(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

(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.”

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.

(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.

(Beyond Pesticides, May 9, 2008) The Center for Food Safety (CFS) yesterday sent letters to the Attorneys General of 49 states urging the top state law enforcement officials to take action against the misleading practice of labeling seafood imports as “organic.” The state-based effort to protect the integrity of organic food labels is a follow-up to the complaints filed by the Center last year with the USDA and Federal Trade Commission (see also Daily News of November 5, 2007). To date, these federal agencies have left the complaints unanswered, while U.S. consumers are increasingly confronted with imported seafood misleadingly labeled as “organic,” despite the fact that there are no U.S. organic seafood standards in place. In the action, the CFS calls upon USDA to prevent consumer deception by enforcing existing organic labeling laws and regulations until new standards are finalized. CFS, which is joined in this effort by Food & Water Watch, has identified the practice of allowing seafood to be labeled as “organic” in absence of regulations as unfair, deceptive and misleading – a violation of the states’ consumer deception and misrepresentation laws. With U.S. sales of organic food dramatically increasing, a number of foreign seafood imports labeled as “organic” have appeared to take advantage of this emerging market.

“Allowing importers to label their seafood ‘organic’ when it does not have to meet any U.S. standards is a disservice to American consumers, who have come to trust and believe in the organic label,” said Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director of CFS. “USDA’s refusal to stop importers from calling their products organic when many of them use antibiotics, parasiticides, or feed that would not be permitted under U.S. regulations is dishonest. Consumers have the right to know that the labeling on their food is truthful and accurate and we’re asking the states to protect that right.”

USDA is currently in the process of establishing organic regulations for finfish and shellfish, a process that may take up to two years. In the middle of May, the National Organic Standards Board will be discussing new recommendations addressing the type of feeds that may be used under future organic aquaculture standards. As currently drafted, the regulations would not allow the use of antibiotics or non-organic feed. Antibiotics are a particular concern for both farmed and wild fish. Recently, salmon in New Zealand have been found to have four times the levels of antibiotics allowed by the country’s Food Standards. Salmon on the United States’ west coast are the subject of a recent lawsuit concerning their risk of pesticide exposure.

“It is time for other states to follow California’s example and stop the abuse of the organic label on imported seafood,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “Importers should not be allowed to market their products with claims about meeting a standard that doesn’t exist.”

In 2005, California passed a law (SB 730) preventing the labeling of any seafood as “organic” until federal standards are finalized and in place. With their letters, the Center for Food Safety and Food & Water Watch have requested that the nation’s 49 other states use their authority under existing consumer protection laws to quickly curtail the misleading use of the term “organic” by overseas seafood producers so that consumers are not adversely affected.

The integrity of the term “organic” is critical to protect consumers and farmers who are following USDA requirements. For more information on organic food farming, visit our program page.

(Beyond Pesticides, May 8, 2008) New research shows that melting Antarctic glaciers are releasing once frozen stores of persistent organic chemicals, now banned in many parts of the world. Marine biologist, Heidi Geisz, a Ph.D. student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science studying the fate and effect of organic contaminants in the Antarctic, has found that DDT concentrations in penguins has remained at the same levels as they were 30 years ago, when DDT was widely used.

Arctic animals such as whales, seals and birds have had a significant decline in their DDT levels during the past decades, while the more stationary Antarctic penguins have not. The study, “Melting Glaciers: A Probable Source of DDT to the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem,” published in Environmental Science and Technology (DOI: 10.1021/es702919n), identifies the melting snow and ice as the continued source of total DDT in this southern ecosystem.

The release of DDT also means that other persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including PCBs and PBDEs — industrial chemicals that have been linked to health problems in humans, are also being released.

“DDT is not the only chemical that these birds are ingesting and it is certainly not the worst,” Ms. Geisz says.

Ms. Geisz and her team sampled Adélie penguins and found similar DDT concentrations to those found when the penguins were sampled in a 1964 survey.  She found that the ratio of DDT metabolites, p,p”²-DDT to p,p”²-DDE declined over time. This shift indicates that the birds are exposed to the remnants of older DDT deposition. After examining glacial records, Ms.  Geisz found a likely explanation for the high concentrations of DDT. During the 1950s and 60s, a time when DDT use peaked, the Antarctic glaciers swelled, potentially locking in chemicals like DDT. However, average winter temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula have warmed 6 °C in the past 30 years, and glaciers now melt faster than they grow. They estimate that DDT reenters the ecosystem at a rate of 1 to 4 kg per year.

DDT and other POPs follow atmospheric paths to the Antarctic and the Arctic and eventually are deposited there in snow and ice. Animals there sequester these contaminants in their fat. These toxic chemicals persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in food chains and are common contaminants in fish, dairy products and other foods. Many human and animal populations now carry enough POPs in their bodies to cause subtle but serious health effects, including reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, and disruption of the immune system. Indigenous communities in the Arctic region carry alarmingly high levels of these contaminants.

However Arctic and Antarctic communities are not the only ones at risk. A survey conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that fish caught in California’s Los Angeles county waters contain the world’s highest-known DDT concentrations (See Daily News of February 1, 2007). These findings contradict the belief held by some scientists that DDT on the ocean floor has been breaking down into less toxic compounds and would soon disappear from marine life. Earlier this year, the National Park Service (NPS) released a report detailing high levels of DDT and other POPs contamination within park boundaries.

DDT and its metabolites have been identified as endocrine disruptors. DDT acts as an estrogen mimic and wreaks havoc on biological systems, with adverse health effects showing up later in an organism’s development.

Source: Science News: Environmental Science & Technology

(Beyond Pesticides, May 7, 2008) Twenty-five vineyards representing 925 acres or 56 percent of vineyard acreage in the Walla Walla Basin in Washington state, as well as the 110-acre Walla Walla Community College (WWCC), are newly certified “Salmon-Safe” for their land practices that help accelerate salmon’s recovery. The designation means that landowners go above and beyond regulations to adopt significant and specific measures that restore in-stream habitat, conserve water, protect streamside habitat and wetlands on site, reduce erosion and sedimentation, and reduce or eliminate the use of chemical pesticides.Certification is awarded only after comprehensive on-site assessments by independent inspectors based on Salmon-Safe’s rigorous standards. Salmon-Safe is a leading regional eco-label that in 11 years has certified more than 60,000 acres of farm and urban lands in Oregon and Washington, including one-third of Oregon’s vineyard acreage, as well as the headquarters campuses of Nike, Washington State Department of Ecology, and Kettle Foods.“The magnitude of the participation underscores the Walla Walla valley’s leadership in adopting and committing to sustainable practices that benefit people and land, and help salmon spawn and thrive,” said Dan Kent, Salmon-Safe managing director. “The certifications and assessments also mark a major expansion of Salmon-Safe east of the Cascades, a region critical to salmon recovery efforts.”

(Beyond Pesticides, May 6, 2008) Pregnant veterinarians who have occupational exposures to pesticides, anesthetic gases or radiation may have twice the risk of miscarriage, according to a new study published in the May 2008 issue of the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The study, “Maternal occupational exposures and risk of spontaneous abortion in veterinary practice,” looked at the experiences of 1197 female veterinarians working in clinical practice, who graduated from Australian veterinary schools between 1960 and 2000, responding to a questionnaire-based survey. There was a twofold increase in the risk of miscarriage in women veterinarians who use pesticides at work.

The researchers found that there was also a twofold increase for those exposed to anaesthetic gases for more than an hour a week without using equipment to remove the gas from the air, and an 80 percent greater risk of miscarriage in those who performed more than five x-ray examinations per week compared with those who performed five or less. Veterinarians are often unable to leave the room whilst performing an x-ray because they have to hold the animal being x-rayed in order to restrain it.

Adeleh Shirangi, Ph.D., author of the research from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London, said, “Prior to our study, there had been very little research looking at female vets’ exposures to occupational hazards and how this affects their health. We found that many of the vets surveyed either didn’t have the safety equipment in their practices, or they had the equipment but weren’t using it correctly. We hope that our research will make vets aware of the need to fully protect themselves whilst they are working, especially if they planning to have a baby.”

Laurel Kaddatz, V.M.D., vice chair of the American Veterinary Association Council on Veterinary Science (CoVS) and owner of Pound Ridge Veterinary Center in New York, said the recent Australian study keeps precautions foremost in people’s minds. “For me, looking at this study as a practitioner, it reaffirmed the safety measures we take in our hospital,” he said. “We have active scavenging systems for anesthetic waste gases; personnel aren’t in the X-ray room during film exposure; and we don’t do any topical pesticide application here, either.”

On the recommendation of the CoVS, the AVMA last updated the information and language of the “AVMA position on veterinary facility occupational risks for pregnant workers” in late 2004. The policy starts by stating, “Although scientific data concerning the reproductive health effects of many occupational exposures is limited, the goal of creating a safe work environment for pregnant workers can be facilitated by awareness of inherent risks and then adopting procedures to minimize risk exposure.” The policy lists radiologic, biologic, and chemical exposure as areas of concern for pregnant workers. The policy states that pregnant workers ideally should avoid exposure to X-rays, anesthetic gases, and pesticides.