Search Results
Wednesday, July 19th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, July 19, 2023) A study in Environment International (August issue) by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) finds that almost half of U.S. tap water is contaminated with PFAS chemicals, with measured concentrations in both private wells and public water sources. Authors of the study âestimate that at least one PFAS could be detected in about 45% of U.S. drinking-water samples.â Although there are more than 12,000 different types of PFAS, only 32 are detectable by USGS lab tests, so 45% is likely a low estimate. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of chemicals found in a variety of common household products such as nonstick pans and stain resistant carpeting, as well as pesticides and biosolids used as fertilizer. Long-chain PFAS, such as PFOA and PFOS, are more widely known because of their high toxicity and controversial use in the past. Today, long-chain PFAS are often replaced with short-chain PFAS, as the latter are not as bioaccumulative; however, short-chained PFAS also pose a significant threat because they remain highly persistent in the environment. Past Beyond Pesticidesâ articles have described the prevalence of PFAS in products as well as their negative health consequences, including cancer, decreased fertility, […]
Posted in Chemicals, contamination, Disease/Health Effects, Drinking Water, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Groundwater, PFAS, U.S. Geological Survey, Uncategorized, Water | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 29th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, June 29, 2023) In the first major settlement amid an influx of PFAS litigation, industrial chemical giants DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva will pay $1.185 billion dollars to cities and towns across the U.S. to cover the cost of PFAS remediation and monitoring in public drinking water systems. The significance of this nationwide class-action settlement cannot be overstated, as citizens have battled powerful chemical corporations for decades with limited success. Dangerous toxicants have been indiscriminately discharged into the environment by chemical companies since the mid-1900s, and the PFAS litigation is important in the companyâs acceptance of responsibility for contamination. Of course, the damage to health and the environment is incalculable, given the pervasive environmental contamination and poisoning that it has caused, and additional lawsuits are pending, with more expected. Advocates maintain that this case exemplifies the inadequacies of regulatory controls that do a poor job of capturing the long-term effects of chemicals before being introduced into the market and a worse job of questioning the essentiality of toxic substances for which there are alternative practices and products. PFAS bring into sharp focus the legacy of chemical contamination and the impact on  future generationsâa problem well-documented with pesticides like DDT […]
Posted in 3M, Birth defects, Cancer, Chemicals, contamination, Corporations, Corteva, Disease/Health Effects, Drinking Water, DuPont, Groundwater, Litigation, PFAS, Water | No Comments »
Monday, May 15th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, May 15, 2023) Say “legacy contaminant” or “forever chemical” and most people today think âPFASâ (perfluoroalkyl substances), but PFAS are just the latest persistent toxic chemicals recognized as presenting an alarmingly difficult cleanup problem. Fortunately, steps are being taken by governments and businesses to eliminate use of PFAS. (Organic farmers concerned about the integrity of their products have been leaders in these efforts.) Although government officials often devote considerable energy and resources to cleaning up contamination, the continued manufacturing of these chemicals and their release into the environment creates a futile situation. The U.S. is a signatory to the 2001 Stockholm Convention, which provides an international framework for moving persistent organic pollutants out of commerce, but the U.S. Senate never ratified it.   Ask your Senators to ratify the Stockholm convention. Tell EPA that persistent toxic pesticides must be considered to pose an âunreasonable risk to the environment under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA),â which must result in cancellation of their registrations. PFAS contamination is just the latest chapter of a very old story. Legacy contamination of our bodies and the environment is partly a result of a slow piecemeal approach to eliminating these toxic chemicals. […]
Posted in dioxin, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), furans, International, organochlorines, Pesticide Regulation, PFAS, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, May 12th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, May 12, 2023) With the growth of chemical-intensive land management over the last century, the world has been held captive by pesticide companies. For part of that time, it could be said the modern society has suffered from Stockholm Syndrome, a theory about abusive relationships in which one party exerts power over the other using threats, fear, and lies and the victim comes to depend on the perpetrator emotionally. During the so-called âGreen Revolutionâ (circa 1945-1985), the world came to depend on vast amounts of fertilizers and herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Many people believed that food, clothing, and shelter made from naturally-occurring materials such as fruit, flax and wood could not be provided to the world without pesticides. It seemed that science and commerce could indefinitely raise the standard of living around the world, perhaps leading to world peace. This is not what happened. Soon observers noticed the harmful effects of many pesticides, including their persistence in the environment, their tendency to accumulate in the bodies of humans and wildlife, and their influence on the risk of contracting many diseases, from cancer to asthmaânot to mention the Darwinian inevitability of pest resistance. By the turn of the 20th […]
Posted in Agriculture, Chlordane, Dieldrin, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), International, Uncategorized, United Nations | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 4th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, May 4, 2023) One of the most widely used insecticides in California, Intrepid 2F, contains harmful levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or âforever chemicals,â according to a report by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In fact, 40 percent of pesticide products in the report tested positive for high levels of PFAS. PFAS are common in non-stick cookware, cleaning/personal care products, food packaging, and other consumer products. However, these compounds are also in pesticide products. Despite evidence on the dangers of PFAS stretching as far back as the 1950s, federal agencies sat by the sidelines as the plastics industry continued adding the material to new products. From widespread presence in farm fields and sewage sludge to contaminated water bodies throughout the U.S., PFAS has made its way into the environment and our bodies. PFAS are even present in remote environments like the Arctic, Antarctica, and Eastern European Tibetan Plateau. A study published in 2020 identified PFAS as common products to which Americans are exposed daily. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that 98% of Americans have some level of PFAS in their bloodstream, with studies reporting PFAS compounds are detectable in infants, children, and pregnant women. With […]
Posted in contamination, PFAS | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 25th, 2023
Today, Beyond Pesticides released a special issue, Transformative Change: Informed by Science, Policy, and Action of its journal, Pesticides and You, with a compendium of âshocking scientific findings that compel us to act in our communities, states, and as a nation and world community.â The 168-page issue documents the last year of scientific, peer-reviewed articles, policy deficiencies, and action for change that intersect not only with petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, but with existential health crises, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency.
Posted in Biodiversity, Climate, Disease/Health Effects, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, April 10th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, April 10, 2023) Congress has entrusted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the responsibility to protect the health and environment of the United States. As yet another report of EPAâs Office of Inspector General (OIG)âthis one relating to risk assessment for a PFAS chemicalâfinds that EPA has failed to abide by its own scientific integrity policy, thereby leaving âthe public vulnerable to potential negative impacts on human health,â it becomes urgently necessary to insist on accountability for scientific integrity failures at the agency. Tell Congress and the President to hold accountable political appointees at EPA who fail to uphold scientific integrity.    OIG is an independent branch of EPA that can receive complaints of mismanagement, misconduct, abuse of authority, or censorship, including those related to scientific or research misconduct, without fear of improper influence. Through its statutory mandate, OIG investigates these allegations. It makes recommendations based on findings, which it reports to Congress, but it cannot ensure the personal accountability of those responsible for misconduct. In this case, OIG made recommendations relating to strengthening policies and procedures for dealing with scientific data, disagreements, and integrity, and one recommendation âto strengthen the EPAâs culture of scientific integrity, transparency, […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, April 7th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, April 7, 2023) A  petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implores the agency to halt the practice of allowing pesticides banned in the U.S. to be exported to other countries without any consent from relevant governmental authorities in those nations. The two petitionersâthe Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)âare focusing on a longstanding practice of U.S. pesticide manufacturers and brokers, who sell toxic pesticide products that fail to qualify for EPA registration domestically to entities nearly anywhere in the world (except where the products are specifically prohibited). As Beyond Pesticides has noted, this is a dangerous and environmentally unjust practice and has for decades urged Congress and EPA to forbid it. According to the CIEL press release on the matter, the petition was motivated by the reality that banned or voluntarily withdrawn pesticides âare routinely exported to countries that often have limited resources or capacity to assess and regulate chemical risks,â and that the âpractice has directly fueled the influx of extremely hazardous pesticides to countries in the Global South, where they disproportionately harm Indigenous peoples and vulnerable and marginalized communities.â The organizations emphasize that, for example, more than four-fifths […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), International, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 31st, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2023)Â A report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most recent event in the very long chronicle of EPA dysfunction that â put charitably â constitutes failures to enact its mission, and more accurately, sometimes crosses the line into malfeasance. In the report, OIG concludes that EPAâs 2021 PFBS Toxicity Assessment failed to âuphold the agencyâs commitments to scientific integrity and information quality,â and that the agencyâs actions âleft the public vulnerable to potential negative impacts on human health.â As reported by The Guardian, âTrump administration appointees at . . . EPA meddled in agency science to weaken the toxicity assessment of a dangerous chemical.â Last year, Beyond Pesticide concerns about the myriad risks and harms of pesticides intersected with those about the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances) family of chemical compounds, of which PFBS is a member, when a study found very high levels of PFAS in multiple pesticide products. The EPA OIG explains why it undertook the evaluation that led to this report: âto determine whether the EPA followed applicable policies and procedures to develop and publish the January 19, 2021 perfluorobutane sulfonic acid […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, March 16th, 2023
(Beyond Pesticides, March 16, 2023) Highly hazardous PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are leaching out of plastic containers and contaminating food products, according to research published in Environment Technology and Letters this month. The data confirm the results of prior research focused on the propensity of PFAS to contaminate various pesticide products through the storage containers. That data led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a warning over the potential for direct PFAS contamination of food. The current study, conducted by scientists at Notre Dame University, confirms these worst fears and shows that the containers of commonly used products like ketchup and mayonnaise are leaching out levels that post a threat to human health. âNot only did we measure significant concentrations of PFAS in these containers, we can estimate the PFAS that were leaching off creating a direct path of exposure,â said study coauthor Graham Peaslee, PhD, professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Notre Dame. In breaking news on Tuesday, EPA is setting standards for two PFAS, PFOA and PFOS at no more than 4 parts per trillion in drinking water. While testing will be required, this measure is limited by its scope, […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, December 12th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, December 12, 2022)Â It is time for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to follow through on its duty to assess individual âinertâ ingredients used in organic production. In creating the original regulations for the National Organic Program (NOP), USDAâbased on the recommendation of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)âdecided to postpone the evaluation of so-called âinertâ ingredients until active materials had been reviewed for the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. In this context, âinertâ is a misleading legal term since the ingredient may be chemically or biologically active, but not included for purposes of attacking a target organism. The first regulation and all subsequent revisions have allowed the use of âinertâ ingredients on EPAâs former Lists 4A (âminimal risk inert ingredientsâ) and 4B (âother ingredients for which EPA has sufficient information to reasonably conclude that the current use pattern in pesticide products will not adversely affect public health or the environmentâ). A limited number on List 3 (âinerts of unknown toxicityâ) were allowed in pheromone products. [This action requires a submission at Regulations.gov. You can copy and paste from the suggested comment below. Comments are due December 31, 2022.] Tell USDA that the National Organic Program […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Inerts, Take Action, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) | 14 Comments »
Monday, November 7th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, November 7, 2022) The Maine Congressional delegation â Senators Collins (R) and Angus King (I), and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D) and Jared Golden (D), along with New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D) â have  introduced a bipartisan bill â the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act â to help farmers who have been adversely affected by the scourge of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals. The bills are the identical S. 5070 and H.R. 9186, both titled âRelief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act.â Tell your U.S. Senators and Representative to cosponsor the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act. If they are already cosponsors, thank them. Tell EPA to stop the spread of legacy chemicals. PFAS chemicals, also known as âforever chemicals,â are legacy contaminants or those whose historical use, including many decades ago in some instances, has led to their toxic persistence in the environment and in organisms. PFAS chemicals are not the only legacy contaminants. Others include wood preservatives, DDT, dioxins, and the termiticide chlordane. Unfortunately, some of these continue to be added to the environment, sometimes inadvertently, but also intentionally, particularly through pesticide use. As indicated by the title of these bills, farmers […]
Posted in Agriculture, Chlordane, DDT, PFAS, Take Action, Uncategorized, Wood Preservatives | No Comments »
Friday, October 28th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, October 28, 2022) The Maine Congressional delegation â Senators Collins (R) and Angus King (I), and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D) and Jared Golden (D) â along with New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D), have introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill â the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act â to help farmers who have been impacted by the scourge of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals. (The Senate version of the bill is available; the House version should be soon.) PFAS contamination has, as Beyond Pesticides documented in two Daily News Blog articles (here and here), become a huge, life-altering problem for agricultural producers in Maine and many other states. An early 2022 Safer States analysis of state-level legislation on PFAS demonstrated the extent of the problem via the response: more than 32 states have begun to act on the issue. Beyond Pesticides has covered the presence of PFAS in pesticides and pesticide containers, and in so-called âbiosludgeâ or âbiosolidsââ realities that only reinforce the call for a rapid transition off of chemical-dependent agriculture and to regenerative organic agricultural practices that do not carry the enormous health and environmental risks of pesticide products and contaminated fertilizers. There […]
Posted in Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PFAS, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) | No Comments »
Friday, October 7th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, October 7, 2022) Pyrethroid insecticides are associated with the growing worldwide epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition that causes swelling of the liver and can eventually lead to cirrhosis, cancer, or liver failure. According to research published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, exposure to pyrethroids like bifenthrin can induce gut microbiota dysbiosis (an imbalance in microorganisms in the intestines). This dysbiosis results in abnormal lipid (fat) metabolism and subsequent accumulation of lipids in liver cells, contributing to NAFLD development. Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in lifelong digestion, immune and central nervous system regulation, as well as other bodily functions. Through the gut biome, pesticide exposure can enhance or exacerbate the adverse effects of additional environmental toxicants on the body. Since the gut microbiome shapes metabolism, it can mediate some toxic effects of environmental chemicals. However, with prolonged exposure to various environmental contaminants, critical chemical-induced changes may occur in the gut microbes, influencing adverse health outcomes. Considering NAFLD is becoming the most prevalent form of liver disease, impacting at least 25 percent of the globe, and a growing body of evidence demonstrates the significance gut microbiota play in overall health, safety analyses that currently do not consider the […]
Posted in Liver Damage, Liver failure, Pesticide Residues, Synthetic Pyrethroid, Synthetic Pyrethroids | No Comments »
Thursday, October 6th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, October 6, 2022) A new study finds alarmingly high levels of PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) âforever chemicalsâ in commonly used pesticides, calling into question assurances from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that contamination is limited to storage containers. For some pesticides, PFAS levels are nearly one billion times higher than the EPAâs recently updated Health Advisory for the PFAS chemical PFOS. âIf the intent was to spread PFAS contamination across the globe there would be few more effective methods than lacing pesticides with PFAS,â said Kyla Bennett, PhD, of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. âThese findings point to an appalling regulatory breakdown by EPA.â A team of researchers based in Texas, including scientists from Texas Tech and the U.S. Department of Agricultureâs (USDA) Cropping Systems Research Laboratory, participated in the study published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters. Ten different formulated pesticide products were tested for 24 different PFAS substances. The pesticide products selected were determined based on unexpected PFAS contamination at USDAâs research facility. During the course of conducting a separate study on plant uptake of PFAS, detectable levels of PFAS were found in plants intended to be used as unexposed controls. […]
Posted in 3M, Agriculture, contamination, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Imidacloprid, Inerts, Malathion, neonicotinoids, PFAS, spiromesifen, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 14th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, September 14, 2022) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is confirming that PFAS (per and polyfluorinated alykyl substances) forever chemicals leach into pesticides from their storage containers, and is taking steps to remove 12 âinertâ PFAS ingredients that are currently allowed to be added to pesticide products. The agencyâs move is a step toward some measure of health protections from chemicals that may have been widely sprayed throughout many American communities, and have been linked to cancer, liver damage, birth and developmental problems, reduced fertility, and asthma. However, many advocates indicate EPAâs actions on PFAS inerts do not go far enough, and the agencyâs findings regarding leaching storage containers are accompanied by no meaningful restrictions on their use. Following reports and preliminary testing conducted in 2020 showing that PFAS chemicals are present in a widely used mosquito adulticide, EPA began investigating the source of this contamination. Testing on the product Anvil 10+10, produced by the company Clarke, resulted in detection of nine different PFAS chemicals. Early indications indicate that the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers used to store pesticides contained PFAS substances on their walls, and that those chemicals are leaching into the liquid pesticides stored in contaminated barrels. These […]
Posted in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Maine, PFAS, Uncategorized, Water | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 31st, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, August 31, 2022) No rainwater on Earth is safe for consumption and use as per-, and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) readily contaminate the hydrological ecosystem (properties, distribution, and circulation of water), according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology. This finding is concerning as it adds to research demonstrating chemical pollutants (e.g., pesticides, pharmaceuticals, PFAS, heavy metals, radioactive material, etc.) exceed the âplanetary boundaryâ contamination and needs addressing. The Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University study, âPlanetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity,â emphasizes that there are nine âplanetary boundariesâ related to climate change, biodiversity loss, the nitrogen cycle, the phosphorous cycle, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidification, global freshwater use, changes/intensification of land use, atmospheric aerosol loading, and chemical pollution. When crossing these boundaries, the risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes increases. In fact, anthropogenic (human) activities are increasing global contamination levels past safe thresholds. Studies have already found that current human operations are quantifiable in almost all nine planetary boundaries and exceed the threshold for at least four out of the nine boundaries. Most recently, a 2022 report concludes that humanity exceeds planetary boundaries related to environmental pollutants and other ânovel entities,â including plastics and pesticides. […]
Posted in contamination, PFAS, Water | No Comments »
Friday, August 12th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, August 12, 2022) Gestational (during pregnancy) exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), among others, may increase pediatric (child) liver injury and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk, according to a study published in Environmental Health. Past studies associate exposure to EDCs with increased susceptibility to adverse health effects during critical fetal and childhood developmental periods. The World Health Organization (WHO), European Union (EU), and endocrine disruptor expert (deceased) Theo Colborn, Ph.D., classify over 55 to 177 chemical compounds as endocrine disruptors, including various household products like detergents, disinfectants, plastics, and pesticides. Endocrine disruption can lead to several health problems, including hormone-related cancer development (i.e., thyroid, breast, ovarian, prostate, testicular), reproductive dysfunction, and diabetes/obesity that can span generations. Because EDCs are ubiquitous because they are found in many products, studies report that these toxic chemical compounds are detectable in infants, children, and pregnant women. Furthermore, pregnant women can readily transfer compounds to the developing fetus through the placenta. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanism behind how harmful chemical exposure induces endocrine disruption during critical developmental periods. Researchers note, âConsidering the lack of studies on endocrine disruption and pediatric NAFLD, research like this highlights the need to understand the underlying […]
Posted in Endocrine Disruption, Liver Damage, Liver failure, PFAS, phthalates, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 5th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, August 5, 2022) A terrible saga of environmental injustice â and of grieving couples who wanted children but could not have them â is getting new attention via the BBCâs (British Broadcasting Corporationâs) recent coverage of Di-bromochloropropane (DBCP) exposures and impacts on banana plantation workers in multiple Latin American countries. A significant number of those male workers became sterile, and many charge that their exposures to DBCP in the 1970s was responsible. A 1979 ban on uses of DBCP on the U.S. mainland by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not immediately stop manufacturers from exporting the toxic insecticide to (primarily) Central American countries, nor did it stop U.S. fruit companies operating there from using it. Beyond Pesticides wrote in 2020 about the damaging and what some call unethical practice of allowing corporate export of domestically banned pesticides â which practice continues in the U.S. This BBC investigative report comes on the heels of a piece in The Lancet, United States and United Nations pesticide policies: Environmental violence against the Yaqui indigenous nation, that catalogues the abuse of pesticide export policies on indigenous peoples. The piece finds: âThe Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is a U.S. statute that allows âpesticides that […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, May 31st, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, May 31, 2022) Fifty years after the banning of DDT, the notorious insecticide is still harming iconic birds of prey along the California coastline. According to research published in Environmental Science and Technology, California condors and marine mammals along Californiaâs coast are contaminated with several dozen different halogenated organic compounds (hazardous, often-chlorinated chemicals) related to DDT, chlordane, and other now-banned legacy chemicals. The findings highlight the incredible importance of addressing these original âforever chemicals,â and making certain that we do not continue to repeat the mistakes of the past with new and different, yet equally dangerous, chemistries. Between 1947 and 1971, the Montrose Chemical Corporation of California, the largest historical producer of DDT, released over 1,700 tons of DDT into the LA sewer system, which eventually made its way into the Pacific Ocean. During this time, several other companies discharged PCBs, leading to further chemical contamination of land and sediment. As recent as April 2021, scientists discovered 25,000 barrels likely containing DDT near Catalina Island along the southern California coast. These releases have resulted in serious environmental and health problems throughout the coastal food chain. Yet, as the present study shows, scientists are only beginning to understand the […]
Posted in Agriculture, California, DEET, Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, neonicotinoids, Persistence, PFAS, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, April 21st, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, April 21, 2022) A literature review published in Royal Society finds that âinertâ ingredientsâ in pesticide formulations adversely affect the health of bees and other wild pollinators. Inert ingredients, also known as âotherâ ingredients, and not disclosed by name on pesticide product labels, facilitate the action of active ingredients targeting a specific pest. Although both ingredients have chemical and biological activity, most studies on agricultural chemical toxicity focus on the active ingredient, assuming that inert ingredients are ânontoxic.â The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in regulating pesticides, assesses the toxicity of individual active ingredients on bees through various testing methods. However, there are no requirements for EPA to test inert ingredients to the same degree, despite evidence demonstrating these chemicals harm pollinators. Moreover, EPA does not require pesticide manufacturers to disclose the inert ingredients used in any product as the information is confidential. Both wild and commercial bees and other pollinators encounter multiple stressors, including pesticides, parasites, and poor nutrition, that act together to increase the risk of bee mortality. Therefore, reviews like these highlight the need for pesticide testing to consider the effects of all product ingredients, regardless of perceived toxicity. The researchers caution, âWe argue that âinertâ ingredients […]
Posted in Inerts, Pollinators | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 19th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, April 19, 2022)Â Both houses of Maineâs legislature have just approved a bill that would, by 2030, ban pesticides that contain PFAS chemicals â the so-called âforever chemicals.â The billâs next stop is the Appropriations Committee, for approval of $200,000 in annual funding to enact the bill; if successful there, it will move to the desk of Maine Governor Janet Mills for her signature. The legislation is one of a suite of lawmaker efforts in the state to address the growing PFAS problem with which localities across the U.S. are struggling. In this Daily News Blog article, Beyond Pesticides continues its coverage of the scourge of PFAS chemicals, particularly as it relates to pesticide use and the use of fertilizers made from PFAS-contaminated âbiosludgeâ from municipal treatment facilities. PFAS â âper- and poly-fluoroalkyl substancesâ â are any of a family of more than 9,000 synthetic chemicals, invented in, and widely deployed since, the 1950s in a multitude of industrial and consumer products. PFAS molecules are made up of a chain of linked carbon and fluorine atoms; the carbonâfluorine bond is one of the strongest chemical bonds that exists, which means that these compounds do not break down in the […]
Posted in Agriculture, contamination, Maine, PFAS, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 29th, 2022
(Beyond Pesticides, March 29, 2022) Plastic storage barrels contaminated with polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may be in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), according to an open letter released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month. Manufacturers, producers, processors, distributors, users, and those that dispose of fluorinated High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) containers or other similar plastics that form PFAS as a byproduct were notified in the letter of requirements under federal law. The notice comes two years after EPA was first alerted to the presence of PFAS in a mosquito pesticide used by the state of Massachusetts known as Anvil 10+10. âTodayâs action will help ensure that responsible parties are held accountable for any future PFAS contamination affecting communities,â said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff, PhD. While the agency believes its letter represents progress, health advocates note that there has been no meaningful regulatory action from the agency on this issue. In January 2021, a year after receiving notice from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on the presence of PFAS on Anvil 10+10, EPA confirmed the finding. At the time the agency did nothing, while acknowledging, âthe need to […]
Posted in PFAS, Uncategorized | No Comments »