(Beyond Pesticides, November 28, 2007) Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have determined that previous studies that assessed population-based exposure to atrazine were significantly and systematically underestimated. The CDC relies on the detection and analysis of only one of the twelve identified metabolites of atrazine measured in human urine samples to estimate exposure. However, after looking at multiple metabolites, researchers found that previous assessments missed most of the exposure. Atrazine mercapturate (AM), a metabolite of atrazine, was used as definitive evidence of direct atrazine exposure. General population data indicated that less than 5% of the population was exposed to atrazine-related chemicals. However, researchers at the CDC found that this research, which relied on AM detection, gives a low and misleading estimate of exposure to atrazine and atrazine- related metabolites. Published in Environmental Health and Perspectives and entitled “Assessing Exposure to Atrazine and Its Metabolites Using Biomonitoring”, the small-scale study involving 24 individuals measured nine atrazine-related metabolites in urine. The sample was organized with respect to how likely the individuals were to be exposed to atrazine: (1) high exposure (turf pesticide applicators), (2) low exposure (non-occupationally exposed people in whom atrazine mercapturate was found during a prior study) and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 26, 2007) Minnesota’s Department of Health (MDH) plans to measure arsenic levels in 100 children who live near a former pesticide production site in south Minneapolis. Pesticides containing arsenic, a known human carcinogen, were made and stored at the CMC Heartland site between 1938 and 1963. The pilot project follows the passage of health tracking and biomonitoring legislation and would help to determine whether children in south Minneapolis have elevated levels of arsenic in their bodies. Children who are found to have elevated levels would be advised to seek medical attention. Also, health officials would give families information to help them determine how they might be exposed to arsenic (including the soil, green-treated lumber, foods, dietary supplements and cigarette smoke) and to take steps to reduce the exposure in the future. Health Department staff members aim to begin the project in the summer of 2008 and will present preliminary plans and accept feedback on the proposal at a public meeting at December 6 at 7 p.m. at the Midtown YWCA, 2121 E. Lake St. Health officials have said that the risk from the contaminated soil is low, particularly since much of the contaminated soil is under grass […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 25, 2007) In a report it releases every six years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) and for the first time considered “the extent to which schools have health-promoting physical school environment policies and programs.” The report’s consideration of environmental health issues suggests a breakthrough in public policy at the federal level. In Part II of the report, in its section on pesticides, the authors cite the work of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Beyond Pesticides’ report, The Schooling of State Pesticide Laws. In its introduction the report says: The toll that environmental hazards take on children’s health is not completely understood, nor has it been quantified. Nonetheless, environmental exposure to air pollution, lead in paint and drinking water, tobacco smoke, radon, asbestos, and many pesticides and other chemicals in and around school environments is known to be hazardous to children’s health. The report acknowledges and cites the scientific literature on the special vulnerability of children to environmental hazards during developmental stages of life. The […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 18, 2007) In a scholarly review written by Theo Colborn, Ph.D. and Lynn Carroll, Ph.D., the authors point to the multigenerational effects of some pesticides that they say demand improved regulation to protect human and environmental health. The review, “Pesticides, Sexual Development, Reproduction, and Fertility: Current Perspective and Future Direction,” appears in the international journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (13:5, 1078 — 1110), September, 2007. The study points out a major deficiency in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of pesticides under current health reviews and risk assessments. The authors call EPA’s pesticide registration system “outmoded” and one that has “almost completely missed the low-dose and endocrine system-mediated effects of pesticides.” The study reviews both epidemiological and laboratory data. In the abstract, the authors state the following: Improvements in chemical analytical technology and non-invasive sampling protocols have made it easier to detect pesticides and their metabolites at very low concentrations in human tissues. Monitoring has revealed that pesticides penetrate both maternal and paternal reproductive tissues and organs, thus providing a pathway for initiating harm to their offspring starting before fertilization throughout gestation and lactation. This article explores the literature that addresses the parental pathway of exposure […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 4, 2007) On September 28, 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delayed approval of the pesticide methyl iodide, a highly toxic replacement chemical for the ozone-depleting methyl bromide (also called iodomethane), after more than 50 prominent scientists objected that the chemical was too dangerous. The decision surprised environmentalists who assumed the pesticide would most likely be registered despite opposition. According to EPA, it now “will address recent questions prompted by the pending registration of iodomethane.” On September 24, 2007, scientists across the country — including six Nobel prize winners, alarmed by the prospect of registering methyl iodide as a pesticide, issued a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson urging the Agency not to sanction the broad use of methyl iodide now or at any time. “The gratifying thing is that EPA has been responsive to people who are really concerned about this,” Robert Bergman, a University of California at Berkeley professor who organized the scientists’ letter, told the Associated Press. The letter criticized EPA’s scientific analysis, calling for an independent scientific review of the agency’s assessment. Methyl iodide and methyl bromide are injected into the soil at rates of 100-400 pounds per acre to kill soil-borne pests. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 1, 2007) For the second time in ten years, state officials have poured aquatic insecticide and piscicide rotenone into California’s Lake Davis in an effort to control an invasive species of fish, northern pike. Despite the first failure of rotenone to eradicate the pike in 1997, Fish and Game officials felt they had no alternative but to resort to the toxic chemical once more. The invasive pike were first introduced, illegally, into Lake Davis in 1994. Since then, the population has reached uncontrollable proportions, out-competing local trout. The small town of Portola, which uses Lake Davis as its drinking water supply, is largely supported by fishing and tourism, which are boosted by its reputation for producing extremely large trout. Local businesses fear the consequences of the pikes’ destruction of the attraction. Despite its economic concerns, the town did not universally support the first application of rotenone in 1997. Four residents, including the mayor pro tem, were arrested in a mass protest of the application as Fish and Game put thousands of gallons of the chemical in the lake. Within a year, pike reappeared. Ten years and many failed attempted alternatives later, the pike population thrives. Fish and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 28, 2007) EPA is due to make a decision on methyl iodide, a highly reactive and carcinogenic chemical, for use in crop production as a soil fumigant. Scientists across the country are alarmed by the prospect of registering methyl iodide as a pesticide, and fifty-four chemists and physicians from across the country issued a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson Monday urging the Agency not to sanction the broad use of methyl iodide now or at any time.“[W]e are concerned that pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farm workers, and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk if methyl iodide is permitted for use in agriculture,” said the group in the letter. In the chemical community methyl iodide is a well-known cancer hazard due to its ability to mutate DNA, and the scientists are fearful that methyl iodide’s high volatility and water solubility will expose many people to harm if the chemical is used in agriculture. Methyl iodide and methyl bromide are injected into the soil at rates of 100-400 pounds per acre to kill soil-borne pests. Because of the high application rates and gaseous nature of these chemicals, they drift […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 29, 2007) Entomologists have recently begun studying whether increasing temperatures will attract more insects to the New England region, as scientists have begun reporting the appearance of new and more numerous unwanted insects. The colder winters of the New England region have historically limited insect populations, but in recent years as temperatures have warmed, the amount and variety of pests have increased. According to the government’s U.S. Global Change Research Program, in its New England Regional Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, “A warming New England region (especially warming winters) will support the introduction and expansion of exotic pests into the region.” Although scientists cannot definitively say that there is a relationship between increasing temperatures in the region and an increase in the number of insects, Vermont entomologist Jon Turmel, points out that ticks carrying lyme disease, as well as mosquitoes with West Nile virus (WNv) and encephalitis have been reported in the state. The Aedes japonicus, an Asian mosquito species, was first reported in Vermont five years ago. These mosquitoes can spread Japanese and St. Louis encephalitis, which are viral brain infections that can result in death, along with WNv. Reported cases […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 23, 2007) With the joint release on July 31, 2007 of Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials, a broad international coalition of 40 consumer, public health, environmental, and labor organizations called for strong, comprehensive oversight of the new technology and its products, citing risks to the public, workers and the environment. The manufacture of products using nanotechnology—a powerful platform for manipulating matter at the level of atoms and molecules in order to alter properties—has exploded in recent years. Hundreds of consumer products incorporating nanomaterials are now on the market, including cosmetics, sunscreens, sporting goods, clothing, electronics, baby and infant products, and food and food packaging. But evidence indicates that current nanomaterials can pose significant health, safety, and environmental hazards. In addition, the profound social, economic, and ethical challenges posed by nano-scale technologies have yet to be addressed. As Yoke Ling of the Third World Network explained, “Materials engineered to the nano-scale can exhibit fundamentally different properties—including toxicity—with unknown effects. Current research raises red flags that demand precautionary action and further study.” She added, “As there are now hundreds of products containing nanomaterials in commerce, the public, workers, and the environment are being exposed to these […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 16, 2007) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent decision not to go through with a Special Review of 2,4-D’s carcinogenic properties is being touted by industry as the final word that the toxic chemical “has been found to have no human carcinogenic effects,” despite significant evidence to the contrary. The Special Review has been cancelled after an industry task force poured millions of dollars into industry funded research and a public relations campaign. The pesticide 2,4-D, or 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, was first slated by EPA for Special Review in 1986. A few years later in a unique move, several large pesticides companies with a common interest in keeping 2,4-D on the market formed the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data. Since then, the task force reports it has funded nearly $30 million in new research on the chemical. Industry funded research is often biased and influential in the regulatory process. The results are reported to EPA, which provides a large portion of the data the agency relies on in order to make decisions under an inadequate risk assessment review process. The task force is currently comprised of the major pesticide producers Dow AgroSciences (U.S.), Nufarm Ltd. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 8, 2007) For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in July on children’s heightened vulnerability to chemical exposures at different periods of their growth and development. The organization cites over 30% of the global burden of disease in children can be attributed to environmental factors, including pesticides. The report, Principles for Evaluating Health Risks in Children Associated with Exposure to Chemicals, is a new volume of the WHO’s Environmental Health Criteria series. It highlights the fact that for children, the stage of their development when chemical exposure occurs may be just as important as the magnitude of the exposure. In respect to pesticides, the report cites several studies that tie pesticide exposure during key periods of development to neurobehavioral problems, Parkinson’s disease, and immunotoxicity, including respiratory diseases. “Children are not just small adults,” said Dr. Terri Damstra, Ph.D., WHO’s team leader for the Interregional Research Unit, in WHO’s press release. “Children are especially vulnerable and respond differently from adults when exposed to environmental factors, and this response may differ according to the different periods of development they are going through.” Air and water contaminants, pesticides in food, lead in soil, as well […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 17, 2007) A study conducted by Canadian researchers show that high concentrations of POPs, or Persistent Organic Pollutants, can be observed in humans and other air-breathing animals even though they may not accumulate in fish. This suggests that current risk assessment methodologies need to be changed for identifying potential POPs in birds and mammals. POPs are synthetic, toxic chemicals that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in food chains and are common contaminants in fish, dairy products and other foods. These compounds are generally accepted to be hydrophobic and fat-soluble. Screening for these bioaccumulative compounds is normally conducted with laboratory tests using fish. However researchers Barry C. Kelly, and Frank Gobas, Ph.D., at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia report that this methodology may overlook a significant number of pollutants that pose health risks to air-breathing animals. The study entitled “Food Web—Specific Biomagnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants” (Science 2007, v317, p236) examines the biomagnification of moderately hydrophobic compounds with octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow) between 100 and 100,000 (currently, compounds with Kow greater than 100,000 are generally categorized as bioaccumulative compounds and tend to be hydrophobic and fat-soluble) and compounds with high octanol-air partition coefficients (Koa). The compounds […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 5, 2007) A new study showing that the order of exposure to multiple pesticides may be just as important as the dose, timing and length of exposure adds another dimension to the complex task of risk assessments. Using carbaryl and chlorpyrifos, University of York scientists have observed significant differences in mortality rates of freshwater invertebrates depending on the order of exposure to these frequently used agricultural chemicals. The study, Modeling Combined Effects of Pulsed Exposure to Carbaryl and Chlorpyrifos on Gammarus Pulex, suggests the sequence of pesticide exposure may be just as important of a variable as the dose, the timing of the dose and the length of exposure when factoring environmental and health endpoints. The researchers conducted the study by exposing the freshwater invertebrate Gammarus pulex — a tiny shrimp — to pulses of the two insecticides (both of which affect the nervous system through acetylcholinesterase inhibition) mimicking exposure to chemical mixtures in the environment — for example, farmers may apply several different pesticides over the growing season that run off into the aquatic environment. After receiving a pulse of one pesticide, the shrimp were given 14 days, a time period chosen based on previous experiments, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 30, 2007) The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA). EPA has registered and allowed the use of 60 toxic pesticides in habitats for nearly a dozen San Francisco Bay Area endangered species without determining whether the chemicals jeopardize their existence. “Ending the use of known poisons in habitat for our most endangered wildlife is an appropriate 100th birthday tribute to Rachel Carson, who alerted us to the hazards of exposure to toxic chemicals almost half a century ago,” said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the Center. “Unfortunately the EPA has not learned from her legacy and still has no plan to adequately assess impacts while registering and approving pesticide uses that pose a clear and present danger both to imperiled species and human health.” At least 61 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients were applied in Bay Area counties from 1999 through 2005 ”” over 8.5 million pounds annually. Actual pesticide use may have been several times this amount since most home and commercial pesticide use is not reported to the state. Under the Bush administration, EPA has consistently failed to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 15, 2007) According to a study commissioned by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Silent Spring Institute, 216 chemicals, many found in urban air and everyday consumer products, cause breast cancer in animal tests. The study, “Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer,” the most comprehensive review to date of scientific research on environmental factors that may increase breast cancer risk, was published in the online version of the American Cancer Society’s journal Cancer on May 14, 2007. The state-of-the-science review collected and assessed existing scientific reports on potential links between specific environmental factors and breast cancer. The researchers synthesized national and international data sources and identified 216 chemicals that cause breast tumors in animals, including ten pesticides. They used the information to create a searchable online database featuring detailed information on the carcinogens. The database, accessible at www.komen.org/environment, is available free of charge. The database includes references to 900 studies, 460 of which are human breast cancer studies that were critically evaluated by the research team. The studies measure breast cancer risk related to body size, physical activity, environmental pollutants, and prospective studies of diet. For each study, bibliographic information, key methods and findings, and a […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 13, 2007) A broad coalition of public interest, non-profit and labor groups, including Beyond Pesticides, have issued a letter calling the international nanotechnology community to join them in rejecting a voluntary risk assessment framework. The framework, developed under the leadership of industry in conjunction with the Environmental Defense Fund, is billed as flawed and as a public relations campaign. Nanotechnology, or nanotech, describes the design, production, and application of engineered nano-sized materials from known chemicals such as silver, carbon, iron, or titanium. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or around one ten-thousandth the diameter of a human hair. Concern over nanotech products comes from the fact that despite nano-sized chemicals have different properties compared with their bulk-sized counterparts, they are not being adequately regulated and may potentially pose health and environmental risks that are not being properly assessed. The letter states: We, the undersigned, submit this open letter to the international nanotechnology community at large. We are a coalition of public interest, non-profit and labor organizations that actively work on nanotechnology issues, including workplace safety, consumer health, environmental welfare, and broader societal impacts. DuPont Chemical Company (DuPont) and Environmental Defense (ED) jointly have proposed a […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 23, 2007) Using advanced risk assessment techniques, researchers have shown pesticide usage in the Salinas Valley, California, exposes pregnant women to pesticides through air, water, and soil. The study tracks how agricultural pesticides can travel from the field into the body. A team of scientists investigating whether there is a correlation between the high levels of pesticides in pregnant women in the Salinas Valley and the high pesticide usage in the surrounding farmland has discovered important pathways of exposure that greatly inform traditional risk assessment. At first, applying a simple statistical model suggested no direct correlation, but upon applying advanced modeling techniques that combine multiple fate and exposure models with biomonitoring data they found that the study population of 600 Latina women have a significantly higher intake of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides from exposure to the surrounding air, water, and soil, but not food. The study, part of a larger study on women and children’s environmental health called the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) project, is conducted by Thomas McKone, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. Results are published in Environmental Science […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 12, 2007) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson appeared before the Environmental and Hazardous Materials and Energy and Air Quality Subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 8, 2007 to discuss the EPA’s Budget for the first time in his six-year tenure as Administrator. Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA) pressed the Administrator for answers related to EPA’s Performance Track Program, the closure of EPA libraries, changes made to the Toxic Release Inventory, closure of Region 10’s Office of Environmental Justice, failure to implement the Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice (EJ), and the overall budget for environmental justice. According to Rep. Solis, three Monsanto facilities are members of the Performance Track Program, despite the fact that their parent company paid one million dollars in fines to the Department of Justice last year after being criminally indicted in 2005. Eligibility of the program requires that a company not be convicted of any environmental fines within the past five years. When asked why the three Monsanto facilities were members, Mr. Johnson deferred to staff from EPA to comment, at which time Rep. Solis was told they must review the documents and respond at a later date. […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 26, 2007) The United States’ largest dairy company, Dean Foods, has adopted a policy statement rejecting milk from cloned cows. The decision, which joins those of the organic dairy community to reject animal cloning, reflects the publics’ demand for foods free of genetic manipulation and chemicals. The food giant’s policy comes in the midst of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) open comment period on its evaluation of the safety of animal cloning. While FDA is expected to determine animal products from clones are as safe as those from naturally produced animals, Dean Foods’ stance is a clear message that the market is not interested in purchasing them. The statement reads: “Based on the desire of our customers and consumers, Dean Foods will not accept milk from cows that have been cloned. If the FDA does approve the sale of milk from cloned cows, we will work with our dairy farmers to implement protocols to ensure that the milk they supply to Dean Foods does not come from cloned cows. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to conclude that milk from cloned cows is safe. Our decision not to accept this milk is based […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 8, 2007) Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have shed new light on the suspected role of pesticides in the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study, “GST expression mediates dopaminergic neuron sensitivity in experimental parkinsonism” appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (January 31, 2007), illustrates the mechanism of nerve cell damage by pesticide exposure. The enzyme that prevents damage to the substantia nigra, the part of the brain where nerve cell damage associated with PD occurs, is called GST pi (“pie”). This enzyme stands like a sentry at the crossroads of several biochemical pathways, any one of which can lead to PD. GST pi protects the nerve cell from death caused by either environmental toxics, such as pesticides, or a self-destruction process called apoptosis (cell suicide), triggered by certain stressful conditions in the cell. If GST pi levels are reduced or this enzyme is overwhelmed by toxics, these nerves are at increased risk of death, according to studies in mouse models. GST pi is one of a family of similar enzymes that eliminate free radicals generated by pesticides and other chemicals. Two members of this family are present in the brain, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 1, 2007) Thirty-five years after the banning of DDT, extremely high concentrations of the pesticide are being found in fish caught in California’s Los Angeles county waters. According to a newly released federal survey by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the fish caught in the area contain the world’s highest-known DDT concentrations. The survey was conducted in order to update health advisories on which fish are unsafe to eat and to help EPA decide whether to attempt a costly operation to reduce continued contamination from a deposit of DDT on the ocean floor. The 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. The contamination, most severe in the middle of San Redondo Bay, stems from a 100-ton deposit of DDT released by the Montrose Chemical Co. beginning in the late 1940s, which still covers several square miles of the ocean floor. The pesticide manufacturer had a plant near Torrance, California, from 1947 to 1971, releasing about 2,000 tons of DDT into county sewers that subsequently emptied into the ocean. The […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 18, 2007) A new study conducted in Costa Rica’s mountain forests indicates that surprisingly high concentrations of pesticides are accumulating far above the low altitudes at which they are used. Previously thought to be safe from pesticides applied to distant agricultural areas, some remote mountain forests of Costa Rica were found to have pesticide levels almost ten times greater than those in low-lying areas closer to farms and plantations. The study, led by University of Toronto, Scarborough professor Frank Wania, Ph.D., measured air and soil pesticide levels at 23 sites across Costa Rica in order to produce a model to predict potential accumulation of chemicals at high altitudes. The insecticide endosulfan and the fungicide chlorothalonil were found in the largest concentrations, with up to 1 part per billion (ppb) of chlorothalonil and 3 ppb endosulfan in soil. The high concentrations can be explained by a process in which polluted air above the farms and plantations is pushed up into the mountains, where it then cools and becomes polluted rainwater or fog. The hydrophilic nature of modern pesticides makes the occurrence of this phenomenon much more likely; as Crispin Halsall, Ph.D., of Lancaster University (U.K.) explains, “Most currently […]