prevalence and incidence, is a complex developmental disorder that includes problems with social interaction and communication. The symptoms range from mild to very severe, appearing before the age of three and lasting throughout a person’s life. Research has shown that people with autism have certain irregularities in several regions of the brain and/or have abnormal levels of serotonin or other neurotransmitters in the brain, suggesting that autism is associated with the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development. It is increasingly recognized that autism likely is caused by a complex interplay of both genetic and environmental factors.

Many of the most commonly used pesticides are designed specifically as neurotoxins. The transmitter systems and hormone systems of humans are similar to those of the insects those insecticides are targeting, according to a study published in 2004 in Pediatrics. Researchers show that animal studies and residual effects in humans following acute intoxication suggest that organophosphates can be toxic to the developing brain at exposure levels below those inducing overt signs. A study published in 1998 also showed that organochlorine pesticides are a source of developmental neurotoxicity in humans. A study published in the October 2007 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives shows that children born to mothers living near agricultural fields where organochlorine pesticides were applied during their first trimester of pregnancy were six times more likely to have children with autism compared to mothers who did not live near the fields.

Posted in Autism, Pets, Pyrethrin by: Beyond Pesticides
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23
May

Germany Suspends Use of Pesticides Toxic to Bees

(Beyond Pesticides, May 23, 2008) In the midst of dramatically declining bee populations, the German Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVD) has suspended the approval of eight toxic insecticides believed to be responsible for the fate of these important pollinators. The suspended products include pesticides containing imidacloprid and clothianidin, the majority of which are produced by Bayer Company and have been suspected for years of contributing to declining bee populations.France banned the use of imidacloprid on corn and sunflowers in 1999, and rejected Bayer’s application for clothianidin this year.

Despite the call for prohibition of imidacloprid from German apiarists and environmental groups as early as 2004, a crisis in bee populations–a reported 50-60% loss, finally forced the government to take action. The U.S., where these products are still approved for use, has also been experiencing extremely alarming rates of bee colony collapse, while areas away from cropland have thriving bee populations.

Imidacloprid and clothianidin are both neonicotinoids, meaning that they target nerve cells in a similar way to nicotine, acting as neurotoxins to sucking insects such as beetles and aphids. Clothianidin was approved for use in the U.S. in 2003 as a seed treatment for corn and canola, despite the fact that the EPA acknowledges it is “highly toxic to honey bees.” Imidacloprid has been approved for use in the U.S. since 1994 for soil, seed and foliar uses and is commonly used on rice, cereal, maize, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, fruit, cotton, and hops. It is also approved for non-dietary uses on turf, ornamentals, buildings (termites), and cats and dogs (fleas). These two products account for over $1.25 billion in global annual sales for Bayer.

As the global bee crisis mounts, chemical industry officials insisted yesterday at a meeting of the Pesticide Programs Dialogue Committee there is no link between the use of neonicotinoids and colony collapse, citing a lack of scientific evidence. However, imidacloprid has been linked to neural effects in honeybees, including disruptions in mobility, navigation, and feeding behavior. Studies in France (2004) and Italy (2003) both found that imidacloprid caused deleterious effects in honeybees including reduced foraging, disorientation and inability to return to their hives. Maryann Frazier, a senior extension associate in Penn State University’s entomology department said last year that researchers at Penn State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that while they cannot tie colony collapse to any single factor, they have zeroed in on a new, unnamed pathogen found in the dead bees, and on the role of pesticides.

Honeybees pollinate over 130 crops, and contribute over $15 billion in annual crop sales in the U.S. alone. It is estimated that 1.1 million bee colonies in the U.S. died last year, which is almost 50% higher than usual annual losses. (Daily Green) This global crisis provides an opportunity for the U.S. to lead the way with France and Germany in protecting our pollinators, an important component of our environment and food system. However, both imidacloprid and clothianidin remain approved for use in the U.S.

TAKE ACTION: The fact that numerous registered pesticides are harmful and/or lethal to the very pollinators we depend upon for a prolific food system indicates there are fundamental problems with the pesticide regulatory system. Contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and ask them to tell EPA to protect the pollinators and suspend the use of imidacloprid and clothianidin-containing chemicals until good data is available that proves they are not contributing to the die-off of bee populations. Tell them we cannot afford to wait!

The full list of suspended products in Germany is: Antarc (ingredient: imidacloprid; produced by Bayer), Chinook (imidacloprid; Bayer), Cruiser (thiamethoxam; Syngenta), Elado (clothianidin; Bayer), Faibel (imidacloprid; Bayer), Mesurol (methiocarb; Bayer) and Poncho (clothianidin; Bayer).

Sources: Coalition Against Bayer Dangers (Germany), The Daily Green

Posted in Bayer, Clothianidin, Imidacloprid, International, Pesticide Regulation, Pollinators by: Beyond Pesticides
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22
May

Groups Urge USDA to Reinstate Pesticide Reporting Program

(Beyond Pesticides, May 22, 2008) Before the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday released its scaled-back annual report on 2007 pesticide use in U.S. agriculture, a coalition of 44 environmental, sustainable farming, and health advocacy organizations, including Beyond Pesticides, called on USDA to reverse its plan to eliminate its pesticide reporting program in 2008. Elimination of USDA’s objective data will open the door wide to serious misinformation on pesticide use, charge the groups. USDA claims it lacks funding to continue the program.

“Americans are rightly concerned about the adverse impacts of pesticides on human health and the environment,” said Charles Benbrook, PhD, chief scientist at The Organic Center. “Without USDA’s data, our organizations will be severely hampered in our ability to carry out research on the impacts of pesticides and offer informed input on decision-making regarding pesticide use and pest management systems in American agriculture.”

Dr. Benbrook, former executive director of the Board on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences, has used USDA’s pesticide data extensively in his work for many years.

“We strongly oppose this move by USDA to cut the legs off its publicly available database. Denying the public and regulatory agencies this critical information is bad science and bad public relations,” said Jennifer Sass, PhD, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

State pesticide officials and major agribusiness groups have also objected to USDA’s plan to end its pesticide survey and reporting program, say the groups. Others who rely on USDA data include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), academic scientists, and USDA’s Office of Pest Management Policy.

The USDA program, which is run by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), has already been dramatically scaled back, note the groups. Pesticide use on the most chemical-intensive crops – corn, soybeans and cotton – was surveyed every year in the 1990s, but only every two years through most of this decade. Data for pesticide use on corn has not been reported since 2005. Yesterday’s 2007 report covers chemicals applied to just two crops – cotton and apples (including separate surveys on conventional and organic apples).

NASS breaks down chemical use by crop, pesticide and state, and its data are based on rigorous, statistically representative surveys of farmers in the major states where the respective crops are grown.

In their letter to secretary of agriculture Ed Schafer, the groups note that alternative sources of pesticide use information are both unaffordable and unreliable. Private firms charge upwards of $500,000 per year for such information, well beyond the resources of civil society groups. In addition, the data are unreliable, as they are often based on unrepresentative sampling methodologies that the firms keep secret as proprietary information.

“Without USDA’s data, we will no longer be able to reliably track trends in pesticide use, such as the substantial spike in the use of herbicides over the past six years,” said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety.

Mr. Freese notes that herbicides (i.e. weed killers) comprise nearly two-thirds of pesticides applied in the U.S., and that the use of weed killers has been on the rise – since 2002 on soybeans and cotton, and since 2003 on corn.

“Reliable, objective data are the bedrock of good public policy and a fundamental part of the mission of NASS. We should not accept lack of funding as an excuse for not providing essential data on pesticide use,” said Margaret Mellon, PhD, director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Sources: Center for Food Safety, NRDC

Posted in Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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21
May

EU Health Commissioner Calls for a Ban of Dangerous Pesticides

(Beyond Pesticides, May 21, 2008) Top European Union (EU) official, Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, called on European governments to adopt tougher guidelines on pesticides and to ban the use of all potentially dangerous pesticides that can cause cancer, reproductive effects and hormone disruption.The Health Commissioner urged agriculture ministers of member states not to ”˜water down’ recommendations in the two-year-old draft plan to introduce tougher guidelines on the use of pesticides. The plan, which needs approval by EU governments and the European Parliament, aims to tighten rules for authorizing new pesticides that come on to the EU market. It would also include mandatory recordkeeping by farmers, restrict the use of crop-dusters, force pesticide makers to reduce animal testing of their products, and stop the use of pesticides in sensitive areas near nature reserves and parks.

“The key aim of the proposal is to protect the health of citizens and the environment, we must not lose sight of this,” Mr. Vassiliou told the ministers. Commissioner Vassiliou also stressed that pesticides that are toxic to reproductive systems, that disrupt hormones and those that cause cancer, should no longer be used to spray crops because of the risks to human and environmental health.

Statistics from the European Commission show that 300,000 tons of pesticides were sold in Europe in 2003 without any reduction over the past decade. Pesticide contamination of rivers, streams and waterbeds used as sources of drinking water is highlighted as an acute problem for Europe.

Implementation of the plan, which would update older pesticide legislation, has been held up in member states such as Ireland, Hungary and France which remain opposed to the plan fearing they either go too far or not far enough. German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said that he would support a ban only if it would lead to a compromise deal. Germany and others have said that the existing limits on pesticide use are sufficient.

Even though many are dissatisfied, the European Parliament last fall voted in favor of tighter legislation to be enacted by 2013. (See Daily News of October 29, 2007.) However, member states would be given the discretion as to how the plan would be implemented in their countries.

The chemical industry has also been lobbying governments and law makers claiming that the new rules could reduce farm yields at a time when global food shortages and high prices could reduce the competitiveness of Europe’s high tech sector.

The European Commission says the new rules are long overdue and that new guidelines would spur research into alternative methods. Commissioner Vassiliou said that these new measures must include incentives for the development and use of safer alternatives to be used by farmers at a reasonable cost.

Source: Associated Press

Posted in International, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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20
May

Scientists and Activists Urge EPA to Ban Endosulfan

(Beyond Pesticides, May 20, 2008) On May 19, 2008, scientists, Arctic tribal governments and Indigenous groups and environmental health advocates sent letters calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase out the organochlorine pesticide endosulfan.“It is time to take this dangerous and antiquated pesticide off the market,” says Jennifer Sass, Ph.D., a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The scientific evidence clearly shows that the continued use of this chemical puts the health of exposed farmworkers, communities and the environment at risk.”

Dr. Sass is one of over 55 international scientists, medical doctors, nurses, and other health professionals urging EPA to take action on endosulfan in a letter to Administrator Stephen Johnson. Prominent scientists endorsing the letter include Philip Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician and Director of the Center for Children’s Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Ronald Herberman, M.D. and Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Used in the U.S. on tomatoes, cotton and other crops, endosulfan harms the hormone system, and low levels of exposure in the womb have been linked to male reproductive harm, other birth defects and possibly autism. Acute poisoning can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and in extreme cases, unconsciousness and even death.

Tribal governments and Indigenous groups in the Arctic are also delivering letters to EPA today calling for action on endosulfan. The persistent pesticide migrates to the North on wind and ocean currents and contaminates communities in the Arctic.

“We know from scientific research that endosulfan is present in our traditional foods, threatening the health of our people and our traditional way of life,” stated Violet Yeaton of the Native Village of Port Graham, Alaska. “We are charged with a cultural responsibility to pass on traditions, and our food is intrinsic to the survival of our traditional way of life. We must take action now to eliminate this pesticide from our environment, so we help protect the health of the Seven Generations to come.”

Endosulfan has been nominated for inclusion in the Stockholm Convention, an international treaty that bans persistent chemicals from global use.

“The European Union and more than 20 other countries have already banned endosulfan,” notes Medha Chandra, an international campaigner at Pesticide Action Network, one of 111 environmental health advocacy groups calling on EPA to withdraw endosulfan’s registration. “EPA must take action now to protect U.S. communities from this dangerous insecticide — its time we catch up with the rest of the world.”

Endosulfan’s registration is now under review by EPA, with the Agency’s own analysis showing that farmers and workers applying endosulfan are exposed to unacceptably high levels of the pesticide. During the EPA public comment period earlier this year, a petition was submitted with more than 13,000 signatures urging withdrawal of endosulfan’s registration. Scientists, environmental health and Indigenous groups will be meeting with EPA officials later this week to discuss their concerns.

Beyond Pesticides was among the signatories. View the letters to EPA from scientists, Arctic and Indigenous groups and public health advocates.

Posted in Chemicals, Endosulfan, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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19
May

Contaminants in Coastal Waters Decline Yet Concerns Remain

(Beyond Pesticides, May 19, 2008) A 20-year study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that environmental laws enacted in the 1970s are having a positive effect on reducing overall contaminant levels in coastal waters of the U.S. However, the report points to continuing concerns with elevated levels of metals and organic contaminants found near urban and industrial areas of the coasts. The report, “NOAA National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program: An Assessment of Two Decades of Contaminant Monitoring in the Nation’s Coastal Zone from 1986-2005,” findings are the result of monitoring efforts that analyze 140 different chemicals in U.S. coastal and estuarine areas, including the Great Lakes.“It’s interesting to note that pesticides, such as DDT, and industrial chemicals, such as PCBs, show significant decreasing trends around the nation, but similar trends were not found for trace metals,” said Gunnar Lauenstein, manager of the NOAA Mussel Watch program. “What is of concern is that there are contaminants that continue to be problematic, including oil-related compounds from motor vehicles and shipping activities.”

Significant findings from this report include the following:

Decreasing trends nationally of the pesticide DDT are documented with a majority of the sites monitored along the Southern California coast.
Decreasing trends also were found for the industrial chemicals PCBs. The Hudson-Raritan Estuary, one area of the country where some of the highest concentrations of these chemicals were found, now shows 80 percent of monitored sites with significantly decreasing trends for this pollutant.
Tributyl-tin (TBT), a biocide used as a compound to reduce or restrict the growth of marine organisms on boat hulls, was found to have greater than anticipated consequences as it affected not only the targeted organisms, but also other marine and fresh water life as well. First regulated in the 1980s, this compound is now decreasing nationally.

The NOAA Mussel Watch Program also quantifies contaminants that are still entering the nation’s waters and two major groups raise concern:

Oil related compounds (PAHs) from motor vehicles and shipping activities continue to flow into coastal waters daily. Because NOAA has been monitoring these areas for extended periods, baseline data already exist to help define the extent of environmental degradation. For example, PAH levels following the 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay showed concentrations at the monitoring site near the spill were the highest ever recorded.
Flame retardants known as PBDEs are a new class of contaminants currently being evaluated by NOAA to determine whether they are increasing in coastal waters and what effects they may have on both marine and human health. NOAA plans to issue a report on flame retardants in coastal waters later this year.

NOAA’s Mussel Watch Program, founded in 1986, is the nation’s longest continuous national contaminant-monitoring program in U.S. coastal waters. The program keeps collected tissue samples frozen so that overlooked or newly emerging contaminants can be retroactively analyzed, as is currently being done with flame retardants.

Although NOAA found DDT in coastal waters to be decreasing, Marine biologists from 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 scientists identify the melting snow and ice as the continued source of total DDT in this southern ecosystem.

Last year NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported extremely high concentrations of the pesticide DDT in fish caught in California’s Los Angeles county waters. According to the survey, the fish caught in the area contain the world’s highest-known DDT concentrations.

DDT, or dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane, while highly persistent in the environment, was initially found to be effective against mosquitoes and the diseases they carry such as malaria. However, insect resistance to the chemical has been documented since 1946. DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972 after it was linked to the decline of the bald eagle and other raptors, and it continues to be linked to health problems. The benefits of the use of DDT for mosquito control are still debated, especially in developing nations that are plagued with high infection rates of malaria. Some countries are continuing to use DDT to prevent malaria, while others insist that the health and environmental risks are too great citing alternatives and an international agreement to phase-out the remaining uses of the persistent chemical.

Last summer, the bald eagle was removed from the ESA’s “threatened” list. Bald eagle populations declined dramatically in the last century, attributed mostly to the accumulation of the pesticide DDT in fish, a staple of the eagle’s diet. The pesticide gradually poisoned females, causing them to produce thinly-shelled eggs that broke easily, preventing the embryos from growing.

TBT is a cheap, but highly toxic barnacle and algae killer once used on nearly all of the world’s 30,000 commercial ships. A treaty, overseen by the U.N. International Maritime Organization (IMO), prohibiting its use went into effect this past January. The ban on TBT, deemed by EPA as the most toxic chemical ever deliberately released into the world’s waters, is endorsed by U.S. and European cruise lines, freighter and container fleets, as well as shipyard and marina operators. Researchers have linked TBT to adverse environmental and health effects. Studies first linked it to disorders in mollusks in the Arcachon Basin in western France, where shellfish beds adjoined a marina. According to Jill Bloom, an EPA chemical-review manager who worked on the treaty, the most worrisome were “profound reproductive effects” coupled with diminished marine-species populations. IMO notes that TBT “persist(s) in the water, killing sea life, harming the environment and possibly entering the food chain”¦ [TBT] has been proven to cause deformations in oysters and sex changes in whelks.”

For more information on pesticides and water, see Daily News, Pesticides and Degradates Widely Found in USGS Chesapeake Bay Study, and Beyond Pesticides water report.

Posted in DDT, Water, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. by: Beyond Pesticides
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16
May

Michigan House Approves Restrictions on Lindane

(Beyond Pesticides, May 16, 2008) Pressured by environmental organizations to protect children’s health and water quality in the Great Lakes, the Michigan House of Representatives has approved restrictions on the use of lindane, a toxic organochlorine pesticide used as a prescription drug to treat lice and scabies. Under the legislation (HB 4569), the use of lindane would be prohibited except “under the supervision of a physician in his or her office if the physician considers the use of that product necessary for the treatment of a patient’s lice or scabies.” The Michigan Senate has not yet voted on the bill.

Lindane has long been known for its neurotoxic properties, causing seizures, damage to the nervous system, and weakening of the immune system. It is also a probable carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. When used on people, lindane is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite the fact that it has been banned in 52 countries and restricted in over 30 more, FDA continues to allow its use in the U.S., albeit with a Public Health Advisory issued in 2003 that states, “Lindane should be used with caution in infants, children, the elderly, patients with skin conditions, and patients with low body weight (less than 110 lbs).”

Until 2006, when lindane was voluntarily withdrawn from all agricultural uses, it was registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use on ornamental plants and as a soil and seed treatment. Because of the large amounts of lindane used, and its ability to bioaccumulate, high levels of lindane are found in the arctic (far from the area of use) in whales, other predators, and people.

In 2002, California banned pharmaceutical use of lindane when high levels of this treatment for head lice and scabies were found to be impacting wastewater quality. According to the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, one use of lindane shampoo contaminates six million gallons of water (at the EPA threshold of 19 parts per trillion). A study in 2007 reported that the elimination of pharmaceutical lindane in California produced environmental benefits (reduced presence in wastewater), was associated with a reduction in reported unintentional exposures and did not adversely affect head lice and scabies treatment, thus setting the stage for other states such as Michigan to take action against lindane.

Not only is lindane toxic, it is also increasingly less effective against the treatment of lice. For non-toxic alternatives in the treatment of lice, see the alternatives fact sheets on the Beyond Pesticides website.

Posted in Head lice, Lindane, Michigan, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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15
May

EPA Plan to Move Pesticide Labels Online Raises Safety Concerns

(Beyond Pesticides, May 15, 2008) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a plan to distribute pesticide labels electronically, in lieu of a traditional product labeling with use instructions, raising further safety concerns about consumer product choice and label compliance from public health and environmental advocates. The program, which is currently under development, will be an agenda item at the May 21-22 meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) in Arlington, VA.

“Benefits from using this system will include faster access to new pesticide uses, quicker implementation of protective measures for public health and the environment, improved compliance with label directions, and lower costs for industry and EPA,” the agency said May 12 in a statement on its pesticides website. The system will rely on users to contact either the pesticide labeling website or a toll-free telephone number to obtain the detailed-use instructions that previously were attached to pesticide containers, EPA said. The program is being discussed by EPA and “stakeholders, generally those that have approached the Agency.” EPA said it would develop a pilot program for the system in 2009. The PPDC, which will be presenting next week, comprises industrial, regulatory, and consumer members who provide feedback to EPA on various pesticide regulatory, policy, and program implementation issues.

Bill Jordan, a senior policy adviser at the Office of Pesticide Programs, told the Bureau of National Affairs that some issues holding up the plan include what information will be listed on pesticide containers themselves as opposed to being available on electronic labels on the website, how long electronic labels will be valid after they are downloaded, whether EPA or an outside entity will maintain the website, and what the website will look like.

While EPA plans for users who do not have internet access by providing a toll-free telephone number to “those without access to the necessary technology,” public health and environmental advocates say electronic labeling as a replacement for current product labels adds an unnecessary extra step for consumers who might already be confused by the relative hazards and uses of products. As Beyond Pesticides argued when EPA allowed Clorox to put the Red Cross symbol on its products, unncessary additions (or, in this case, subtractions) to pesticide labels make usage less clear to consumers, particularly vulnerable populations who now may not have the means or ability to realize a product’s risks. Advocates point out that with limited label information consumers of pesticides will have even more limited information than currently available to make informed decisions when buying pesticides and choosing less hazardous products. Furthermore, advocates argue, with EPA enforcement against non-compliance with the label already limited, this approach will further reduce compliance with the label (online) instructions, as fewer people tracking down computer labels. According to Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, “EPA knows historically from its label improvement program that it has a difficult time getting people to read labels. Instead of further removing labels from the consumer’s sight, EPA should be enhancing label information and design to ensure better disclosure of product hazards so that consumers can make better decisions regarding pesticide product purchase and use.”

At the October 2007 PPDC meeting, EPA said in its presentation on electronic labeling that it “may replace the Directions for Use on the physical container,” but that the “container label would still have all FIFRA mandated elements, e.g. product name, registration number, net contents, ingredients, etc.” The enforcement of the new system as described last fall involved a number of steps, including that “users would need to have a copy of the labeling from the website at the time of application” and “labeling would be good for a specified duration of time (e.g. six months) from the date of ‘printing.'”

Electronic labeling will be discussed on May 21 at the next PPDC meeting. For a full agenda and address, click here. For more background from EPA on the project, including future updates, visit EPA’s website.

Posted in Announcements, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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14
May

Court Halts Spraying in California, Ordering Environmental Review

(Beyond Pesticides, May 14, 2008) On May 12, Judge Robert O’Farrell ruled on a lawsuit brought by Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment (HOPE), finding that California’s Agriculture Secretary, A.G. Kawamura, violated the law when the state aerially sprayed untested, ”˜secret’ pesticides on cities, children and wildlife. Judge O’Farrell then ordered the spraying stopped until the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) completes an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

HOPE attorney Alexander Henson said, “I’m glad that this case will set a precedent requiring government to do the required studies before they spray an unsuspecting populace with untested chemicals.” HOPE Trustee Terrence Zito said, “Since last August HOPE has been saying that spraying people with secret, untested, unwanted pesticides is immoral and illegal. The courts have now twice confirmed that CDFA acted illegally.”

Last month a Santa Cruz County Court ruled that the light brown apple moth (LBAM) was not an immediate threat and delayed aerial spraying of the pesticide, CheckMate (a pheromone-based pesticide with inert ingredients), in order for an EIR to be completed. In his ruling, presiding Judge Paul Burdick said the state did not prove that the invasive light brown apple moth poses an immediate threat to life or property. As a result, an emergency exception to finish the report while the spraying continued was found to be unjustified. (See Daily News of April 28, 2008.)

According to HOPE, the CDFA told the judge they expect the EIR completion in January. Since the state seems to delay spraying from January until June, this should give Health and environment advocates another year to get laws passed to permanently halt aerial spraying and to force the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to use non-aerial spraying and non-toxic solutions such as the use of traps.

HOPE Executive Director David Dilworth said, “This is the second time in 2 weeks a court has convicted Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura, of violating California’s a biggest environmental law, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).” HOPE believes that at least 14 other laws were broken in the unnecessary pursuit of eradicating the moth.

CDFA said it will seek an expedited appeal. Mr. Dilworth responded, “Twenty three cities and two counties, dozens of community groups and a Senate Committee have told CDFA to stop; and now two Judges have told CDFA they broke the law, but they remain defiant. That’s the definition of outlaw behavior. What part of ‘No’ doesn’t Governor Schwarzenegger understand?”

Since its detection in February 2007, LBAM has been found and quarantines have been established in the several counties including Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and Santa Barbara. Many are concerned about the pesticide application. Aerial spraying for LBAM has resulted in 463 illness reports after spraying began last fall. Another concern is the population of endangered and threatened moths and butterflies that could be affected by the aerial applications. The pesticide CheckMate LBAM-F works as a pheromone that disrupts the mating cycle of the moth. Least toxic alternatives for pest control include the use of pheromones. However, the uncertainty about so-called inert or undisclosed ingredients included in many pesticide formulations remains a serious concern.

Beyond Pesticides advocates for full disclosure of all pesticide product ingredients, including so-called inert ingredients, questions the efficacy of aerial applications of any pesticide that, by their nature, cause unnecessary exposure, and is urging targeted ground efforts only as a last resort.

Source: HOPE Media Release

Posted in California, LBAM by: Beyond Pesticides
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13
May

NJ Community Adopts Indoor IPM, Parks Go Pesticide-Free

(Beyond Pesticides, May 13, 2008) Citing concerns over the impact of pesticides on health and the environment, the Voorhees, NJ Township Committee approved Resolution 126-08, Township of Voorhees Pesticide Reduction Policy, on April 28, 2008 to stop hazardous pesticide use. The New Jersey Township has adopted Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as the pest control policy and strategy to be used in the maintenance of the township’s public properties and buildings, and township parks are pesticide free posted with “Pesticide Free Zone” ladybug signs.The National Center for Environmental Health Strategies, which proposed the resolution, will be working with the township’s pest control contractor on an IPM plan for township buildings to continue to eliminate or significantly reduce the use of hazardous pesticides. The guidance will in part be based on the New Jersey School IPM Law (S. 137, adopted September 26, 2002), which requires that after non-chemical means of pest control have been considered and exhausted and conventional pesticide use is deemed necessary, preference be given to using a pesticide that is classified “low impact.”

Low impact pesticides according to the New Jersey School IPM Law include a first category of pesticides or substances that are U.S. EPA exempt from regulation and a second category of pesticide ingredients or formulation types that are considered lesser risk because of the nature of the product formulation (gel, paste, or bait), the ingredient (boric acid, silica gel, or diatomaceous earth), or how the pesticide is used (boric acid in a wall cavity as opposed to boric acid clumped along a baseboard or on a heating element).

New Jersey Pesticide Control Regulations require posting and notification in the event of the use of conventional pesticides. Those at risk of harm from pesticides can request advance notification including the date and time of application; the brand name and EPA registration number of the pesticide(s) which will be applied; the common chemical name(s) of the active ingredient(s) of the pesticide(s) applied; the location or address of the application; and the name and telephone number of a contact person to call to receive further information. (N.J.AC. 7:30-9.15)

This policy follows an April 2008 policy passed by Town officials in Camden, ME, which eliminates toxic pesticides from being applied to municipal parks and fields. Read about the policy, which was spearheaded by Citizens for a Green Camden, in Beyond Pesticides May 12, 2008 Daily News Blog posting.

For more information on organic turf management, please visit our Lawns and Landscapes program page. For more information school IPM, please visit our Children and Schools program page. To find a service provider that practices least- or non-toxic methods, visit the Safety Source for Pest Management.

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Children/Schools, Lawns/Landscapes, New Jersey, State/Local by: Beyond Pesticides
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12
May

Camden, Maine Passes Pesticide-Free Policy

(Beyond Pesticides, May 12, 2008) Town officials in Camden, Maine passed a new policy that eliminates toxic pesticides from being applied to municipal parks and fields thanks to the grassroots efforts spearheaded by Citizens for a Green Camden. According to the Knox County Times Reporter, an advisory committee of citizens and town and school employees that are knowledgeable about organic pest management will oversee the policy’s implementation. The director of Camden’s Parks and Recreation Department, Jeff Kuller, stated that they will now look to mechanical methods and the use of vinegar to manage weeds on several of the town’s athletic fields.The policy states, “All pesticides are toxic to some degree and the widespread use of pesticides is both a major environmental problem and a public health issue. Federal regulation of pesticides is no guarantee of safety. Camden recognizes that the use of pesticides may have profound effects upon indigenous plants, surface water and ground water, as well as unintended effects upon people, birds and other animals in the vicinity of treated areas. Camden recognizes that all citizens, particularly children, have a right to protection from exposure to hazardous chemicals and pesticides.”

The policy goes on to state, “Camden supports the precautionary principle (as defined by the Wingspread Statement of January 1998) as the basis for its pest management policy. The precautionary principle states, “”˜When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause and effect relationships are not yet fully established.” The policy states, “Therefore, it is the express policy of Camden to refrain from the use of pesticides upon property it owns, uses or controls, except in situations that pose an imminent threat of serious injury to persons, property or agriculture.”

The group also works with a committee in Castine, Maine that has banned the use of pesticides on town lawns. The town of Greenwich, Connecticut also passed a policy banning the use of pesticides on all of its athletic fields. Based on the passage of an earlier ordinance, Townsend, Massachusetts has begun implementation of an organic program for all of its municipal lawn areas.

For more information on organic turf management, see “Pesticides and Playing Fields.” For more information on being a part of the growing organic lawn care movement, please visit our Lawns & Landscapes program page. To find a service provider that practices least- or non-toxic methods, visit the Safety Source for Pest Management.

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Lawns/Landscapes, Maine, Pesticide Regulation by: Beyond Pesticides
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