(Beyond Pesticides, August 12, 2020) The herbicide atrazine can interfere with the health and reproduction of marsupials (including kangaroos and opossums) kangaroo, Virginia opossum, according to research published in the journal Reproduction, Fertility, and Development. Although the research focuses on the health of the Australian wallaby, the data is relevant for the only marsupial in the United States, the opossum. Unfortunately, the research is no surprise, as atrazine has a long history of displaying endocrine (hormone) disrupting properties, affecting sex and reproduction in a broad range of species.

The study, under the auspices of University of Melbourne Animal Experimentation and Ethics Committee, exposed pregnant female adult wallabies to atrazine through gestation, birth, and lactation. Doses of the weedkiller were slightly higher than real world models, but according to researchers, “It is quite possible a wild animal could get such an exposure.” Researchers then euthanized the newborn wallabies to study atrazine’s effects.

The gonads and phallus of young wallabies were analyzed for any physiological changes or impacts to gene expression. Researchers found changes to the gene expression necessary for basic function of the testis, and a significant reduction in phallus length. “These results demonstrate that [atrazine] exposure during gestation and lactation can significantly affect the development of male young by affecting virilization,” the authors write.

“With the marsupial’s unique mode of reproduction and the young completing their development in the pouch, mothers are unknowingly passing the toxins on in their breast milk, exposing their young to environmental toxins,” said Andrew Pask, PhD, an expert in genetics at University of Melbourne. “Exposures to atrazine is causing major abnormalities in the male reproductive system in many animals, triggering male sterility or even male-to-female sex reversal in frogs.”

Indeed, Tyrone Hayes, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, first uncovered atrazine’s potent ability to harm reproductive health through seminal work on amphibian development. Dr. Hayes found that exposure to atrazine at doses as low as 0.1 parts per billion (well below regulatory limits in the US and Australia) had the ability to turn tadpoles into hermaphrodites.

His research, covered at length in a New Yorker article published in 2014, has been the subject of incessant attacks by the major worldwide manufacturer of atrazine, Syngenta (now owned by ChemChina). But as Dr. Hayes notes in his lectures, over and over again, in research across the globe, studies in frogs as well as other animals – from fish to humans, have confirmed atrazine’s ability to affect proper hormonal functioning and impact reproduction.

In Australia, one in five native mammals are at threat of extinction. Animals in North America are not fairing much better, as the continent is in the midst of a wildlife crisis. A study published late last year found that 3 billion North American birds have been killed off since the 1970s. While problems with marsupials may not seem relevant to readers in the United States, it is important to note that opossums, the only North American marsupial, plays a key pest management role in many ecosystems. The opossum is the a voracious eater of ticks, with a single animal able to hoover upwards of 5,000 ticks in a single season.

As it stands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is permitting atrazine herbicides to be applied to farmland throughout the country without any meaningful oversight. Earlier this year the Trump Administration announced that it would waive a requirement that Syngenta-ChemChina monitor waterways in the Midwest for atrazine contamination. Rather than use the coronavirus crisis to increase environmental monitoring in order to avoid exposure to pesticides that weaken the immune system, the Trump Administration is working in coordination with chemical companies to use the Covid crisis to reduce health and environmental protections.

Worse yet, EPA is set to reregister atrazine for another 15 years of hazardous use. Take action by telling EPA to ban atrazine and other pesticides in the triazine class. For more information on the dangers pesticides pose to animal health, see Beyond Pesticides’ wildlife program page.

Source: Science Daily press release,  Reproduction, Fertility, and Development.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

U.S. Circuit Judge Paul J. Watford, in a must-read dissent: “Because courts in our circuit must now accept that fundamentally flawed data as the ‘best’ scientific data available, the agency will have no incentive to implement the scientific methods necessary to obtain reliable data.”

(Beyond Pesticides, August 11, 2020) Petitioners who mounted a legal challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) registration of Enlist Duo, a relatively new and highly toxic pesticide product, recently learned of a mixed decision from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case. The good news is that Judge Ryan D. Nelson, writing the opinion for the court, found that EPA, in registering the herbicide Enlist Duo, had failed to protect monarch butterflies, which are under consideration as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). On the other and disturbing hand, the court concluded that EPA registration of the product was otherwise lawful — which means that this toxic compound will for now remain on the market. As one of the plaintiffs in the case, Beyond Pesticides is adamant that this product should not be registered for use by EPA.

George Kimbrell, Legal Director of Center for Food Safety and Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs, commented on the decision in the organization’s July 22 press release on the decision: “The panel majority’s unprecedented decision is contrary to controlling law and established science, and Center for Food Safety is analyzing all legal options, including seeking a full court rehearing.”

Enlist Duo is a highly toxic mixture of two herbicides, glyphosate and 2,4-D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), as well as an unknown number of unlisted adjuvant ingredients. (The latter, 2,4-D, comprises roughly half of the notorious defoliant compound, Agent Orange.) Beyond Pesticides lists both glyphosate and 2,4-D as “toxic” in its Pesticide Gateway database, and identifies both as causing or associated with a variety of human health harms: cancer, and reproductive, neurological, hepatic, renal, natal and developmental anomalies. In addition, glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor (ED), and 2,4-D is a probable ED.

The herbicide also threatens harms to nontarget species. Monarch butterfly populations have suffered greatly from exposure to pesticides, including Enlist Duo. Monarch larvae, which reside and feed on milkweed plants, endure devastating impacts from pesticide drift from nearby treated agricultural fields. A 2015 lawsuit brought by Beyond Pesticides and other petitioners cited EPA’s consistent failure to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on impacts to endangered species, as it is statutorily required to do. That suit focused on impacts of Enlist Duo on two endangered species: the whooping crane and the Indiana bat.

The combined herbicide was developed to be used on genetically engineered (GE), herbicide-tolerant crops, such as corn, soybeans, and cotton — the notion being that when applied, it would knock down broadleaf weeds, but not affect the GE crops. Enlist Duo was created in response to target weeds’ development of resistance to glyphosate herbicides, most notably, Monsanto’s (now Bayer’s) Roundup, which has been used intensively during the past two decades. Dow Chemical rushed to offer Enlist Duo as a quick fix to the problem, but independent scientists and USDA analysis predict that its use will inevitably foster more weed resistance.

Plaintiffs in the case included the National Family Farm Coalition, Family Farm Defenders, Beyond Pesticides, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, and Pesticide Action Network North America. The National Resources Defense Council joined the suit as a petitioner. The lawsuit alleged that EPA’s 2014, 2015, and 2017 registrations of Enlist Duo violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Suits were brought against each of EPA’s registrations; the Ninth Circuit Court consolidated them into this single case that was adjudicated in late July 2020.

EPA’s 2014 registration of Enlist Duo was amended in 2015 and again in 2017, with resulting allowances for use on the three GE commodity crops deregulated in 34 states. (Enlist Duo was originally manufactured by Dow Chemical, which in 2017 merged with DuPont to form DowDuPont — which in turn spun off the chemical and seed businesses into Corteva AgriScience.) Until the hearing of this case, no court had ever reviewed whether the registration of Enlist Duo met basic safety standards required by FIFRA and ESA. Plaintiffs’ central arguments are: the compound is an existential threat to the monarch butterfly, and EPA has ignored, in its registration of the pesticide, compelling evidence that Enlist Duo represents serious threats to human health.

Beyond Pesticides has often challenged EPA’s failure to assess adequately the risks of this dual compound, through its reporting and its participation in litigation. In 2017, Beyond Pesticides reported that although a “new process for handling ESA consultations was outlined in 2013, EPA continues to bring pesticides to market without adequate data on a chemical’s adverse effects. EPA routinely disregards this requirement, and has been sued numerous times for failing to ensure adequate protections for endangered species.” It wrote in 2019 about EPA’s ongoing failure to assess potential synergistic effects of the compound, saying: “It does not appear that assessments, based on exposure to both glyphosate and 2,4-D choline, have been conducted to properly assess whether synergistic effects can occur in non-plant organisms.”

Despite the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision not to vacate EPA registration of Enlist Duo, there may be potential silver linings in this decision. The court agreed — in opposition to the defendant’s multiple challenges on timing of the petition and on standing — that plaintiffs’ filing was timely and that they had standing to bring the suit. (Having “standing” in legal cases means that a petitioning individual or entity can demonstrate that it has a legal right or interest in bringing an action to challenge the constitutional validity of a law.) In addition, the court did, rather than assume EPA’s claims on their face, actually explore the details of plaintiffs’ arguments related to tank mixing of Enlist Duo with glufosinate, and volatility of the compound and impacts on nontarget organisms.

In addition, the dissenting opinion on the case is encouraging in its recognition of EPA’s failings. In crafting that strong dissenting opinion, Judge Paul J. Watford wrote: “EPA also violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to use the best scientific data available to assess whether Enlist Duo will adversely affect threatened or endangered species. For that reason, I would vacate the 2014 and 2017 registrations under review. . . . The method [EPA] used to assess Enlist Duo’s effects on listed species is scientifically unsound. . . . To evaluate the risks that Enlist Duo poses to listed species, EPA applied the ‘risk quotient’ method. . . . But as the National Academy of Sciences explained in a 2013 report — issued in response to EPA’s own request for advice on the subject — the risk quotient method does not ‘estimate risk’ at all. . . . [The] National Research Council of the National Academies [said] ‘It provides no information about the probability of an adverse effect’ because single-point estimates do not account for the full range of possible exposure scenarios . . . [and] risk quotients may not even reflect the worst-case scenario. . . . The Academy concluded that risk quotients ‘are not scientifically defensible for assessing the risks to listed species posed by pesticides or indeed for any application in which the desire is to base a decision on the probabilities of various possible outcomes.’ . . . [The Academy] reiterated that EPA’s current approach to risk assessments is ‘not appropriate.’ . . . EPA’s use of the risk quotient method violated the Endangered Species Act, and the 2014 and 2017 registrations of Enlist Duo should be vacated as a result.”

In his dissent, Judge Watford also offered some cautionary criticism of the majority’s ruling: “In reaching this outcome, the majority has created a new rule with serious implications. Following today’s decision, an agency may rely on data produced by a scientifically indefensible methodology so long as better data, produced by a methodology that is scientifically defensible, has not yet been generated. Because courts in our circuit must now accept that fundamentally flawed data as the ‘best’ scientific data available, the agency will have no incentive to implement the scientific methods necessary to obtain reliable data. That is not what Congress intended when it required EPA and other federal agencies to use the best scientific data available, and it is certainly not the outcome that our cases demand.”

The larger issue this case (and many others) demonstrate is that federal pesticide regulation — enabled primarily by FIFRA, ESA, the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) — and as it currently is enacted, is inadequate to the task of protecting human and ecosystem health. Multiple agencies bear some responsibility for regulation, though EPA is primary in this regard. EPA’s registration of pesticides is characterized by:

• egregious impacts of industry influence
• the agency’s withdrawal of focus on protection of health, biodiversity, and ecosystems, as well as a delegitimizing of independent science and scientists
• failure to consider adequately health impacts of pesticide exposures during vulnerable human developmental windows, or harms to biodiversity, or synergistic dynamics of multiple compounds as they exist in the real world
• a risk assessment process that addresses one pesticide product at a time, though multiple products may contain the same problematic active ingredient

Taken together, these gaps constitute a systemic failure of the current approach. Beyond Pesticides describes that failure as “the folly of the federal regulatory system’s attempts to ‘mitigate’ risks of pesticide exposure through small and piecemeal rules. Given the many thousands of chemical pesticides on the market, the complexity of trying to ensure ‘relative’ safety from them . . . and the heaps of cash that fund corporate interests . . . via lobbyists and trade associations, there is one conclusion. ‘Mitigation’ of pesticide risks is a nibble around the edges of a pervasive poison problem; this approach does not at all adequately protect the fragility of life.”

Beyond Pesticides wrote recently, “Piecemeal, locality-by-locality initiatives represent mere ‘drops’ of protection in an ocean of toxic chemical pesticides to which the U.S. public is exposed. A far more effective, protective solution is the much-needed transition from chemical-intensive agriculture and other kinds of land management to organic systems that do not use toxic pesticides.” Beyond Pesticides advocates for a statutory and regulatory approach to pesticides that prohibits high-risk chemical practices, and rejects uses and exposures deemed acceptable under risk assessment calculations filled with uncertainty.

A genuinely protective, precautionary approach requires systemic change to organic and regenerative approaches to land and pest management. These systems would, for example, proscribe use of petrochemical “controls” and inputs (e.g., pesticides and synthetic fertilizers), and arrest the current trajectory of more, and more-toxic, chemical use that threatens human health, ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate. Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman says, “This transformation should be propelled by the reality that, with the viability of organic practices, we do not need pesticides to meet our agricultural needs or to sustain human health.”

The public can help catalyze this transition through education about organic agriculture, buying organic products (food and non-food items), growing your own organic produce, creating marketplace demand, advocating for organic regulations in the marketplace, and pressuring elected officials to enact legislation and executive action to advance progress toward a far less toxic world.

Sources: https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/6094/court-of-appeals-decision-on-epa-approval-of-dows-enlist-duo-pesticide and http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/07/22/17-70810.pdf

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2020) As parents, educators, and administrators decide whether to open schools with in-person teaching, there are escalating concerns about the ability of schools to put in place the programs necessary to protect the health of students, staff, and their families from coronavirus (COVID-19). A key part of most school reopening plans is the fogging or misting of classrooms with toxic disinfectants, raising questions about safe and effective disinfection and sanitizing practices, in addition to social practices that public health officials have advised, to prevent transmission of the virus.

For those who want to advocate for protective measures prior to school reopening: Tell Congress and Governors that schools must reopen only when safe. Schools must have adequate resources to ensure safety.

“While people are eager to reopen schools, it is critical that they adopt basic cleaning and safe and effective disinfection procedures, ventilation and infrastructure changes, and adequate maintenance support,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. “However, these basic practices must follow the recommendations of public health officials, including a less than one percent community transmission rate, social distancing and masks, adequate disease detection testing, contact tracing, and quarantining procedures,” he said.

In spite of the lower incidence of virus among children, many are infected with the virus without or before expressing symptoms. Asymptomatic persons, including children, may carry a high viral load and may infect teachers and other workers at school. They may bring the disease home, where they can transmit the virus to parents, grandparents, and other vulnerable family members.

Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cleaning surfaces before disinfecting, fogging with disinfectant is not a time-saver. Paper and other absorbent materials must be removed from the space where the fogging is conducted. Since the goal is to provide a quick application method that does not require hands-on treatment, no area-wide fogging or misting is adequate at this time.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) advises retrofitting HVAC systems with the highest filtering efficiency, portable HEPA/UV machines, ”purge/flush” air systems, among other recommendations. A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on June 4, 2020 finds, “About half (an estimated 54 percent) of public school districts need to update or replace multiple building systems or features in their schools, according to GAO’s national survey of school districts.”

For the facts on meeting health protection needs for school reopening, see Beyond Pesticides’ factsheet on reopening schools and web page on Disinfectants and Sanitizers for more information.

For those who want to advocate for protective measures prior to school reopening: Tell Congress and Governors that schools must reopen only when safe. Schools must have adequate resources to ensure safety.

(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2020) Despite pressure to reopen schools, concerns persist about the threat to the health of children, teachers, school staff, and families. There are many complex social, scientific, and logistical issues involved in a decision to reopen schools for in-person teaching. 

>>Tell Congress and Governors that schools must reopen only when safe. Schools must have adequate resources to ensure safety.

Beyond Pesticides joins the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Parent and Teacher Association (PTA), and others in calling for a well-thought-out approach to reopening schools only when it is shown that:

• The pandemic is under control in the community—as evidenced, for example, by an average daily community infection rate among those tested for COVID-19 below 5% and a transmission rate below 1%.
• Protections have been put in place to keep the virus under control and protect students and staff. These include accommodations for students and staff at high risk; measures and building retrofits to protect against all forms of transmission; procedures for detecting disease, quarantining, and notification; involvement of families and educators in decisions; monitoring; and enforcement.
• Plans are in place that ensure continuous learning equitably for all students, with training for educators, families, and students in the process of virtual instruction, and access to devices and high-speed internet for every student and teacher.

The risks of reopening schools come from both COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the measures that schools may take to protect students, family members, teachers, and staff. The health risks from the virus to young children (elementary school age) appear to be smaller than the risks to adults, although transmission or spread of the virus to adults is of concern.

Avoid Dangerous Disinfectant Use
As schools closed earlier in the year, attention was focused on virus-contaminated surfaces. While EPA has certified a large number of disinfectants as effective against SARS-CoV-2 (List N), many of these chemicals are hazardous and actually weaken the respiratory, immune, and nervous systems. At the same time, there are many safer disinfectants on EPA’s list that are effective against the virus.

In terms of disinfecting surfaces, where half-lives (an indicator of the time of potential exposure) of the virus range up to 6.8 hours, school districts have been concerned with the costs involved in repeated disinfectant applications. In the interest of disinfecting many classrooms quickly, schools have been investigating, and sometimes investing in, devices that apply disinfectants as a fog or fine mist into the indoor ambient air. Such devices pose special risks, as a result of inhalation or absorption from resulting surface residues.

Fogging does not save labor time. There are several caveats to the use of electrostatic sprayers. First, charged particles may be deposited on the applicator, including in the nose, so personal protective equipment, said to be optional in advertising, should be used. Second, since CDC recommends cleaning first to ensure greater efficacy of disinfecting, it is not clear that spraying disinfectant saves very much time if it is necessary to first clean the surfaces. Paper and other absorbent materials must be removed from the space where the spraying is conducted. Finally, research shows that electrostatic application of disinfectant is not as effective as conventional cleaning and disinfection. In the future, it is possible that electrostatic sprayers may improve, and be subject to independent efficacy review by EPA. The issues of the need to pre-clean, remove papers, and provide PPE will remain. Thus, if the goal is to provide a quick application method that does not require hands-on treatment, then no area-wide spraying is adequate at this time.

Please see Beyond Pesticides’ fact sheet on reopening schools and web page on Disinfectants and Sanitizers for more information.

Airborne Transmission of COVID-19
We now know that the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is mainly person-to-person through the air, although spread through contaminated surfaces does play a role. The virus can remain infective as aerosol for at least three hours. A recent study finds, ”replication of SARS-CoV-2 in older children leads to similar levels of viral nucleic acid as adults, but significantly greater amounts of viral nucleic acid are detected in children younger than 5 years.” With average class sizes ranging from 15 to 24 students across elementary and secondary schools, and an average class time of more than 6 hours per day, the potential for spread of the virus can be great in the absence of controls of airborne virus. None of the disinfectants—even those applied as fog—control airborne virus.

The safest way to minimize the chance of contracting COVID-19 through the air is to minimize time spent indoors and practice social distancing with masks both indoors and outdoors. Schools that do decide to reopen indoor classrooms for in-person instruction will need to take precautions to remove viruses from the air. If schools can be retrofitted with engineering controls for air exchange and filtration, virus removal may be maximized. Such removal will still require the use of social distancing and face coverings to minimize exposure from larger droplets that do not remain suspended in the air, as well as surface cleaning and disinfection and handwashing.

Engineering controls include increasing ventilation with outside air, improving natural ventilation, use of evaporative coolers in hot, dry climates, improving the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system, and use of a portable air cleaner or purifier. Ultraviolet (UV) light is also being investigated for its effectiveness in deactivating the virus. Critically, it is important to pay attention to patterns of air flow as well as rates of ventilation and purification. One early indicator of the importance of airborne transmission of the virus came from a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, where a presymptomatic person infected ten others who were downwind of the infected person in the air conditioning airflow. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) offers advice to retrofit and improve HVAC systems.

Transportation. Transportation cannot be ignored because it an area of high transmittal with numerous touch points and shared air space, raising similar issues to building spaces. Increased use of private transportation to schools will increase air pollution (which aggravates the respiratory system) and place higher burdens on those who cannot afford it. ASHRAE offers guidance for safer travel and maintenance of systems on transit vehicles.

Reopening schools safely will not be cheap. A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on June 4, 2020 finds, “About half (an estimated 54 percent) of public school districts need to update or replace multiple building systems or features in their schools, according to GAO’s national survey of school districts.” The upgrades or retrofits needed in an attempt to protect students and staff from the coronavirus are in addition to GAO-cited repairs, although in some cases—such as the 41% of upgrades needed for HVAC systems—COVID-19 protection could take the place of already-needed upgrades. Nevertheless, additional funding will be required to make facilities and transportation safer and pay for day-to-day maintenance and disinfection. 

>>We call upon Congress to appropriate emergency funding to schools to ensure that all students, teachers, and staff can be protected from the pandemic before returning to school.

Letter to the U.S. Congress and Governors

I am writing because I am very concerned that schools are being pressured to reopen before they can do so safely—and lack the resources to ensure the safety of in-person classes. I am concerned that some schools seem to view unsafe disinfection measures—such as fogging—as necessary shortcuts in view of staffing and funding shortfalls.

I join with the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, National Parent and Teacher Association, and others in asking you to do your part to ensure the safety of all in our schools—students, teachers, and other staff.

The safety of all in our schools will require:

* Delaying reopening until the pandemic is under control in the community—as evidenced, for example, by an average daily community infection rate among those tested for COVID-19 below 5% and a transmission rate below 1%.

* Protections to be put in place to keep the virus under control and protect students and staff. Since we now know that the virus is airborne, upgrades to heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) systems will be essential. Transportation must be included.

* Plans—developed in cooperation with the school community—to be in place to ensure continuous learning equitably for all students.

*Federal funding to support upgrades to buildings, buses, and electronic devices and access.

Already funding falls short of that required for the upkeep and upgrade of school buildings. A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on June 4, 2020 finds, “About half (an estimated 54 percent) of public school districts need to update or replace multiple building systems or features in their schools, according to GAO’s national survey of school districts.” The upgrades or retrofits needed to protect students and staff from the coronavirus are in addition to those repairs, although in some cases—such as the 41% of upgrades needed for HVAC systems—COVID-19 protection could take the place of already-needed upgrades. Nevertheless, additional funding will be required to make facilities and transportation safer and pay for day-to-day maintenance and disinfection.

Please see information at bp-dc.org/backtoschool.

Thank you for your help with this urgent issue.

(Beyond Pesticides, August 7, 2020) Research out of the Silent Spring Institute identifies 28 registered pesticides linked with development of mammary gland tumors in animal studies. Study authors Bethsaida Cardona and Ruthann Rudel also report that many of the pesticides they investigated behave as endocrine disruptors; breast cancers in humans are significantly influenced by hormones generated by the endocrine system. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledges that nine of these 28 pesticide compounds cause mammary tumors, but dismisses the evidence of the other 19. The results of this research, published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, evince Beyond Pesticides’ long-standing argument that the risk assessment process used by EPA for its pesticide registration process is substantially inadequate to protect human health.

The co-authors cite, as the catalyst for this research project, a Cape Cod resident’s outreach to the Silent Spring Institute several years ago, asking for information about the herbicide triclopyr because utility companies wanted to spray it on vegetation below local power lines. (The compound has also been used by the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest.) They reviewed more than 400 EPA pesticide documents on the health impacts of many registered pesticides for this research, conducted as part of Silent Spring Institute’s Safer Chemicals Program, which is “developing new cost-effective ways of screening chemicals for their effects on the breast.”

Researcher Ruthann Rudel, MS, an environmental toxicologist and director of research at the institute, notes, “We know pesticides like DDT increase breast cancer risk, so we decided to look into it. After examining pesticide registration documents from EPA, we found two separate studies in which rodents developed mammary gland tumors after being exposed to triclopyr, yet for some reason regulators dismissed the information in their decision not to treat it as a carcinogen.” (It is long established that people exposed to DDT during childhood are at increased risk of developing breast cancer.)

The researchers hypothesized that effects on mammary gland development have been inadequately considered by EPA in its review of animal studies related to pesticide impacts, and that mammary gland tumor development has been improperly dismissed from consideration in the registration process. Ms. Rudel and Ms. Cardona identified 35 different pesticides that impact mammary glands, with some of the endpoints being tumors. The researchers note, in their paper, that 24 of the 35 pesticides that affect mammary gland endpoints are still found in products approved for use in the U.S.

In considering registration of a pesticide, EPA is required — by authorization via FIFRA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act — to evaluate risks to human and ecological health. The consideration of potential impacts to human health includes review of both acute toxicity (from a single exposure to a pesticide), and effects of chronic exposure over time. EPA is also supposed to evaluate the carcinogenicity of exposure to pesticides; it ultimately assigns one of the following classifications to any considered pesticide: (1) Carcinogenic to Humans, (2) Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans, (3) Suggestive Evidence of Carcinogenic Potential, (4) Inadequate Information to Assess Carcinogenic Potential, or (5) Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans.

Toxicological assessment typically evaluates one chemical at a time, and in terms of cancer risks, looks primarily at a chemical’s ability to cause damage to DNA. The researchers note, however, that “recent findings in cancer biology show there are many ways chemicals can trigger the development of cancer. For example, chemicals can suppress the immune system, cause chronic inflammation, or disrupt the body’s system of hormones, all of which can lead to the growth of breast [and other kinds of] tumors.”

They write, in their July 2020 paper on the subject study, “It has been previously reported that chemically induced effects on the mammary gland are not assessed in the types of guideline toxicology studies required for pesticide registration, and that when mammary tumors are observed in two-year rodent cancer bioassays they are often dismissed and not carried forward into risk assessments. Some of these decisions may reflect limited appreciation for the interaction of endocrine pathways in breast carcinogenesis.”

Indeed, Silent Spring Institute published another study, in May 2020, that set out a map of the multiple pathways through which environmental chemicals, such as pesticides, can trigger the development of breast cancer. Having used ionizing radiation as a model trigger, co-authors Ruthann Rudel and Jessica Helm suggest that their findings can be generalized to other environmental carcinogens and thus, help regulators identify compounds that increase breast cancer risk.

Ms. Rudel commented, in that earlier 2020 paper, “We know exposure to toxic chemicals can play an important role in the development of breast cancer. Yet, when regulators try to evaluate whether a chemical is harmful or not, the tests they use do not capture the effects on the breast. This gap in testing means potential breast carcinogens are being given the green light for use.”

This recent study brings renewed attention to EPA’s failures in assessing threats to human health from pesticide use. The researchers assert that EPA ignored the cancer risks that these 28 pesticides pose, and that the evidence on which the agency bases its registrations of pesticides should include examination of compounds’ impacts on mammary gland development, and their endocrine disrupting activity.

The study co-authors also recommend that five compounds — because of their extensive use and their potential harms, as evidenced through the study’s analysis — be re-evaluated by EPA: triclopyr, IPBC (3-Iodo-2-propynyl butylcarbamate, a common “inert” ingredient of glyphosate herbicides), malathion, atrazine, and propylene oxide. Triclopyr is an herbicide used in agriculture and to control vegetation along rights-of-way; IPBC is a preservative in cosmetics; malathion is a common residential and agricultural insecticide that is also used in some lice treatments; atrazine is a frequently used agricultural herbicide; and propylene oxide is a preservative used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food (and has many similarities to ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen).

The Center for Biological Diversity has also charged that EPA pesticide risk assessment relies far too heavily on industry-produced (and funded) studies to inform its conclusions, and sometimes ignores its own guidelines, never mind scientific evidence, for assessing pesticide risks. A recent example of EPA’s contravention of scientific evidence was its 2019 decision to issue an interim re-registration of glyphosate, which has been repeatedly linked to the development of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (and other cancers). It did so in the face of widespread consensus among scientists, including findings, by its own Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, supporting the carcinogenicity of glyphosate. Another recent example is EPA’s spring 2020 registration of a demonstrably carcinogenic herbicide, isoxaflutole — a compound listed by EPA as “likely to be carcinogenic” to humans.

These examples, and the inattention to links between pesticides and mammary gland tumor development revealed by the Silent Spring Institute study, are but a few instances of EPA’s “dereliction of duty” during the Trump administration, as the agency has increasingly moved away from the scientific integrity that is supposed to anchor its mission to protect human and environmental health, and toward the agendas of corporate actors, such as the pesticide industry. Beyond Pesticides covered evidence of the erosion of this integrity, which was summarized in a report by the EPA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in May 2020. The OIG report found that “400 EPA employees had experienced, but did not report, potential violations of EPA’s scientific integrity policy. Further, according to OIG’s findings, dissatisfaction regarding scientific integrity abounds within the agency.”

Beyond Pesticides has repeatedly identified this trend at EPA, and taken many actions to attempt to counter it, including a January 2020 letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, insisting that EPA do the fundamental job with which it has been tasked: use the best science to protect the public and the environment. The letter said: “A top panel of government-appointed scientists, many of them hand-selected by the Trump administration, said on Tuesday that three of President Trump’s most far-reaching and scrutinized proposals to weaken major environmental regulations are at odds with established science.”

In light of the current status of EPA function, the public can take steps to protect human health. Chief among those is to use organic foods and products when at all possible, and to assess products used in the home, garden, and local community for safety. Beyond Pesticides has many resources to help individuals and communities be safer and healthier: check out the website pages on organic agriculture, pesticide alternatives, lawns and landscapes, and children and schools, among others. For more information on the relationships between pesticides and human disease, explore Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database.

Sources: https://silentspring.org/news/dozens-pesticides-linked-mammary-gland-tumors-animal-studies and https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303720720302276

 All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

(Beyond Pesticides, August 6, 2020) New research finds that a decline in wild pollinator abundance, notably wild bees, limits crop yields in the U.S., according to the study, “Crop Production in the USA Is Frequently Limited by A Lack of Pollinators.” The study results, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, find the annual, national average value of wild bee pollination for the most economically important and pollinator-dependent crops is approximately $1.5 billion, with the total value of all U.S. pollinator-dependent crops equaling $50 billion annually.

The United Nations states that 75% of the 115 top global food crops depend on insect pollination, with one third of all U.S. crops dependent on pollinators, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, research finds that many insect populations are declining by half with a third threatened by extinction, including managed and wild pollinators, mainly due to habitat fragmentation, climate change, and extensive pesticide use. With the global reliance on pollinator-dependent crops increasing over the past decades, a lack of pollinators threatens food security and stability. The researchers in the study note, “Our findings show that pollinator declines could translate directly into decreased yields or production for most of the crops studied, and that wild species contribute substantially to [the] pollination of most study crops in major crop-producing regions.”

A majority of global crops rely on pollinators like insects and animals for fertilization, so reports of “biological annihilation” and a 6th mass extinction among mammals, vertebrates, and invertebrate species are concerning for crop production. However, the extent to which pollinators limit crop production and the role of wild pollinators (as opposed to managed) are relatively unknown, especially in chemical-intensive farming. This study adds to the growing body of research supporting pollinators’ economic, social, and environmental global importance, especially for the future of the agricultural industry.

This study aimed to answer the following questions: how ubiquitous is pollination limitation; what contributions do wild bees and honey bees make to crop yields/production; what is the economic value of the contributions? To do this, researchers examined the results of a nationwide empirical study using 131 commercially managed pastures throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada containing the seven most economically valuable, pollinator-dependent crops. These crops include highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), apple (Malus pumila), sweet cherry (Prunus avium), tart cherry (Prunus cerasus), almond (Prunus dulcis), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo). Researchers collected data related to pollinator visitation rates, pollinator type (wild or managed), and crop production/yield upon observation of the seven crops. To estimate the frequency of pollinator limitation for each crop, researchers employed an Akaike information criterion (AIC)model. Lastly, researchers determined the economic value given to each crop via pollination using the equation V_pollinator=V_crop⋅D⋅P_pollinator.

This multi-region study finds that wild bees pollinate crops at a similar rate or higher than managed honey bees, even in regions where agricultural practices are chemical-intensive. Out of the seven crops, pollinator limitation impacts five, including apples, blueberries, sweet cherries, tart cherries, and watermelon. Additionally, wild bees deposit more pollen per flower than honey bees for six out of the seven crops, including apples, blueberries, sweet cherries, tart cherries, watermelon, and pumpkin. The nationwide estimate for the annual production value of wild pollinator is over $1.5 billion, with the value of honey bees amounting to $6.4 billion. However, a majority of honey bees’ economic value comes from pollinating almonds, which have one of the highest national values, due to the immense use of managed honey bees (over 2 million hives) required to maintain yield and production. 

The agricultural industry relies on insect pollinators to facilitate fertilization and maintain annual crop yield. Globally, the production of crops dependent on pollinators is worth between $253 and $577 billion yearly. While many commercially managed fields have honey bee colonies on-site, and farmers often rely on this single pollinator species for crop pollination, there is a growing body of research finding that wild pollinators can contribute just as much to managed fields, even with the use of agrochemicals. However, the decline of pollinators like commercially managed honey bees, wild bee species, butterflies, and more, is a cause of concern, especially for future food production and security. Additionally, the reliance on pollinator-dependent crops coupled with the use of single species pollination can work synergistically to increase the risk of food insecurity.

One of the main factors contributing to pollinator population and health decline is the extensive use of chemical pesticides. Over the last decade and a half, increasing scientific evidence shows a clear connection between the role of pesticides in the decline of honey bees and wild pollinators (i.e., wild bees, butterflies, beetles, birds, bats, etc.), alike. There are various bee-toxic pesticides with the main classes of pesticides including, neonicotinoids, sulfoxaflor, pyrethroids, fipronil, and organophosphates. Research shows that residues from neonicotinoids (including seed treatments) and sulfoxaflor accumulate and translocate to pollen and nectar of treated plants, thus increasing the potential risk to pollinators. Both pyrethroids and fipronil impair bee learning, development, and behavioral function, reducing survivability and colony fitness. Organophosphates, mainly employed in mosquito control, are highly toxic to bee and other non-target organisms, causing bee deaths upon exposure to pesticide residues on plant surfaces. Moreover, the sublethal effect of exposure to these pesticides can increase bees’ vulnerability to parasites and pathogens. Realistic levels of exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides impair honey bees’ ability to groom mites off of their bodies, thus increasing the risk of the infectious disease known as deformed wing virus (DWV). Research also finds that low levels of exposure from pesticides make honey bees more susceptible to gut parasites like Nosema ceranae. Although the direct impact pesticides have on pollinators is of great concern, the indirect impacts of pesticides on pollinator habitats are equally troublesome. Pesticide use on mono-crop agriculture and genetically engineered crops can drift onto and destroy adjacent milkweed habitats that monarch butterflies rely on for lodging and reproduction.

Overall, a decline in pollinators has a direct effect on the environment, society, and the economy. Without pollinators, many plant species, both agricultural and nonagricultural, will decline or cease to exist. In turn, the market will falter, as much of the economy (65%) is dependent upon agricultural revenue. With no pollinators to help maintain yields, the economic value of the crop is depressed. However, research finds that organic agriculture boosts local economies as green spaces, like community gardens, will expand viable habitat for pollinators and food sources for people. Low-maintenance gardening and reduced pesticide use can aid in turning gardens organic, and many plants considered weeds (i.e., dandelions, creeping buttercups) are critical for pollinator survival, especially in urban areas where vegetation is sparser.

The debate of relative importance of managed, costly honey bees in comparison to gratis wild bees for pollination is a long-standing conflict. However, this research reconciles the conflicting evidence among wild and managed bees with the finding that wild bees are a more substantial contributor to pollination than honey bees. Although researchers hypothesized wild bees might not fare well pollinating crops in commercially managed fields due to the use of agrochemicals, wild bees remained persistent and making considerable but variable contributions to crop pollination. Furthermore, new evidence of pollinator limitation allows for useful comparison between other previous analyses as researchers studied large commercial farms representative of the majority of U.S. crop production.

Since the threat to pollinator health is widespread, the study researchers advise farmers to adopt practices that conserve and or bolster wild bee populations, like planting wildflowers or using alternative managed pollinators to increase crop yields. Because wild bees are economically important, it underscores the importance of economic investments in pollinator conservation efforts. The study concludes that agricultural industry investments in pesticides and fertilizers would be detrimental without confronting the decline of wild pollinators first. After all, these chemicals lack any real monetary benefits for farmers. While the study suggests, “increasing investment in honeybee colonies” as an “alternative approach to reducing pollinator limitation,” using a single species for crop pollination can have detrimental impacts on species due to genetic uniformity and disease specialty. Additionally, with the Trump Administration approving the use of the bee-toxic pesticide sulfoxaflor in 2019, all bee health remains of concern, especially as the USDA stopped collecting data for the agency’s Honey Bee Colony Survey. Beyond Pesticides states, “Permitting its use and then ceasing to collect and report data on the status of honey bees that are likely to be impacted is not only a recipe for kneecapping the study of bee decline and imperiling the food supply, but also another example of the corruption for which this administration is infamous.”

Pollinator protection policies need improvements, not only to safeguard wild pollinators but the crops they pollinate as well. Beyond Pesticides holds the position that we must move beyond pesticide reduction and commit to complete pesticide elimination in our agricultural system to prevent crop loss presented in this study. Pesticide elimination can alleviate the effect these toxic chemicals have on humans and wildlife. With EPA failing to take the most basic steps to protect declining pollinators, it is up to concerned residents to engage in state and community action and demand change. Moreover, the government should pass policies that eliminate a broad range of pesticides by promoting organic land care.

Learn more about the science and resources behind pesticides’ pollinator impact and take action against the use of pesticides. To find out more about what you can do to protect wild bee and other pollinators, check out information on pollinator-friendly landscapes, and pollinator-friendly seeds, and organic agriculture. Buying, growing, and supporting organic can help eliminate the extensive use of pesticides in the environment. Organic land management eliminates the need for toxic agricultural pesticides. Furthermore, regenerative organic agriculture nurtures soil health through organic carbon sequestration, while preventing pests and generating a higher return than chemical-intensive agriculture. For more information on how organic is the right choice for both consumers and the farmers and farmworkers who grow our food, see Beyond Pesticides webpage, Health Benefits of Organic Agriculture. 

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

(Beyond Pesticides, August 5, 2020) Regions of Australia that use a highly toxic rodenticide are home to larger dingoes than areas where the pesticide is not used, according to research published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Over the course of roughly the last century, dingoes in rodenticide-baited regions have grown by between six and nine percent. While pesticides are well known to induce changes in insect morphology as resistance is developed, this is one of the first studies to find effects on a large vertebrate carnivore.

To make their determination, researchers began measuring the size of dingo skulls, which can be used as a proximate for body size, in areas where the rodenticide compound 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) was and was not historically used. Skull analysis relied primarily on historical specimens stored in museums throughout Australia.  

“Skulls from the baited regions grew by about four millimetres since poison baiting was introduced,” says Michael Letnic, PhD, lead author of the paper and professor in conservation biology and ecosystem restoration at the University of New South Wales Science. “This equates to roughly a kilogram [2.2 lbs] in body mass.”

While size increases were consistently seen in baited regions, dingoes in areas where 1080 was not used showed no discernible change. This phenomenon was seen in both males and females, though researchers note that in certain areas female dingoes showed increases slightly larger than males.

Researchers proposed a range of ideas as to why the size increases occurred. “The most likely theory is that dingoes who survive baiting campaigns have less competition for food,” says co-author Associate Professor Mathew Crowther, PhD, from the University of Sydney. “With more food in abundance, dingoes’ physical growth is less restricted.”

This theory focuses on the influence of a predator/prey cycle, whereby food availability may lead to more food and increased fitness for dingoes able to avoid 1080 exposure. Dr. Crowther also notes that the pesticide may be causing specific pressures on the dingoes themselves. “Poison baiting campaigns could be favouring the survival of larger dingoes,” says Dr. Crowther. “Smaller dingoes need less poison for a lethal dose, so are more likely to be killed by baiting. This leaves the larger dingoes to survive and breed.”

Scientists indicate that they worked to control for potential confounders. “We only tested dingoes in areas that have very low dog hybridisation rates, making it highly unlikely that dog genetics are contributing to the size growth,” says Dr. Letnic. Climate change was also dismissed, as warming conditions would be more likely to decrease, rather than increase, body size.

Compound 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate or sodium monofluoroacetate) is a water-soluble, odorless, colorless, tasteless, and lethally toxic poison with no antidote; a single teaspoon could kill as many as 100 adult humans. It causes basic cellular process to fail, leading to gross organ failure and a very painful death. In the United States, compound 1080 was banned by the Nixon administration in the 1970s, but reintroduced in the Reagan administration for use in “livestock protection collars.” These, collars, worn on the necks of domestic animals like cows, are released if a predator pieces the collar while attempting to take down the animal.

“The reaction to this finding may be to add more poison to the baits, or to find a new poison,” says Dr. Letnic. “But, eventually, the cycle will start again.”

Phenotypic changes from pesticide exposure are predictable but can be difficult to discern without scientific investigation. “Baiting is changing dingoes, so it could be changing other animal populations,” says Dr. Letnic. Prior studies have found that herbicides like glyphosate can induce morphological changes in amphibian species, or cause them to produce more venom, by activating a predator response.

As Dr. Letnic notes, “Animals respond to human interventions, whether directly or indirectly. The changes could well be adaptive, and we must think about that.” Past research shows that rodenticides have the ability to act as “super predators” in an ecosystem, placing an outsized check on a range of species and imperiling ecosystem health. Both rodenticides and other dangerous and indiscriminate wildlife poisons, like M-44 cyanide bombs, threaten wild spaces.

Help eliminate these poisons from the environment by contacting your elected officials and urging they support the Chemical Poisons Reduction Act, introduced by Rep Peter DeFazio, which would permanently ban compound 1080 and the use of cyanide bombs. For more information on the dangers pesticides pose to predators and other wild animals, see Beyond Pesticides’ Wildlife program page.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Science Daily press release, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

(Beyond Pesticides, August 4, 2020) Last month Massachusetts lawmakers finalized, and the Governor subsequently signed, emergency legislation S.2757, aimed at revamping the state’s approach to mosquito management. The final version of this mosquito reform bill continues to include certain problematic provisions, but nonetheless represents a significant shift from an initial proposal that would have allowed the blanket spraying of mosquito adulticides throughout the Commonwealth with little oversight, notification, or transparency. “Though many cooks had a hand in the process, the resulting final bill was strengthened by advocates,” said state Senator Jo Comerford, Chair of the state’s Joint Committee on Public Health, in an emailed statement to supporters. “I’m pleased that we were able to build in strong protections for both the environment and human health.”

The original bill was filed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) under emergency legislative provisions, requiring state lawmakers to act within a set period of time. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) had indicated that this year would bring higher risks of mosquito-borne disease, particularly Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), for which outbreaks generally last two or three years.

The state saw 12 human cases of EEE and four deaths from the disease in 2019; EEE was also confirmed in nine livestock animals. Thus far in 2020, sporadic reports of EEE have been found, but the state considers the current risk level “low.”

While EEE and other mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus do pose a public health threat, it is critical that the response focus on achieving the highest level of public safety without further compromising resident health through the use of highly toxic adulticides (insecticide sprays that target adult mosquitoes). To that end, a coalition of advocacy groups released a fact sheet, and urged state lawmakers improve safeguards within the legislation. A Dear Colleague letter circulated by State Representative Carolyn Dykema and State Senator Adam Hinds echoed many of the coalition’s concerns and stressed the need for broader reforms.

The updated legislation ultimately passed by lawmakers improves transparency around making public health determinations, requires 48 hours prior notice to the public before mosquito spraying, sets a process to allow people and communities to opt-out of spraying, and sunsets all new powers within the bill after two years. Most importantly, over the course of the next two years, the legislation establishes a Mosquito Control for the Twenty-First Century Task Force, which will be overseen by a range of stakeholders. As Senator Comerford, who helped push for the task force, wrote, “Our current mosquito management system is a relic from the 1950s, and I am hopeful that the Task Force recommendations will lead to a more modern system that recognizes the latest evidence about effective mosquito management and environmental protection.”

In the meantime, the bill will provide outsized powers to state officials to conduct mosquito spray campaigns throughout the state. However, the desire to conduct broad, long-lasting spray campaigns may be tempered by a complaint filed with the state Inspector General by the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), regarding the past efficacy of the Commonwealth’s adulticide-focused program.

Beyond Pesticides and many coalition partners had hoped to see further improvements in the legislation regarding the setting of strict thresholds for toxic pesticide use, and a greater focus on public education and least-toxic larvaciding, but will have to urge the task force to include these important provisions. Greater transparency of inert ingredients, and broader opt-out opportunities for beekeepers will also be important points the mosquito task force will need to address.

While pesticides are often billed as a silver bullet for mosquito control, such claims are rarely, if ever,` true. A program that focuses on killing adult mosquitoes after they are hatched, flying, and biting people and animals, is the least effective approach to mosquito management. It requires a knock-down rate of 90% of mosquitoes in a given area to achieve adequate control.  Research finds that aerosol plumes from truck mounted ultra-low volume spraying fail to make adequate contact with target mosquitoes at the rate necessary to achieve disease reduction.  And while adulticides may indiscriminately reduce some level of flying insect abundance, larval mosquitoes remain.  Overarching concerns regarding efficacy, repeated spraying of mosquitoes is likely to foster pesticide resistance. 

Abating mosquito-borne disease is best achieved through a science-based approach that prioritizes preventive measures. These measures include surveillance, monitoring, public education on eliminating breeding sites and personal protective actions, consideration of local ecology, habitat manipulation, larviciding with biological materials, full disclosure of all pesticide use, advance notice of spraying, and opt-out opportunities for local residents. Communities, such as Washington DC and Boulder, Colorado, are spotlighted for progressive and ecologically sensitive approaches to mosquito management that do not focus primarily on adulticide use.

For more information on what an effective community mosquito management approach looks like, as well as tools to enact these changes in your community, see Beyond Pesticides’ webpage on Mosquito Management and Insect Borne Diseases.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Framingham Source

(Beyond Pesticides, August 3, 2020) The effects of pesticide use are important, yet ignored, factors affecting people of color (POC) who face elevated risk from Covid-19 as essential workers, as family members of those workers, and because of the additional or cumulative risk that pesticides pose. As a part of this deadly combination, exposure to pesticides occurs at work, in community parks, schools and playing fields, and through food residues. EPA is ignoring the real hazards resulting from a combination of exposures that is reflected in the statistics that have emerged—with farmworkers suffering a rate of coronavirus five times higher and landscapers three times higher than community rates. Why is this the case? Because pesticide exposure weakens the respiratory, immune, and nervous system and makes those exposed more susceptible to the coronavirus. 

EPA has the power to immediately, on an emergency basis, adjust allowable pesticide use and exposure, recognizing that we have alternative practices and products to meet food production and landscaping needs.

Tell Congress to require EPA to examine the contribution of pesticide exposure to Covid-19 and protect those at greatest risk, people of color.

Farmworkers and landscapers have been deemed essential employees during the coronavirus outbreak, but without mandated safety protocols or government assistance, have experienced an explosion in Covid-19 cases. Workers in these industries are primarily Latinx people of color, many of whom are undocumented. According to a report published by the University of California Los Angeles, Latinx Californians aged 50 to 64 have died from the virus at rate five times higher than white people of the same age.

Most people in the U.S. suffer from one or more chronic conditions identified as putting people at increased risk of dying from Covid-19. The diseases, which involve disruption of the immune system, include metabolic diseases of obesity, diabetes, liver, kidney, and cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases including asthma, allergy, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in addition to autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and lupus. The chronic inflammation induced by these diseases makes a dangerous heightened response to coronavirus more likely. 

While metabolic, respiratory, and autoimmune disease is widespread, the poor working conditions to which farmworkers and landscapers are subject put them at disproportionate risk of pesticide-induced diseases. Occupational exposure to pesticides is, in fact, a form of institutionalized racism, putting people of color at disproportionate risk of death from Covid-19. 

It is essential that when EPA weighs risks and benefits of pesticide use, it does not allow risks to workers and people of color to be ignored or undervalued. An appraisal of the contribution of pesticide use and exposure to health outcomes of Covid-19 is urgently needed. 

Tell Congress to require EPA to examine the contribution of pesticide exposure to Covid-19 and protect those at greatest risk, people of color.

Letter to Congress

I am writing out of concern for disproportionate risks to people of color arising from pesticide exposure during this pandemic. Please take emergency steps to require EPA to examine the contribution of pesticide exposure to the severity of Covid-19.

The effects of pesticide use are important, yet ignored, factors affecting people of color who face elevated risk from Covid-19 as essential workers, as family members of those workers, and because of the additional or cumulative risk that pesticides pose. As a part of this deadly combination, exposure to pesticides occurs at work, in community parks, schools and playing fields, and through food residues. EPA is ignoring the real hazards resulting from a combination of exposures—reflected in the statistics showing that farmworkers suffer a rate of coronavirus five times higher and landscapers three times higher than community rates. Why? Because pesticide exposure weakens the respiratory, immune, and nervous system and makes those exposed more susceptible to the coronavirus.

Farmworkers and landscapers have been deemed essential employees during the coronavirus outbreak, but without mandated safety protocols or government assistance, have experienced an explosion in Covid-19 cases. Workers in these industries are primarily Latinx people of color, often undocumented. According to a report published by the University of California Los Angeles, Latinx Californians aged 50 to 64 have died from the virus at rate five times higher than white people of the same age.

Most people in the U.S. suffer from one or more chronic conditions identified as putting people at increased risk of dying from Covid-19. The diseases, which involve disruption of the immune system, include metabolic diseases of obesity, diabetes, liver, kidney, and cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases including asthma, allergy, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in addition to autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and lupus. The chronic inflammation induced by these diseases makes more likely a dangerous heightened response to coronavirus.

While metabolic, respiratory, and autoimmune disease is widespread, the poor working conditions to which farmworkers and landscapers are subject put them at disproportionate risk of pesticide-induced diseases. Occupational exposure to pesticides may be seen as institutionalized racism, putting black and brown people at disproportionate risk of death from Covid-19.

Farmworkers and landscapers have been deemed essential employees during the coronavirus outbreak, but without mandated safety protocols, adequate regulatory review, or government assistance, have experienced an explosion in Covid-19 cases. Workers in these industries are primarily Latinx people of color, many of whom are undocumented. According to a report published by the University of California Los Angeles, Latinx Californians aged 50 to 64 have died from the virus at rate five times higher than white people of the same age.

It is essential that when EPA weighs risks and benefits of pesticide use, it does not allow risks to workers and people of color to be ignored or undervalued. An appraisal of the contribution of pesticide use and exposure to health outcomes of Covid-19 is urgently needed. Please mandate EPA to perform an emergency assessment of the contribution of pesticide exposure to Covid-19 vulnerability. To highlight the urgency of this assessment, EPA should be given three months to put in place temporary measures based on scientific literature and advice of medical personnel, with permanent measures to be codified within a year.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 31, 2020) On July 22, the New York State Legislature passed Senate 6502 / Assembly 732-B — a bill that would ban the use of all glyphosate-based herbicides on state properties. The bill now awaits Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature, which would make it law effective December 31, 2021. Beyond Pesticides considers this a hopeful development in the glyphosate “saga” and has urged the governor ought to sign it. Nevertheless, such piecemeal, locality-by-locality initiatives represent mere “drops” of protection in an ocean of toxic chemical pesticides to which the U.S. public is exposed. A far more effective, protective solution is the much-needed transition from chemical-intensive agriculture and other kinds of land management to organic systems that do not use toxic pesticides.

The bill — titled “An Act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of glyphosate on state property” — was introduced in 2019 and sponsored by New York State Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-New York) and State Senator José Serrano. It would add a new subdivision to section 12 of the state’s environmental conservation law, proscribing “any state department, agency, public benefit corporation or any pesticide applicator employed thereby as a contractor or subcontractor to apply glyphosate on state property.” More than 50,000 gallons of glyphosate-based herbicides were applied in public spaces across the entirety of the state, as reported in 2019 by Bronx.com.

Senator Serrano said of the bill, “Our parks, playgrounds and picnic areas are an oasis for New Yorkers, and have particularly become safe havens during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important that we protect the health and safety of workers, families, and pets by proactively eliminating the use of potentially harmful chemicals like glyphosate in our public spaces, and by finding safe alternatives that will not risk the health of New Yorkers and our environment.”

Assembly Member Rosenthal commented: “Weeds are unsightly, but cancer is a killer, and we should not wait for a child or anyone to become sick to take action to protect them against a serious potential risk. Parents don’t want their children exposed to dangerous, toxic chemicals when they play in state parks, and groundskeepers and farm workers should not be exposed to potentially deadly chemicals while doing their job. Prohibiting the use of glyphosate on State property makes good sense: doing so will protect the public health and environment while shielding the State from millions of dollars in potential liability associated with its use. With safer alternatives available, there is no reason the State should be using a potential carcinogen to kill weeds.”

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup^TM, Monsanto’s (now Bayer’s) ubiquitous and widely used weed killer; it is very commonly used with Monsanto’s companion seeds for a variety of staple crops (e.g., soybeans, cotton, corn, canola, and others). These glyphosate-tolerant seeds are genetically engineered to be glyphosate tolerant; growers apply the herbicide and expect that it will kill weeds and not harm the crop. Roundup has been marketed as effective and safe, but, in reality, its use delivers human and ecosystem harms. Exposures to it threaten human health (including transgenerational impacts) and the health of numerous organisms. In addition, many target plants are developing resistance to the compound, making it increasingly ineffective as a weed killer, and resulting in ever-more-intensive pesticide use. Glyphosate was classified in 2015 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a probable human carcinogen.

Because children spend ample time in and on the kinds of turf that are often treated with glyphosate, and are more likely than adults to inhale, or ingest, or incur other kinds of exposures from grass and soil, Beyond Pesticides and many experts are very concerned about the use of this toxic chemical on such sites. Indeed, a study by the Center for Environmental Health found that children carry significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their bodies than do their parents.

Legislative and regulatory moves on the parts of states, counties, cities, and towns, like this bill in New York State: (1) happen in the context of, and in part because of, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) abdication of its protective responsibility to the public; (2) are often successfully challenged on the grounds that “higher level” pre-emption supersedes local laws and regulations; and (3) tackle the problem one chemical compound in one locality at a time — an approach that Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman has called “whack-a-mole.”

In addition, federal pesticide regulations in the Trump era have intentionally been made less robust and narrower in scope, and enforcement even of those has been anemic. That said, for decades, EPA has for decades aimed to “mitigate” risks rather than exercise the principle of Precaution in rulemaking. In July 2020, Beyond Pesticides described “the folly of the federal regulatory system’s attempts to ‘mitigate’ risks of pesticide exposure through small and piecemeal rules. Given the many thousands of chemical pesticides on the market, the complexity of trying to ensure ‘relative’ safety from them (especially considering potential synergistic interactions, as well as interactions with genetic and ‘lifestyle’ factors), and the heaps of cash that fund corporate interests . . . via lobbyists and trade associations, there is one conclusion. ‘Mitigation’ of pesticide risks is a nibble around the edges of a pervasive poison problem.” All of these failings have been made worse by an administration devoted to reducing or eliminating regulation on corporate actors.

There is no guarantee that Governor Cuomo will sign Senate 6502 / Assembly 732-B into law; in early 2020, he vetoed legislation to ban chlorpyrifos, and instead issued an immediate ban on aerial application, and proposed a regulatory phase-out to ban all uses by 2021. As the chief executive official of the state, he could — In addition to signing bills that come from the Legislature — take executive action to, for example, ban use of the most dangerous pesticides. Beyond Pesticides believes that the governor is not living up to his responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of New York State residents and environment from the dangers of chemical pesticides.

Beyond Pesticides reported on a bill for a local law proposed in 2019 in New York City Council (Intro 1524) that would prohibit city agencies from applying any chemically based pesticide to any property owned or leased by the City of New York. In 2019, Bronx.com reports, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation used upward of 500 gallons of glyphosate on 28,000+ acres of parks, playgrounds, beaches, athletic fields, recreational facilities, and other sites to “control” weeds. In its January 2020 hearing before the council’s Committee on Health, the bill was ultimately “laid over by committee” — a term that can mean a bill will be taken up the next legislative day, but which also can be a euphemism for “how a bill gets killed by ignoring it.”

In covering that bill, Beyond Pesticides wrote about the context in which New York City and other localities have increasingly turned to local action: “The issue is made more urgent, for New York City and for many, many municipalities and states, because most environmental regulation below the federal level in the U.S relies heavily on the determinations of EPA. Under the Trump administration, federal environmental regulation generally, and regulation of pesticides, in particular, have been dramatically weakened; this administration and its EPA clearly advantage agrochemical and other industry interests over the health of people and ecosystems. The consequent loss of public trust in federal agencies broadly, and EPA in particular, reinforce the need for localities to step up and protect local and regional residents and environments.” Currently, the bill is being held up by the Speaker’s office.

Along with the bill banning use of glyphosate on state property, the New York State Legislature passed S.5579a / A.5169, which, when signed, will mandate that written notices and signs informing the public of pesticide use in commercial and residential settings be printed in English, Spanish, and any other locally relevant languages. Senator Serrano commented, “It’s critical that all New Yorkers are aware of any warnings regarding pesticide use and application in their neighborhoods. . . . [This bill will ensure] that every resident can be adequately informed of pesticide use in their communities and take steps to ensure the health and safety of their loved ones.”

In light of the increasing evidence of the harm glyphosate can cause, some countries have stepped up restrictions or instituted bans on use of the compound, including Italy, Germany, France, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bermuda, Fiji, Luxembourg, and Austria. A growing number of jurisdictions in some countries have taken similar actions. In the U.S., counties, towns, and cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, and Miami, and many others in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Washington State, and more, have banned glyphosate applications on public lands.

Beyond Pesticides urges a federal ban on the use of glyphosate herbicides, and supports interim efforts of localities to protect their own communities — and those who work directly with these chemical — as New York State is beginning to do through this bill (S.6502 / A.732-B) that would prohibit glyphosate use on all state properties. It is unfortunate that, if signed, the law would not go into effect until the very last day of 2021, but Governor Cuomo should nevertheless immediately sign the bill into law.

The solution to the current federal “whack-a-mole” approach to mitigating the impacts of glyphosate (and all pesticide) use is a wholesale transition away from the chemical dousing of public lands, agricultural fields, and all manner of maintained turf. Organic approaches to pest and weed problems in agriculture and on other lands and landscapes (and in homes, gardens, buildings, et al.) do not involve toxic pesticides, and avoid the health and ecological damage they cause.

In addition to being genuinely protective of human health, organic management systems support biodiversity, improve soil health, sequester carbon (which helps mitigate the climate crisis), and safeguard surface- and groundwater quality. Beyond Pesticides encourages the public to contact federal, state, and local officials to demand real protection from toxic pesticides, perhaps beginning with a ban on the use of glyphosate on public lands, as New York is attempting to do. Find contact information for federal Representatives here, and for Senators here. Contact information for states and localities is typically available on state and city/town websites.

Source: https://bronx.com/new-york-state-poised-to-ban-use-of-glyphosate-on-state-land/

 All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 30, 2020) Simultaneous exposure to pesticides and noise from agricultural machinery increases farmworkers, risk of hearing loss, according to the study, “Hearing Loss in Agricultural Workers Exposed to Pesticides and Noise,” published in the journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health. Hearing loss is the 3rd most common health issue in the U.S., affecting eight million Americans. Although specific conditions like age, illness, and genetics, can mediate hearing loss, research suggests other factors can induce auricle (ear) damage, including medications, exposure to toxic chemicals (including pesticides), and loud, ongoing noise. Past studies find an association between hearing loss and pesticide exposure or noise exposure, alone. However, this study is one of the first to associate hearing loss with the additive effect to concurrent, persistent pesticide exposure, and noise.

This research is significant as human senses are integral to everyday human activities, and it is vital to understand how chronic pesticide exposure can limit the body’s ability to function normally, for farmers and everyone alike. Researchers in the study note, “[I]t is necessary to understand what work-related factors are contributing to this high prevalence of hearing loss in [Thai] agricultural workers in order to develop effective interventions and policies.”

In agriculture, farmworkers and their children suffer elevated rates of injuries and illnesses, including hearing loss, various cancers, neurological disorders, and respiratory diseases. Additionally, research suggests that chemical-intensive agriculture’s high pesticide use puts farmers and farmworkers at greater risk of pesticide exposure than other occupations. With agricultural workers experiencing a higher frequency of hearing loss than other professions, an understanding of the etiology of non-age-related hearing loss associated with pesticide exposure is important to adequate pesticide regulation. 

To calculate the metrics for pesticide exposure (intensity x duration x frequency) and cumulative noise exposure for farmers, researchers examined 163 chemical-intensive conventional and 172 organic farmers using a survey. The survey contained data about demographic characteristics, noise-related activities, and agricultural machinery use. Additionally, conventional farmers diarized maintained a diary of their pesticide use every day for a year. Hearing assessments employed pure tone audiometric testing for all participants, using a mean hearing threshold in the low-frequency band (0.5–2 kHz) and high-frequency band (3–6 kHz) for analysis. Lastly, researchers compared pesticide and noise metrics to the average hearing threshold in each frequency band using linear regression models for each ear to determine association.

After adjusting for confounding variables, this research finds that years of exposure to pesticides in conventional farming and noise from agricultural machinery increases the average hearing threshold (> 25 dB HL threshold) in the high-frequency band. An increase in threshold in high-frequencies results in a higher prevalence of abnormal hearing (clinical hearing loss) as 93 and 78 percent of those with high-frequency hearing loss also have a low-frequency hearing loss in the right and left ear, respectively. Specifically, the highest level of cumulative pesticide exposure stems from organophosphates (OP)—derived from World War II nerve agents)—which are significantly associated with hearing loss in the high-frequency band, according to the study. Based on the regression models, the results support the study’s hypothesis that that pesticide and noise have an additive effect on hearing.

Many studies find an association between pesticide exposure and an alteration in the senses when pesticides enter the body. Research links pesticide exposure to blurred vision (vision loss), change in taste receptors (taste loss), loss of sensory reception (touch), loss of olfactory function (smell), and loss of auditory function (hearing). Although pesticides acutely and chronically affect most senses, loss of auditory function is unique as it is solely a chronic side effect of pesticide exposure. Previous occupational (work-related) studies suggest that organophosphate insecticides increase the risk of vision or hearing loss. A 2018 study finds that pesticides can increase the risk of occupational hearing loss in farmworkers. Tobacco growers exposed to pesticides display symptoms of central auditory dysfunction, according to a 2016 study. However, not all pesticides-related hearing loss is occupational and has implications for the health of children and pregnant women. Prenatal exposure to the OP chlorpyrifos disrupts hearing and vision maturation in infants. Furthermore, research finds that legacy organochlorine pesticides (OCP) (banned for use) have ototoxic (toxic to the ears) effects, as prenatal OCP exposure causes hearing deficits in infants.

In addition to understanding how pesticides impact the five senses, it is vital to consider the ways that pesticides can enter the body and cause harm. Three commons ways pesticides enter the body are via contact (on the skin, eyes), ingestion (mouth), and inhalation (mouth, nose), with the most common route of exposure via absorption through contact with the skin. Pesticide inhalation from vapors and fine particles in spray solution can severely damage the nose, throat, and lung tissue as the rapid absorption of pesticides increases the risk of respiratory problems. Oral exposure to pesticides via ingestion can be most severe as symptoms include damage to the gastrointestinal tract, repository depression, and even death. The chemical state of the pesticide (i.e., solid, liquid, or gas) affects the probability of bodily penetration as pesticides in liquid or gas formulas can enter the body through all exposure routes (inhalation, ingestion, contact). Although solid formula pesticides have a lower probability of entering the body, they can still enter the body via the same manner as gas, through volatilization, and liquid; they have to be small enough and remain on the skin long enough to do so. Once these chemicals enter the body, the bloodstream can readily absorb them, causing disease-inducing issues like oxidative stress and endocrine disruption.

This study adds to the expanding volume of research linking pesticide exposure to ototoxicity as statistic models demonstrate that cumulative pesticide exposure via increased pesticide use is a risk factor for hearing loss. Some research explains the underlying mechanism of pesticide-induced hearing loss because of injury to the stereocilia (inner ear cilia like organelles) in the organ of Corti, or the organ responsible for hearing. Additional studies suggest pesticides, like OPs, induce damage to the cochlea (which houses the organ of Corti) by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that contribute to oxidative stress. Although this study suggests pesticides and noise exposure on hearing is additive (two independent factors with the same effect), other studies find these factors to be synergistic, with more vigorous combined consequences, as the amount of time to induce hearing loss decreases upon exposure. With evidence suggesting chronic pesticide exposure and use causes a decline in the functionality of the five senses, advocates say that stricter policy regulations are vital to mitigate the adverse impacts not only on the senses both on the entire human body.

Hearing loss is an increasingly common health issue, plaguing people around the globe. Although genetics, other ailments, and prolonged noise exposure contribute to the decline in auditory function, pesticides, independently and in conjunction with other factors, exacerbate the decline in hearing function. Studies related to pesticides and auditory function can aid in future research to understand the underlying mechanisms that cause hearing loss, especially in essential occupations where hearing loss is more common (e.g., agriculture). With the Trump administration dismantling many environmental regulations, private sector understanding of how exposure to environmental pollutants, like pesticides, can increase the risk of developing chronic health issues, is critical to corporate action—especially if regulatory rollbacks increase the persistence of environmental pollutants.

Policies should enforce stricter pesticide regulations and increase research on the long-term impacts of pesticide exposure. Beyond Pesticides tracks the most recent studies related to pesticide exposure through our Pesticide Induced Diseases Database (PIDD). This database supports the clear need for strategic action to shift away from pesticide dependency. For more information on the multiple harms, pesticides can cause, see PIDD pages on sexual and reproductive dysfunction, endocrine disruption, cancer, and other diseases. Furthermore, buying, growing, and supporting organic can help eliminate the extensive use of pesticides in the environment. Organic agriculture has many health and environmental benefits, which curtail the need for chemical-intensive agricultural practices. Regenerative organic agriculture nurtures soil health through organic carbon sequestration, while preventing pests and generating a higher return than chemical-intensive agriculture. For more information on how organic is the right choice for both consumers and the farmworkers who grow our food, see Beyond Pesticides webpage, Health Benefits of Organic Agriculture. 

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Annals of Work Exposures and Health

(Beyond Pesticides, July 29, 2020) Farmworkers and landscapers are deemed essential employees during the coronavirus outbreak, but without mandated safety protocols or government assistance, have experienced an explosion in Covid-19 cases. Workers in these industries are primarily Latinx people of color, many of whom are undocumented. According to a report published by the University of California Los Angeles, Latinx Californians aged 50 to 64 have died from the virus at rate five times higher than white people of the same age. The poor working conditions farmworkers and landscapers are subject to already put them at disproportionate risk of pesticide-induced diseases. Alongside other hardships such preexisting health problems, family obligations, cramped housing and transportation, threat of deportation, and communication difficulties, the risks of these essential workers contracting and dying from Covid-19 are compounded exponentially.

The PBS Frontline documentary “Hidden Toll” follows the experiences of many California farmworkers, and how their daily struggle has been exacerbated as a result of the virus. One worker profiled, Sinthia Hernandez, has both diabetes and cancer but must continue to go to work to support her family. “In these times, it’s necessity that makes us work despite the fear we have,” Hernandex told Frontline.

Despite the necessity of farmworkers to put food on the table of countless Americans, apart from voluntary guidelines, which are often not followed, Sinthia and farmworkers like her are provided no meaningful assistance. “They are not giving us the essentials to protect ourselves,” she told reporters.

Companies that hire farmworkers are not even required to tell employees when other farmworkers become sick. The highly contagious nature of coronavirus means that one farmworker falling ill can result in an entire crew getting sick. But there are no avenues available for recourse or restitution. And many who consider reporting their illness are plagued by other concerns.

“They don’t want people to know that they’re here undocumented,” said Max Cuevas, MD, a doctor who runs California farmworker clinic, Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas. “There’s that fear of, ‘I could be gone tomorrow if I am taken away. And what’s going to happen to my family?’ It’s a horrible kind of fear that people learn to live with. You try to assure them, ‘Don’t be afraid of that one right now. Be afraid of the virus.’”

Landscapers in areas like Southern Florida are subject to similar pressures on their health and safety. A piece in the Washington Post followed Guatemalan landscaper Alfredo, who helps maintain some of the wealthiest properties in the Miami area. He continued to work through the initial outbreak, but notes, “By June, we were pretty much all sick, and we brought it back to our families.” His young daughter came down with a critically high fever over 105 degrees, and had to be placed in intensive care.

The Post notes that while Covid-19 cases in Guatemala are low, communities in South Florida have been devastated. In order to get by, many like Alfredo live in overpriced apartments where they may share space with multiple families or up to a dozen other workers. Transportation to and from job sites often requires workers to sit in close quarters with each other, making social distancing impossible.

Rather than improving protections, mandating face coverings and other measures known to reduce viral transmissions, politicians such as Governor Ron Desantis (R-FL) are scapegoating these vital communities. In June, he told reporters that increases in conoravirus in the state was from “overwhelmingly Hispanic farmworkers,” and blamed Democrats for not putting protections in place. Groups swiftly condemned the Governor for his statements. “Months ago, actions should have been taken to prevent this,” Oscar Londoño, executive director of We Count!, told NBC News. “The recent attempts to scapegoat workers who have been sustaining our entire food chain during the pandemic is shameful…[The Governor’s] messaging continues to try to stoke nativism, racism and anti-immigrant sentiment across the state of Florida.”

Pesticide use is an important, yet underreported factor among those already in the throes of several crises. Yet evidence is mounting that threats to the immune and respiratory systems posed by pesticides are likely to make those exposed more susceptible to the coronavirus.

Stand up for those who perform the critical work of bringing food to American’s dinner plates by telling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve farmworker protections. Stop the ongoing poisoning of landscapers by sending a letter to your state’s Governor urging them to establish that lawn care pesticide use is not essential during the coronavirus pandemic.

No one should have to endure the hardship that Sinthia Hernandez and Alfredo are experiencing. In addition to taking action above, particularly if you live near an area with agricultural production, get involved in assisting and strengthening local farmworker support organizations in your region.  

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: PBS Frontline, Washington Post, NBC News

(Beyond Pesticides, July 28, 2020) With honey bees around the world under threat from toxic pesticide use, researchers are investigating a new way to track environmental contaminants in bee hives. This new product, APIStrip (Adsorb Pesticide In-hive Strip), can be placed into bee hives and act as a passive sampler for pesticide pollution. Honey bees are sentinel species for environmental pollutants, and this new technology could provide a helpful way not only for beekeepers to pinpoint problems with their colonies, but also track ambient levels of pesticide pollution in a community.

According to a study published by an international team of researchers, APIStrip has the potential to detect 442 pesticides as well as their primary break down products at levels lover than parts per billion. The strip, comprised of polymer, is what scientists describe as “a bee-proof, in-hive passive sampler.”

Current methods of sampling honey bee hives for contaminants is time-consuming, requiring removal of bees, pollen, honey or beeswax, and can result in significant hive disturbance. This new method was piloted by citizen-science beekeepers, and according to researchers proved to be a simple and effective tool that any interested citizen-scientist could employ.

Passive sampling of environmental contaminants by citizen scientists is becoming increasingly possible as new tools and techniques are developed. However, most are still in their investigative phase and not currently available for commercial development and distribution.  Earlier this year, it was reported that researchers at North Carolina State (NC State) and Duke University were developing silicone monitoring devices (such as wristbands, collars, etc) that could be placed on dogs. “If we develop ways to correlate dog disease with their exposures over time, it may allow human-health professionals to mitigate these exposures for both species,” said Matthew Breen, Ph.D., at NC State.

The technique of using wristbands has already been trialed in California’s Salinas Valley, as part of an ongoing (CHAMACOS) study of the Salinas Evaluating Chemicals in Homes and Agriculture (COSECHA) project. The study was able to test for 72 different pesticides that teenage girls living in the region may be exposed to. Of those 72, researchers detected as many as 20 and an average of 8 pesticides over just one week of routine activity.

Beekeepers frequently have a difficult time testing their hives for pesticide residue. Often, a suspected pesticide kill will not be detected because the appropriate samples were not preserved in time.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bee Research Laboratory, as the front page of its website highlights, is focused primarily on detecting parasites and disease, despite overwhelming evidence that pesticides are playing a critical role in colony failures throughout the country.

Having local data on contamination from honey bee hives could significantly expand understanding of the extent of pesticide pollution occurring in communities across the country. For example, one APIStrip piloted in Denmark found up to 40 different pesticides through the course of research. For more information on the pesticide threats honey bees continue to confront, see Beyond Pesticides’ BEE Protective webpage.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Technology Networks, Science of the Total Environment

(Beyond Pesticides, July 27, 2020) Evian bottled water, produced by the French company Danone, is supposed to be so pure that scientists will calibrate their measuring devices with it. But new data from Swiss researchers finds it to be contaminated with a toxic fungicide. “The fact that even the Evian springs in the French Alps, which are hardly affected by humans, contain pesticide residues is alarming and shows the far too careless handling of these substances,” Roman Wiget, president of the international drinking water association AWBR told the German-language Swiss weekly. The answer is not to simply ban another toxic pesticide, only to be followed by another toxic pesticide, but foundational changes to agriculture and land management with a shift to organic practices. 

Tell Evian to protect water quality and the integrity of its purity claim by prominently supporting a worldwide shift to organic agriculture and land management.

Danone claims that the purity of Evian bottled water comes from its source in Cachat Spring at the base of the French Alps in the town of Évian-les-Bains, France, where it is “[p]rotected under a fortress of geological layers built by glaciers 30,000 years ago, it slowly travels through natural snowy, glacial rocks naturally filtering it.” Evian publishes results of water quality testing, supporting its claims of water high in natural minerals and lacking detections of synthetic chemicals.

Findings of the transformation products of the fungicide chlorothalonil, which is unlikely to have been used near the source of Evian water, demonstrate the fact that pesticides cannot be controlled. Evian, as a purveyor of “pure” water for people who are concerned about the contamination of their own local water supplies, should take actions to protect its water.

Chlorothalonil is a dangerous, highly toxic pesticide. As a probable human carcinogen, there is no safe dose. The transformation products found in Evian bottled water can be removed by carbon filtration, but such treatment results in contaminated carbon and places the burden of removal on Evian, rather than the chemical companies. Although other pesticides have not been found so far in Evian’s water, there is no reason to believe that the Cachat Spring is safe from contamination from other chemicals as long as chemical-intensive agriculture and land management is the norm.

As of 2020, chlorothalonil use is banned in the EU. However, long-distance transport is evidently responsible for the contamination of Cachat Spring water, and the presence of currently used pesticides in the Arctic is evidence of cause for concern. It is particularly worrisome that groundwater, as a principal source of drinking water, is increasingly found to be contaminated with pesticides, even those used far from the site where the groundwater is withdrawn. Action is required worldwide, and we are urging Danone to become a leader in protecting the environment and its brand.

Evian should protect the purity of its water by supporting Beyond Pesticides’ international campaign to transition to organic agriculture. This effort not only protects groundwater, but it confronts the apocalyptic challenges we face as a global community with the climate crisis and the devastation of biodiversity. In the short-term, Danone should protect its consumers and its integrity by using filtration to remove chemical contaminants and labeling when they cannot be removed. However, using filtration is only a limited short-term fix that does not address underlying chemical dependency on hazardous and persistent pesticides that are not needed for land management. 

Tell Evian to protect water quality and the integrity of its purity claim by prominently supporting a worldwide shift to organic agriculture and land management.

Thank YOU for all you do,
— The Beyond Pesticides Team

Letter to Antoine Portmann, President and General Manager, Danone Waters of America,

I am writing in reaction to findings that chlorothalonil transformation products have been found in Evian’s bottled water. Chlorothalonil is a dangerous, highly toxic pesticide. As a probable human carcinogen, there is no safe dose. The transformation products found in Evian bottled water can be removed by carbon filtration, but such treatment results in contaminated carbon and places the burden of removal on Evian, rather than the chemical companies.

Although other pesticides have not been found so far in Evian’s water, there is no reason to believe that the Cachat Spring is safe from contamination from other chemicals. The answer is not to simply ban another toxic pesticide, only to be followed by another toxic pesticide, but make foundational changes to agriculture and land management with a shift to organic practices. I am writing to implore Evian and the Danone company to prominently support a worldwide shift to organic agriculture and land management.

The Evian company is a victim of outdated, antiquated farming and land management practices, supported by the chemical industry that is poisoning the water supply worldwide. Evian bottled water is supposed to be so pure that scientists will calibrate their measuring devices with it. The fact that even the Evian springs in the French Alps, which are protected from most human impacts, contain pesticide residues is alarming and demonstrates that pesticides cannot be controlled. Evian, as a purveyor of “pure” water for people who are concerned about the contamination of their own local water supplies, should take actions to protect its water supply not through a chemical-by-chemical response, but with holistic and systemic change.

As of 2020, chlorothalonil use is banned in the EU. However, long-distance transport is evidently responsible for the contamination of Cachat Spring water, and the presence of currently used pesticides in the Arctic is evidence of cause for concern. It is particularly worrisome that groundwater, as a principal source of drinking water, is increasingly found to be contaminated with pesticides, even those used far from the site where the groundwater is withdrawn. Action is required worldwide.

I request that Evian protect the purity of its water by supporting Beyond Pesticides’ international campaign to transition to organic agriculture and land management. This effort not only protects groundwater, but it confronts the apocalyptic challenges we face as a global community with the climate crisis and the devastation of biodiversity. In the short-term,

Danone should protect its consumers and its integrity by using filtration to remove chemical contaminants and labeling when they cannot be removed. However, using filtration is only a limited short-term fix that does not address underlying chemical dependency on hazardous and persistent pesticides that are not needed for land management. The company should protect its consumers and its integrity by using filtration to remove chemical contaminants and labeling when they cannot be removed.

The contamination caused by toxic pesticide use, no longer needed to grow food or manage land safely and economically, has cascading effects and requires an urgent holistic response. I am asking you— will Danone become a leader in advancing organic agriculture and land management?

Thank you, in advance, for your response.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 24, 2020) As the novel coronavirus pandemic has heightened awareness of infectious diseases, there is increased attention to connections between environmental concerns and such diseases, including factors that may exacerbate their transmission. New research shows one such relationship: the transmission of schistosomiasis, a tropical disease caused by contact with the larvae of parasitic worms (schistosomes), is likely accelerated by the use of pesticides and other agrochemicals (such as synthetic fertilizers). The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, also shows that contamination of freshwater bodies with these chemicals disturbs ecological balances that can actually limit schistosome infections. This new research underscores the urgency of the needed transition, in affected tropical and subtropical areas, to agricultural approaches that do not involve synthetic agrochemicals that pollute local waterways and put people’s health at increased risk.

Beyond Pesticides recently covered another study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports in February 2020, that indicates that agricultural pesticide runoff indirectly increases rates of transmission of schistosomiasis. The transmission landscape for this disease is complex, in part because one of the parasite’s vectors are freshwater snails, which: (1) play an important role in schistosomes’ life cycle, (2) are relatively resistant to the effects of pesticides, and more tolerant of them than their predators, and (3) seem to handle one of the damaging effects of agricultural runoff — eutrophication — well.

These schistosome worms — Schistosoma haematobium spp (the “spp” indicating that this species, unlike others in the genus, has separate female and male organisms) — are internal parasites of molluscs and vertebrates, and require two hosts to reproduce successfully. They develop and proliferate inside freshwater snails (the intermediate host), and release their larvae into their resident freshwater body. The larvae can then penetrate the skin of humans who come into contact with that water, causing schistosomiasis in the final, human, host. When infected people, in turn, contaminate freshwater sources with their excreta, transmission continues. Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia and “snail fever,” affects hundreds of millions of people annually, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, and can cause lifelong liver and kidney damage. Schistosomiasis is second only to malaria in its global health impacts.

The study — “Effects of agrochemical pollution on schistosomiasis transmission: a systematic review and modelling analysis” — was led by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and included members affiliated with Stanford University, Notre Dame, and the School of Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. It comprises a systematic literature review of more than 1,000 studies on impacts of agrochemicals on the lifecycle of Schistosoma haematobium spp, one of the trematodes (blood flukes, or flatworms) responsible for the disease. (There are a number of species within the genus Schistosoma that can play a role in the disease; the main species infecting humans are S. haematobium, S. japonicum, and S. mansoni.)

Researchers were able to identify 144 experiments that provides data connecting stages of the S. haematobium lifecycle with concentrations of agrochemicals in freshwater bodies. They then integrate both the dose-response functions and environmentally relevant agrochemical concentrations (post-application to agricultural fields) into a mathematical model to estimate agrochemical effects on schistosomiasis transmission in nearby human populations.

Christopher Hoover of UC Berkeley, second lead author, comments, “We were shocked by the strength of evidence we found . . . linking agrochemical pollution to the amplification of schistosomiasis transmission.” The study findings indicate that agrochemicals, such as pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, can catalyze the transmission of the schistosome worm in several ways: “by directly affecting the survival of the waterborne parasite itself, by decimating aquatic predators that feed on the snails that carry the parasite, and by altering the composition of algae in the water, which provides a major food source for snails.” These synthetic chemicals can destabilize freshwater ecosystems. For example, predators in the ecosystem that would typically consume snails infected with the parasite may find pesticide-contaminated water uninhabitable — setting the stage for overpopulation of snails that can fulfill their “duty” as first hosts of the parasites.

The study reveals that even small concentrations of pesticides in common use, such as glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, and atrazine, can increase transmission rates. The study’s modeling also shows that short-lived spikes in pesticide concentrations can cause faster rebounds in infection after application of chemical controls (for S. haematobium) to the water. Further, the team estimated that agrochemical effects on schistosomiasis transmission causes, in some situations, upwards of 142 additional DALYs (disability-adjusted life-years) lost annually per 100,000 people. Researchers found that the magnitude of the increased rates could be significant: in communities in West Africa’s Senegal River Basin, the additional disease incidence attributable to agrochemical pollution was roughly equivalent to that caused by diets high in sodium, exposure to lead, and low levels of physical activity.

Many pesticides are implicated across a variety of mechanisms of impact. Some specific findings include:

• herbicides, and especially atrazine and glyphosate, can increase transmission at expected environmental concentrations (EECs)
• a number of insecticides, including chlorpyrifos, permethrin, carbaryl, profenofos, and others, boost mortality among snail predators
• insecticides can decrease transmission via direct impacts on survival of miracidia (the free-swimming, ciliated larval stage of a schistosome, in which a fluke passes from the egg to a host snail) and cercariae (the free-swimming larval stage of a schistosome, in which the fluke passes from a snail to a final, vertebrate host), as well as impacts on snail reproduction and survival.

Investigators note that, although taken alone, some agrochemicals might actually have an ameliorating effect on transmission, both the span of trematode life stages and the variability of persistence of some chemical pesticides may contravene that influence. For example, glyphosate appears to reduce transmission because of its reproductive toxicity to snails (at environmentally relevant concentrations). Yet, the study says, “Indirect effects overwhelm and reverse the transmission-reducing, direct effects on snails and schistosome cercariae, miracidia, and eggs and might also be more likely to dominate in real-world settings, because they occur at lower concentrations that are more commonly observed. [Additionally,] the net effect of chlorpyrifos, profenofos, and atrazine is to amplify transmission through the dominance of indirect effects on snail predators and algal dynamics, which are longer lasting than direct effects on snails and schistosome larvae.”

In addition to the direct relationship to disease transmission, the toxic agrochemical pollution of freshwater sources, as noted, disturbs important ecosystem balances, and can cause profoundly damaging trophic cascades. Such cascades are catalyzed by the interplay between the toxicity of chemical pollution and their indirect impacts, and can significantly reduce, change the behavior of, or destroy populations of plants and animals.

The findings of the study are concerning, and all the more so because the sub-Saharan region — whose agricultural enterprises have until recently been mostly small farms that have not necessarily used pesticides as readily or as intensively as agricultural enterprises in other parts of the world — is changing. The agrochemical industry no doubt sees an “under-exploited” market there, and farmers are increasingly moving to the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The published research states, “Increases in rural population density and the availability of modern agricultural inputs suggest that sub-Saharan Africa is on the verge of a rapid expansion of agrochemical use, suggesting that agrochemical pollution is likely to become more common in schistosomiasis-endemic areas.”

Several researchers advocate for more-stringent controls on any synthetic agricultural chemical use in schistosomiasis-prone regions. Mathias Liess, PhD, co-author of the 2020 Nature’s Scientific Reports study, confirmed its findings in ScienceDaily, saying: “We were able to demonstrate that even low pesticide concentrations constitute a serious environmental risk and, in this respect, not only contribute to the decline in insect populations, but also indirectly promote dangerous diseases in humans. . . . The results underline the urgent need for reassessing the environmental risk of low pesticide concentrations and for integrated disease management that includes a focus on the regulation and management of pesticides in areas where schistosomiasis is endemic or might be introduced due to potentially favorable ecological conditions.”

Senior author of the UC Berkeley study Justin Remais, PhD comments, “Environmental pollutants can increase our exposure and susceptibility to infectious diseases. From dioxins decreasing resistance to influenza virus, to air pollutants increasing COVID-19 mortality, to arsenic impacting lower respiratory tract and enteric infections — research has shown that reducing pollution is an important way to protect populations from infectious diseases.” Finally, subject study co-author Mr. Hoover adds, “We need to develop policies that protect public health by limiting the amplification of schistosomiasis transmission by agrochemical pollution. . . . [By] limiting their overuse in schistosomiasis-endemic areas, we could prevent additional harm to public health within communities that already experience a high and unacceptable burden of disease.”

Globally, the public is understandably more attentive to protection from infectious diseases in the COVID-19 context. Though many people do not live in climes where schistosomiasis is a problem, this research reinforces the reality: the broader issue of the havoc that agrochemical pollution wreaks on ecosystems and human health needs far more precautionary attention from government officials and regulators. This is true in the U.S. and in most countries, and is particularly acute in a time when it is clear that exposure to these chemicals, directly and indirectly, can put humans at greater risk from the novel coronavirus and other infectious diseases.

To learn more about pesticide use as it relates to the “new coronavirus normal,” see Beyond Pesticides coverage of disinfectant compounds. For general information on protection from pesticides in the community, see the Center for Community Pesticide and Alternatives Information.

Sources: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30105-4/fulltext and https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/07/17/pesticides-speed-the-spread-of-deadly-waterborne-pathogens/

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 23, 2020) Chronic pesticide use, and subsequent exposure, elevate a person’s risk of developing lung cancer, according to a study published in F1000Research by researchers at the Nakhon Sawan Provincial Public Health Office and Naresuan University, Thailand. Globally, cancer is one of the leading causes of death, with over 8 million people succumbing to the disease every year. Notably, the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) predicts new cancer cases to rise 67.4% by 2030.

Although there is a vast amalgamation of research linking cancer risk to genetic and external factors (i.e., cigarette smoke), there is increasing evidence that pesticide exposure augments the risk of developing lung cancer, as well. This study highlights the importance of understanding how pesticide use can increase the risk of latent diseases, which do not readily develop upon initial exposure.  Study researchers state, “To our knowledge, the association between lung cancer and pesticides has never been studied before among [Thai] people. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between pesticide exposure and lung cancer among people [living in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand]. The results can be used for the prevention of lung cancer, and to support the global literature.”

Lung cancer is one of the most common and deadliest types of cancer, afflicting millions of people across the globe annually. The first scientific study associating pesticide exposure with lung cancer occurred 50 years ago and, ever since, epidemiological studies present increasing evidence that pesticide exposure increases the risk of developing lung cancer. A 2004 study demonstrates a positive association between lung cancer and seven widely used agricultural pesticides (e.g., dicamba, metolachlor, pendimethalin, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and dieldrin). Likewise, a U.S. study finds that the risk of developing lung cancer increases with the number of years working as a pesticide applicator. This study adds to the growing body of research linking pesticide use and exposure to various forms of cancer.

To assess the relationship between pesticide use and lung cancer, researchers compared a lifetime pesticide exposure of lung cancer cases to healthy neighbors of the same gender, from January 1, 2014, to March 31, 2017. Additionally, researchers gathered related data, including age, demographic, and pesticide exposure, via a face-to-face interview questionnaire.

Data analysis used IBM SPSS Statistics and linear regression models to evaluate links between lung cancer incidents and types of pesticides, as well as individual pesticides, adjusting for gender, age, cigarette smoking, occupation, and air pollution exposure. Individual pesticides exhibiting a significant correlation with lung cancer are chlorpyrifos, as well as legacy pesticides carbofuran and dieldrin. Lastly, researchers categorized the number of cumulative pesticide exposure days into quartiles (Q1-Q4), with Q1 being the lowest exposure and Q4 the highest. Researchers placed participants who used pesticides for less than 160 days in Q1 and participants who used pesticides for more than 530 days in Q4. According to the study, the use of pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides have a positive association with lung cancer development, with Q4 exposure participants displaying elevated risk of lung cancer compared to Q1 exposure participants.

Although exposure to insecticides and herbicides increases the risk of developing lung cancer for participants in Q2 through Q4, only Q4 exposure (the highest exposure level) significantly increases the risk of lung cancer for fungicide use. From a research perspective, the higher exposure effects for Q2 through Q4 are a function of high acute toxicity for insecticides and herbicides.

The connection between pesticides and associated cancer risks is nothing new, as a plethora of studies links pesticide use and residue to various cancers, from more prevalent forms like breast cancer to rare forms like kidney cancer nephroblastoma (Wilms’ tumor). The connection between lung cancer and pesticides is of specific concern, as etiological studies often attribute lung cancer to genetics or cigarette smoke and overlook the lung cancer risks associated with pesticide exposure via inhalation of powders, airborne droplets, or vapors. Some studies attribute pesticides—labeled hazardous to inhale—sprayed on tobacco plants to lung cancer, and the related mechanisms that cause lung cancer. Upon inhalation, pesticide particles enter the respiratory tract, and the lungs readily absorb the particles into the bloodstream.

Past research demonstrates the mechanism by which cancer can develop after pesticides enter the bloodstream. In 2013, an experimental study showed that exposure to pesticides produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are highly unstable and cause potential DNA and cell damage that propagates the development of cancer. Additionally, pesticides can increase cancer risk via alternate mechanisms, including genotoxicity (gene damage), epigenetics (gene expression), immunotoxicity, tumors, and endocrine disruption. A 2008 study showed that a substance other than tobacco smoke, most likely pesticides, was causing gene mutations that prompt lung cancer. Additional research finds that exposure to cigarette smoke, pesticides, and wood dust increases lung cancer incidents. The evidence, associating lung cancer and pesticides, in this study and others like it, highlights the need for better long-term risk assessment of pesticide use on human health as current evaluations fail to capture chronic (long-term) risks fully.

Studies like this one demonstrate the implications that extensive pesticide use has on future human health, as lung cancer develops among those who use pesticides more frequently. Of all the pesticides investigated, dieldrin, carbofuran, and chlorpyrifos show the greatest association with lung cancer incidents. The U.S. and many other countries banned some forms of the legacy pesticides dieldrin and carbofuran due to their adverse health effects on humans, wildlife, and the environment. Both dieldrin and carbofuran are persistent organic pollutants, which not only accumulate in soil and water, but in the fatty tissue and brains of humans as well. The organochlorine pesticide dieldrin causes kidney/liver damage, disrupts normal endocrine function, and increases six-fold the risk of Parkinson’s disease by preventing the body from eliminating the chemicals that prompt degenerative neurological disorder development. Carbofuran is the most toxic carbamate pesticide and is highly toxic upon inhalation and ingestion. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classify carbofuran’s acute effects as highly hazardous/toxic. Furthermore, the chemical can cause endocrine disruption, and depress the nervous system and neurological function. Although the U.S. banned granular carbofuran use due to the concerns about bird ingestion, liquid formulas are still available as restricted use pesticides (RUPs). Since liquid pesticide formulas have particles that are easier to inhale, carbofuran poisoning remains a concern.

Chlorpyrifos is an insecticide in the organophosphate chemical family, which originated from World War II nerve agents. In addition to being highly toxic to terrestrial and aquatic organisms, human exposure to chlorpyrifos can induce endocrine disruption, reproductive dysfunction, fetal defects, neurotoxic damage, and kidney/liver damage. Recently, the European Union banned chlorpyrifos use, and Thailand announced a ban on all chlorpyrifos imports, yet it remains in use in the United States. However, states, including Hawaii, California, New York, and Maryland, plans to phase out most of its agricultural uses after EPA negotiated chlorpyrifos’s withdrawal from most of the residential market because of neurotoxic effects to children in 2000.

Cancer is becoming the leading cause of death worldwide, it is essential to know and understand the implications pesticide use and exposure has on human health. Studies related to pesticides and cancer can aid in future cancer research to understand the underlying mechanisms that cause cancer. With the Trump administration dismantling many environmental regulations, it is vital to understand how exposure to environmental pollutants like pesticides can increase the risk of developing chronic disease, especially if theses regulatory rollbacks increase the persistence of environmental pollutants. Beyond Pesticides tracks the most recent studies related to pesticide exposure through our Pesticide Induced Diseases Database (PIDD). This database supports the clear need for strategic action to shift away from pesticide dependency. For more information on the multiple harms, pesticides can cause, see PIDD pages on sexual and reproductive dysfunction, endocrine disruption, cancer, and other diseases. Additionally, buying, growing, and supporting organic can help eliminate the extensive use of pesticides in the environment. Organic agriculture has many health and environmental benefits, which curtail the need for chemical-intensive agricultural practices. Regenerative organic agriculture revitalizes soil health through organic carbon sequestration while reducing pests and generating a higher return than chemical-intensive agriculture. For more information on how organic is the right choice for both consumers and the farmworkers who grow our food, see Beyond Pesticides webpage, Health Benefits of Organic Agriculture. 

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: F1000Research

(Beyond Pesticides, June 22, 2020) In the latest issue of Pesticides and You, the quarterly journal of Beyond Pesticides, articles focus on the key issues of the day—a safe response to novel coronavirus (Covid-19) without toxic disinfectants, and confronting environmental racism in communities with campaigns to take toxic pesticides out of public parks.

A Critical Moment in History

In introducing the issue, Beyond Pesticides executive director, Jay Feldman, writes: “Nurturing and sustaining life is at the core of the environmental work going on in communities across the country. However, as the events of the past months have illustrated, if we are to ensure that our society and planet are sustainable, it will require the protection of those facing the greatest hazards and attention to the underlying disparities behind them.”

“Stopping Systemic Environmental Racism in New York City Parks”

Lead article, “Stopping Systemic Environmental Racism in New York City Parks,” focuses on the  report, Poison Parks, written by The Black Institute in January, documents New York City public spaces in low-income people of color neighborhoods being sprayed with the weed killer glyphosate (Roundup) at significantly higher rates than other parts of the city. The report notes, “Minority and low-income communities suffer from the use of this chemical [glyphosate] and have become victims of environmental racism.” The Black Institute points out that those working in the parks are disproportionately people of color, with 96% building services employees and 56% of laborers being people of color. While the percentages vary, this is generally the case nationwide, in our experience.

At a press conference in front of City Hall in New York City in January, The Black Institute, flanked by Council Members Ben Kallos and Carlina Rivera, Beyond Pesticides, and others, called for the passage of legislation to take toxic pesticides out of public parks. They spoke to the disproportionate harm from pesticide exposure to people of color using the New York City parks.

“The Intersection of Pesticides and the New Normal under Coronavirus”

As people settle in to protect themselves long-term from coronavirus, in addition to common sense prevention (masks and distancing), this article focuses on safer disinfection products that do not increase people’s vulnerability to this deadly illness. The authors point out that, “In the management of viral and bacterial infections, it is always important that we do not exacerbate the risk to individuals in the process of avoiding or controlling the threat. It is important to avoid products that increase vulnerability to respiratory problems or weaken the immune system. In the case of Covid-19, there are protective measures—both practices and products—that can protect us without using toxic products that increase risk factors.” The Beyond Pesticides website offers a guide to buying disinfectants and sanitizers, regularly updated as EPA allows more toxic disinfectants on to the market. (See www.bp-dc.org/disinfectants.)

“Antimicrobial” Face Mask Unnecessarily Toxic”

As the public buys and uses face masks to prevent exposure to Covid-19, there are numerous masks being sold or given away with toxic materials incorporated in the fabric. These chemicals offer no additional protection from the virus, but, in fact, introduce an unnecessary hazard to users. In the article, Beyond Pesticides warns people to avoid any fabric or clothing that markets “extra protection” in the form of a patented antimicrobial. These fabrics introduce a risk and have not been evaluated by EPA or FDA for use as a face mask when the toxic ingredients can be dislodged from the cloth material.

“Two Lawsuits Challenge Deceptive Environmental Practices by Major Corporations”

Earlier this year, Beyond Pesticides sued TruGreen and ExxonMobil in separate lawsuits for making fraudulent claims about their practices to protect people and the environment. The article notes that in both cases, Beyond Pesticides charges that the companies are engaging in fraudulent and misleading practices that misstate the truth and the facts, leading the public to believe that they are offering solutions that people want to support with their purchasing power. The article states: “TruGreen, a nationwide chemical-intensive lawn treatment company, has long characterized its practices as good for the environment and healthy for those who purchase their toxic pesticide service. ExxonMobil, as a oil and gas producer of petrochemicals that are the basis for pesticides, has invested significant advertising dollars to tell the public that they are a green company, heavily invested in addressing and solving the climate crisis.”

The issue includes a continuation of its series, Tracking Biodiversity, with a review of mosses. As the article states, “Mosses are a fascinating and beautiful part of local ecosystems, filling an important niche, and serving as habitat for literally thousands of microscopic organisms that work in concert with nature. And they are evergreen, providing green cover all winter!” The journal issue contains a review of Sicker, Poorer and Fatter: The urgent threat of hormone-disrupting chemicals on our health and future. . .and what we can do about it by Leonardo Trasande, M.D. of New York University Medical School.

You can view Beyond Pesticides Pesticides and You archives on the organization’s website.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 21, 2020) Climate change and pesticide pollution are known to put coral reef fish at significant risk, but research published in Nature Communications shows how these risks can be both overlapping and synergistic. “Fish face a variety of human-induced stressors including increasing water temperatures and pollution from agricultural pesticides,” says study coauthor William Feeney, PhD from Griffith University. According to researchers, both of these stressors alone harm the endocrine (hormone) system and are subsequently exacerbated in combination with each other.

To study the impact of climate change and pesticide pollution, researchers exposed convict surgeon fish (Acanthurus triostegus) to varying levels of water temperature increases, as well as varying levels of the insecticide chlorpyrifos. The scientists then observed how these changes affected the level of hormones the fish were expressing, and how they acted in the presence of predators.

“Both a three-degree temperature increase and exposure to pesticide led to a decrease in the amount of thyroid hormones in exposed fish,” said Marc Besson, PhD, lead author, from PSL Research University, Paris. “These hormones control the development of sensory structures such as the retina, the nostrils and the lateral line, which enables fish to detect nearby water movement.”

When exposed to stressors during metamorphosis from an egg into a juvenile fish, this can significantly impact a fish’s success in the wild. “This matters because animals use their sensory systems to inform ecologically important behaviours, such as their ability to identify and respond to predators,” said Dr. Feeney.

Interestingly, researchers were able to reverse these harmful impacts by providing the fish with a hormone supplement. “When the fish were given supplementary thyroid hormone it reversed these effects, suggesting that for both temperature stress and pollution stress it is the drop in these hormones which causes changes in the sensory organs and increases their vulnerability to predators,” Dr. Feeney remarked.

To further elucidate impacts, researchers lowered the stressor levels from three to a one-and-a-half-degree temperature increase, and from 30 to 5 parts per billion chlorpyrifos. But researchers exposed fish to both of these lower levels at the same time, rather than separately. Researchers discovered adverse effects similar to or worse than that seen from higher rates of a single stressor.

“This means even exposure to low amounts of temperature change or pollution, which on their own have little to no detectable effect, may disrupt hormone processes when experienced together,” Dr Feeney said. “Basically, exposure to multiple stressors, such as climate change and pollution, may be much worse in the developmental stage of coral fish, than exposure to a single stressor alone.”

The study highlights how critical it is to view human-caused stressors holistically, as part of the ecosystems in which they exist. Pesticide regulators in the United States do not consider synergistic impacts between different pesticides, let alone between other anthropogenic stressors like climate change. Adverse effects are viewed through the lens of testing protocols on specific health endpoints that do not adequately capture the complexity of the real world. This myopic thinking perpetuates a regulatory response that permits ongoing destruction to the natural world.  

Dr. Feeney notes that, “The survival of larval fishes is essential for the renewal of fish stocks and the maintenance of biodiversity more generally. The negative effects of anthropogenic stressors on sensory development in larval fishes that we observed is worrying because it affects a baseline process that underpins entire fish assemblages.”

Indeed, the stakes are high. By failing to consider the environment holistically, we create large blind spots that limit our ability to enact comprehensive change that truly improves ecosystem health. If you’re fed up with regulators that don’t listen to cutting-edge science like this, take action. Support Beyond Pesticides in sending a message to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it must do its job to protect health and the environment.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Phys.Org press release, Nature Communications

(Beyond Pesticides, July 20, 2020) Does your community spray toxic pesticides for mosquitoes? In a well-intentioned but ill-informed attempt to prevent mosquito-borne illness such as West Nile virus, many communities spray insecticides (adulticides) designed to kill flying mosquitoes. If your community is one of these, then your public officials need to know that there is a better, more-effective, way to prevent mosquito breeding.

Tell your public officials to stop spraying pesticides and adopt a mosquito management plan that protects public health and the environment.

The problem with mosquito pesticides. Two classes of insecticides are favored by mosquito spray programs—organophosphates and synthetic pyrethroids. In order to better target flying mosquitoes, adulticides are generally applied as ultra-low-volume (ULV) formulations that will float in the air longer than usual. 

Pesticides are toxic chemicals and can exacerbate respiratory illnesses like Covid-19.
Organophosphates, which include malathion (Fyfanon), naled (Dibrom), and chlorpyrifos (Mosquitomist for public health uses only) are highly toxic pesticides that affect the central nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. Symptoms of poisoning in humans include numbness, tingling sensations, headache, dizziness, tremors, nausea, abdominal cramps, sweating, incoordination, blurred vision, difficulty breathing, slow heartbeat, loss of consciousness, incontinence, convulsions, and death. Some organophosphates have been linked to birth defects, cancer, and brain effects. Breakdown times range from a few days to several months, depending on conditions.

Synthetic pyrethroids, which include resmethrin (Scourge), sumithrin (Anvil), and permethrin, are adulticides patterned after pyrethrum (an insecticide derived from chrysanthemum plants), that have been chemically engineered to have greater toxicity and longer breakdown times. Almost all synthetic pyrethroid mosquito products use synergists like piperonyl butoxide (PBO), which increases potency and compromises the body’s ability to detoxify the pesticide. PBO causes a range of short- and long-term effects, including cancer and adverse impacts on liver function and the nervous system. Symptoms of synthetic pyrethroid poisoning include: dermatitis and asthma-like reactions, eye and skin irritation, and flu-like symptoms. Synthetic pyrethroids are endocrine disruptors and have been linked to breast and prostate cancer. People with asthma and pollen allergies should be especially cautious. Exposure has resulted in deaths from respiratory failure. Breakdown times range from a few hours to several months.

Mosquito spraying also hurts the environment. 
Naled, an organophosphate commonly used for mosquito control, affects a variety of non-target animals, including fish, insects, aquatic invertebrates, and honey bees. Naled is moderately acutely toxic to mammals, moderately to very highly toxic to freshwater fish and birds, highly toxic to honey bees, and very highly toxic to freshwater aquatic invertebrates, and estuarine fish and invertebrates. Elevated mortality rates among honey bees have been documented after nighttime aerial ULV applications of naled. Average yield of honey per hive is significantly lower in exposed hives.

Synthetic pyrethroids are highly toxic to fish and honey bees, even in low doses. Beneficial insects, including mosquito predators like dragonflies, will be killed by synthetic pyrethroids and organophosphates. 

Pesticides used to treat adult mosquitoes are not effective.
Spraying to kill adult mosquitoes (adulticiding) is usually the least effective mosquito control method. For example, efforts to control the transmission of malaria are encountering a big, though predictable, problem—the mosquitoes that transmit malaria are developing resistance to at least five of the insecticides that have been central to limiting transmission of the disease. A study released in late June reveals a dramatic increase in resistance to pyrethroid insecticides and DDT across sub-Saharan Africa. This signals the failure of a mainstay chemical approach to the spread of malarial mosquitoes; this same problem—resistance—occurs in chemical management of agricultural pests and weeds, and with antibiotics to treat human bacterial infections. This study underscores a point Beyond Pesticides has made repeatedly—resistance to pesticides (whether insecticides, herbicides, biocides, fungicides, or medical antibiotics) is inevitable. The solution to containing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases lies not in the use of more and different chemicals, but in nontoxic approaches that respect nature and ecological balance.

Preventing the problem. Beyond Pesticides offers resources for managing mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease without the use of toxic pesticides. A better mosquito management plan protects public health and the environment. There are steps that can be taken to eliminate breeding sites around homes and buildings, and throughout the community. For example:

• Clean up standing water on residential property.
• Get rid of unnecessary debris, such as old tires, on residential and commercial property.
• At least twice a week, empty water from toys, buckets, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, and any other areas where water can collect.
• Drill holes in swing tires, and in the bottoms of recycling bins and other outside containers.
• Clean out rain gutters and make sure they drain properly.
• Where water cannot be emptied, the bacterial larvicide Bacillus thurigiensis israelensis is a least-toxic option.
• Turn garbage can covers right side up.
• Utilize safe repellents and other methods to protect against mosquito bites.
• Establish community-wide public awareness campaigns.

Local public policy is key to long-term solutions. Outbreaks of disease-carrying mosquitoes often result from habitat disturbance, such as deforestation, impairing wetlands, and spraying insecticides. Restoring the health of ecosystems helps keep mosquitoes under control. Native minnows, for example, can provide effective control of mosquito larvae breeding in standing water.

Read about Beyond Pesticides’ mosquito door hanger. Get door hangers here,

Tell your public officials to stop spraying pesticides and adopt a mosquito management plan that protects public health and the environment.

To Public Health Officials

Mosquito spray programs, which target flying mosquitoes with highly toxic organophosphate or synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, are ineffective and endanger our health. These pesticides, which are generally applied as ultra-low-volume (ULV) formulations, will float in the air longer than usual because of their small droplet size, but will eventually land on lawns, gardens, and anything that is outside. That droplet size also allows them to be carried deeper into the lungs. These pesticides can cause a wide range of health effects in humans, including exacerbating respiratory illness like Covid-19, and harm our environment.

Symptoms of organophosphate poisoning in humans include numbness, tingling sensations, headache, dizziness, tremors, nausea, abdominal cramps, sweating, incoordination, blurred vision, difficulty breathing, slow heartbeat, loss of consciousness, incontinence, convulsions, and death. Some organophosphates have been linked to birth defects, cancer, and brain effects. Symptoms of synthetic pyrethroid poisoning include dermatitis and asthma-like reactions, eye and skin irritation, and flu-like symptoms. Synthetic pyrethroids are endocrine disruptors and have been linked to breast and prostate cancer. People with asthma and pollen allergies should be especially cautious. Exposure has resulted in deaths from respiratory failure.

Naled, an organophosphate commonly used for mosquito control, affects a variety of non-target animals, including fish, insects, aquatic invertebrates, and honey bees. Naled is moderately acutely toxic to mammals, moderately to very highly toxic to freshwater fish and birds, highly toxic to honey bees, and very highly toxic to freshwater aquatic invertebrates, and estuarine fish and invertebrates. Elevated mortality rates among honey bees have been documented after nighttime aerial ULV applications of naled. Synthetic pyrethroids are highly toxic to fish and honey bees, even in low doses. Beneficial insects, including mosquito predators like dragonflies, will be killed by synthetic pyrethroids and organophosphates.

In addition to the dangers, spraying to kill adult mosquitoes (adulticiding) is the least effective mosquito control method. Close to 99.9% of sprayed chemicals goes off into the environment where they can have detrimental effects on public health and ecosystems, leaving 0.10% to actually hit the target pest. In addition, efforts to control the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases are encountering a big, though predictable, problem—mosquitoes are developing resistance to insecticides.

There are better ways to manage mosquito problems. Outbreaks of disease-carrying mosquitoes often result from habitat disturbance, such as deforestation, impairing wetlands, and spraying insecticides. Restoring the health of ecosystems helps keep mosquitoes under control. Native minnows, for example, can provide effective control of mosquito larvae breeding in standing water. Where water cannot be emptied from containers, the bacterial larvicide Bacillus thurigiensis israelensis is a least-toxic option. A better mosquito management plan protects public health and the environment. Please tell our local and state health departments to abandon spraying and adopt a mosquito management plan that does not depend on toxic chemicals: Public Health Mosquito Management Strategy.

Thanks you for your consideration of my concerns.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 17, 2020) Researchers have discovered that the rivers and creeks that discharge into the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef are riddled with mixtures of pesticides. The University of Queensland team expected to find some such mixtures in their sampling, but was shocked to find that 99.8% of their samples contained up to 20 different pesticides. Michael Warne, PhD, lead researcher and associate professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, says, “The issue with having mixtures of pesticides is that as the number of pesticides increases the impact to aquatic ecosystems generally increases.” Beyond Pesticides has covered waterway pesticide contamination in Europe and the U.S. The organization has long advocated for protective federal regulation that considers potential synergistic and additive threats, to ecosystems and organisms, from admixtures of pesticides — whether in formulated products, or “de facto” in the environment, as this study addresses.

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Lagoon is the open water of the Coral sea that lies between the reef and the Queensland, Australia coast. The GBR is the world’s largest coral reef system, comprising more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, and extending across an area of approximately 133,000 square miles. It was designated a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site in 1981 because of its unique and rich habitat and biodiversity.

UNESCO says of it, “The latitudinal and cross-shelf diversity, combined with diversity through the depths of the water column, encompasses a globally unique array of ecological communities, habitats and species. This diversity of species and habitats, and their interconnectivity, make the GBR one of the richest and most complex natural ecosystems on earth. There are over 1,500 species of fish, about 400 species of coral, 4,000 species of mollusk, and some 240 species of birds, plus a great diversity of sponges, anemones, marine worms, crustaceans, and other species.”

During the 2011–2015 period, the researchers gathered 2,600 samples from 15 waterways that discharge into the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef. The samples were analyzed for between 21 and 47 pesticides, and 80% contained quantifiable mixtures of 2–20 pesticide compounds. Of the samples with multiple pesticides, 82% of the pesticides identified are compounds that exhibit more than two modes of action; a mode of action is how a chemical causes physiological disruption in target, or other, organisms. Both numbers of pesticides and modes of action vary spatially and are greatly influenced by nearby land use, with waterways that drain areas of sugar cane cultivation evidencing the greatest number of pesticides.

The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, produced in 2018 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), identifies tropical coral reefs as among the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world. The now-fragile GBR system is already subject to a variety of assaults, including mass bleaching events caused by warming ocean temperatures, and threats to the very foundation of the reefs from ocean acidification. The framework of coral reefs depends on calcium-carbonate-secreting organisms; such basic (in the pH sense) structures fare poorly in an increasingly acidic environment. As noted in a 2019 paper, “The Great Barrier Reef: Vulnerabilities and solutions in the face of ocean acidification,” “Loss of coral cover, whether due to OA [ocean acidification], warming or other pressures on the reef, will lead to a shift in fish communities from species that prefer coral habitats toward species which are successful outside reef settings, with associated potential changes to important reef fisheries. Coral reefs also provide coastal protection from storms and support livelihoods and economic activities such as reef-associated tourism and recreation.”

The discovery of such intensive penetration of pesticides in the GBR Lagoon adds to the chronicling of damage being wrought on these marine wonderlands. In March 2020 coverage of a report by the Australian government that showed that agricultural pesticides are severely damaging the Great Barrier Reef, Beyond Pesticides also noted that, with the other hand, the government had given sugar cane growers an extension on the use of a weed killer, Diuron, which EPA classifies as a likely human carcinogen. The sugar cane industry was given eight years in which to find an alternative way to deal with target weeds, but failed to do so. This herbicide, according to World Wildlife Fund Australia, is frequently found in streams that discharge around the GBR, and causes 75% of the pollution that is likely “poisoning the health of seagrass and coral, further contributing to the current heavy die-off of hundreds of turtles and dugong. . . . We call on the federal government to move swiftly to ban this chemical.”

Dr. Warne says of his study, “This work strongly supports the inclusion of the pesticide reduction target in the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan which aims to protect at least 99 per cent of aquatic organisms at the mouths of rivers from the adverse effects of all pesticides.” (The plan “seeks to improve the quality of water flowing from the catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.”) He indicates that working with land managers, sharing information, and helping them improve their pesticide management practices may be the best way forward, given these results.

His team is partnering with James Cook University and others on Project Bluewater (a project of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation) to reduce the runoff of pesticides into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon through the adoption of improved sugar cane farming practices. The project currently works with 70 sugar cane farmers in two areas to improve pesticide management and application, upgrade equipment, reduce pesticide use, and switch to use of “lower-risk” pesticides. Dr. Warner reports, “We have found the farmers involved to be very eager to engage with the science — they have embraced the challenge and are making significant steps toward improvement.”

Such pesticide mixtures are found in U.S. waterways, as well. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is primarily responsible for regulating pesticides in the U.S. It regulates point source pollution of surface waters through permitting processes authorized by the Clean Water Act. (That said, EPA recently rolled back protections, stripping them from roughly one of every five stream miles, more than half of the nation’s wetlands, and many other kinds of waterways). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) studies, “assesses the occurrence and behavior of pesticides in streams, lakes, and groundwater and the potential for pesticides to contaminate our drinking-water supplies or harm aquatic ecosystems.” February 2020 USGS reporting on a collaborative sampling project (conducted with EPA) for pesticides in waterways detected 141 pesticides in seven Midwest streams, and 73 in seven streams in the Southeast.

Neither USGS studies nor EPA’s aquatic risk assessments investigate the synergistic or additive risks of mixtures of pesticide chemicals. As is typical, EPA assessments focus on the presence of discrete pesticide compounds and their potential toxicity to organisms, but not on any additional risks due to the “medleys” of compounds present in waterways. This negligence likely results in an underestimation — and allowing — of potential hazards to aquatic wildlife. Among the deficiencies in monitoring and regulation of pesticides in waterways are these, as NAWQA has acknowledged (as of 2011), “Current standards and guidelines do not completely eliminate risks posed by pesticides in waterways because: (i) values are not established for many pesticides; (ii) mixtures and breakdown products are not considered; (iii) the effects of seasonal exposure to high concentrations have not been evaluated; and, (iv) some types of potential effects, such as endocrine disruption and unique responses of sensitive individuals, have not yet been assessed.”

Healthy waterways, whether those feeding the GBR Lagoon, or those draining Midwest U.S. agricultural fields, or major rivers that discharge into the world’s oceans (think the Mississippi, Nile, Ganges, or Yangtze), are fundamental to healthy terrestrial and marine ecosystems, as well as to human health. Whatever pesticides make their way into waterways, from either point or non-point sources, end up in those rivers, in lakes and oceans, and in groundwater — from which half the U.S. population derives it drinking water. The majority of the most commonly used pesticides in the U.S. have been detected in both surface and groundwaters.

It is imperative that pesticide use be phased out and ultimately, eliminated, and alternative practices, such as organic, regenerative agriculture, adopted to protect the nation’s and world’s precious waterways. Creating and nurturing living, healthy soils — the foundation of organic/regenerative systems — conserves water, nurtures fertility, reduces surface runoff and erosion, reduces the need for nutrient input, and critically, eliminates the toxic chemicals that threaten so many aspects of human and ecosystem life, including water resources. Learn more about these nontoxic, protective approaches here.

Source: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-congressman-faces-felony-charges-over-alleged-voter-fraud-n1233867?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR2RtlozbwylfJXpA3vV2kyh5wrbnV3KNvuNqMmrl6YclRnCI2MMAc2r4hw

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

(Beyond Pesticides, July 16, 2020) Long-term exposure to sublethal (low-level) concentrations of the neonicotinoid in soil negatively affects the health and behavioral development of black garden ants (Lasius niger) colonies, according to a study published in Communications Biology by scientists at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Ants are one of the most biologically significant insects in the soil ecosystem, acting as ecosystem engineers. Their burrowing behavior aerates the soil, allowing oxygen and water to penetrate down to plant roots. Additionally, ants increase soil nutrient levels by importing and accumulating organic material like food and feces, thus enhancing nutrient cycling.

Like many other insects, ants are unfortunate victims of the global insect apocalypse or population decline, and much research attributes the recent decline to several, including pesticide exposure. Broad-spectrum pesticides, like neonicotinoids, indiscriminately kill pests and nontarget organisms alike, as their ubiquitous use contaminates soils, even in untreated areas. This study highlights the necessity of rethinking chemical pest management, developing sustainable agricultural practices that reduce the use of agrochemicals, like pesticides, to prevent permanent environmental ecosystem damage. Researchers in the study note, “To prevent irreparable damages to functioning ecosystems, [we] suggest to either fully incorporate long-term effects in risk assessment schemes, or to make a shift in plant protection strategies…[thus applying] the precautionary principle when making policy decisions.”

The sublethal effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on nontarget organisms are evident. Research shows long-term pesticide exposure on some social insects with long-living queens (e.g., bees) impacts foraging behavior, learning, orientation, memory abilities, immune functions, fertility, colony growth, and reproduction. A majority of studies detailing the sublethal effects of pesticides focus on pollinators due to their economic and environmental importance. However, there is a lack of data to show how pesticide exposure at low concentration affects soil-dwelling invertebrates, like ants, long-term. Soil ecosystems are of great economic and ecological importance, housing invertebrates which cycle and decompose organic nutrients for agriculture. Soil-dwelling insects are also essential biological indicators of soil health and quality. This study uses data collected at the University of Bern in cooperation with Agroscope and the University of Neuchâtel to investigate the long-term effects pesticide exposure has on black garden ants, undetectable during the first year of colony development. The study’s researchers state, “To fully understand the threat of toxic substances in risk assessments, long-term studies [require research to cover] full [organism] life-cycles to determine the ecological risk, especially for long-lived organisms like social insect colonies.”

The researchers examine laboratory-reared colonies of black garden ants, born from field-captured ant queens, after exposure to field-realistic (sublethal) concentrations of thiamethoxam. Scientists exposed gynes (the primary reproductive female class of social insects destined to become queens) of L. niger to this commonly applied agricultural pesticide. Thiamethoxam’s ability to bind to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors is 10,000-fold less potent than other neonicotinoids, including its clothianidin metabolite, making the insecticide an excellent candidate to test the effects of low-level exposure. To assess the potential chronic effects of pesticide exposure on colony development, researchers monitored ant colonies from colony establishment and first-year overwintering (hibernation) to second-year overwintering, for 64 weeks. Additional tests performed on the queen and worker ants analyze residue levels of thiamethoxam and clothianidin to measure uptake and detoxification of these neonicotinoids among the different insect classes.

According to the study, chronic exposure to sublethal concentration of thiamethoxam results in reduced ant colony size, propagating fewer worker ants and larvae during the second overwintering. The analysis of thiamethoxam and clothianidin residues indicates that ant queens have better detoxification mechanisms than workers. However, additional evidence finds that the superior detoxification may compromise the queens’ reproductive fitness. Lead author of the study, Daniel Schläppi, PhD, at the Institute of Bee Health of the University of Bern, states, “With our study we show that ants, which play a very important roles in our ecosystems and provide valuable ecosystem services such as natural pest control, are negatively affected by neonicotinoids too.”

Over the past 20 years, neonicotinoids became the most used insecticide in the global market, surpassing sales of the four major chemical classes of insecticides (organophosphates, carbamates, phenyl-pyrazoles, and pyrethroids). These systemic agricultural insecticides resemble nicotine and affect the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. Chemical exposure from water-source, food, and soil contamination can cause harmful to nontarget species, like pollinators and aquatic organisms. A 2015 study shows that soybean seeds coated with thiamethoxam did not adversely affect insect pests (slugs). Instead, the insecticide bioaccumulated in the pest and translocated to the nontarget insect predator (beetle) via ingestion. This translocation of thiamethoxam killed more than 60% of the insect predators, which caused crop loss as the decline in beneficial insect predators prompted an increase in pest populations. Furthermore, research finds that seeds coated with neonicotinoids are high toxicity to songbirds who confuse seeds for grit, which they consume for digestion. In addition to insecticides, herbicides also impact ecosystem biodiversity, especially in soils. Herbicides can devastate habitats adjacent to agriculture that are important to organisms for foraging, reproduction, and shelter. Alas, current risk assessment methods for pesticides are insufficient as assessment procedures fail to account for the sublethal effects of pesticides.  With the loss of a quarter of the global insect population and over three billion birds in the U.S over the last four decades, action is needed to mitigate our anthropogenic impact on essential ecosystem organisms.

This study is one of the few of its kind to investigate the potential impacts long-term, sublethal exposure on soil-dwelling invertebrates, like black garden ants. In addition to pesticide exposure routes from direct pesticide application and indirect food ingestion, residue in soils expose black garden ants to pesticides. Researchers consider black garden ants sedentary since colonies are usually immobile in their soil habitats. This sedentary lifestyle exacerbates chronic pesticide exposure as these residues can accumulate in the soil over decades. Since black garden ants have a long lifespan, with the queens living up to 30 years, it is vital to understand how pesticide exposure impacts these organisms.

Ants are eusocial insects that perform essential terrestrial ecosystem functions and require a colony of ample size to do so. Although the impact of neonicotinoid exposure varies among worker ants and queens, the decline in colony size from this exposure is most critical. Colony size indicates colony fitness, and ant colonies in poor health jeopardize regular ecosystem function. The number of worker ants is an integral part of ant colony fitness/success, and the study outcomes observe effects that threaten colony survival. The study’s researchers conclude, “This is an exemplary study showing how negative effects of an environmental contaminant only become visible after long[-term] monitoring, but with potentially far-reaching consequences. [We] stress the importance [of including] ants as model organisms and to fully incorporate long-term effects in future risk assessment schemes for more sustainable agriculture.”

Ants are ecosystem engineers that aid in maintaining normal ecosystem function and interaction, even outside of the soil environment. The data in this study has implications for soil-dwelling insect species, like ants, as chronic, low-level exposure to pesticide residue in soil habitats weakens soil health and productivity. More than ever, individuals must connect with their local, state, and federal elected officials to demand that we must protect insect populations. Now, grassroots advocacy groups in Connecticut, and Maryland, in addition to dozens of local groups, collaborate to create lasting positive changes to pollinator protection policies. Solutions like regenerative organic agriculture and organic land management curtail the need for toxic pesticide use as these practices warrant similar or better results than chemical-intensive ones. Learn more about the science and resources behind pesticides’ pollinator impact and take action against the use of pesticides. To find out more about what you can do to protect insects like ants that indirectly, and bees that directly pollinate, check out information on pollinator-friendly landscapes, pollinator-friendly seeds.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Sources: University of Bern, Communication Biology

(Beyond Pesticides, July 15, 2020) Evian bottled water is supposed to be so pure that scientists will calibrate their measuring devices with it. But new data from Swiss researchers finds it to be contaminated with a toxic fungicide.  “The fact that even the Evian springs in the French Alps, which are hardly affected by humans, contain pesticide residues is alarming and shows the far too careless handling of these substances,” Roman Wiget, president of the international drinking water association AWBR told the German-language Swiss weekly.

Researchers looked specifically at the levels of the fungicide chlorothalonil in Swiss waterways, as Switzerland and the European Union took steps last year to ban use of the pesticide. In banning the chemical, regulators at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) noted, “Great concerns are raised in relation to contamination of groundwater by metabolites of the substance.” EFSA designated the fungicide as a 1B carcinogen, meaning that it “may cause cancer.”

Chlorothalonil has been in production and use since the 1960s, but it is only now that regulators are starting to take a closer look at its health and environmental impacts. In addition to cancer, chlorothalonil is neurotoxic, can harm the human reproductive system, damage kidneys, liver and other organ systems, and irritate skin. Recent research has focused on the fungicide’s effect on pollinators, showing that it can alter honey bee microbiomes, reduce bumblebee colony size, and may even be a factor in ongoing pollinator declines.  

While EU officials continue to scrutinize long-used chemicals, regulators at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have done little to address chlorothalonil, the 10^th most commonly used pesticide in the county. In fact, EPA is several years late on a workplan it set for itself on the fungicide. The agency estimated it would open a review document for the chemical in 2016, but the most recent action taken, according to the agency’s docket folder on regulations.gov, was a meeting with the chemical’s primary registrant Syngenta/ChemChina.

While EPA is behind on removing pesticides from drinking water sources, in the United States it is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that regulates bottled water. FDA generally follows EPA guidelines on setting allowable levels of certain pesticides, but oversight is lacking in many areas. For example, while public water systems are required to undergo quarterly testing from certified labs, bottled water is only required to be tested once a year, and the tests are not required to come from certified labs. Bottled water manufacturers are also not required to report violations to state or federal officials.

Generally, a home water filter will successfully remove most hazardous contaminants from tap water, and should be preferred over plastic and expensive bottled water. Researchers note that reverse osmosis or a fresh activated carbon filter (changed at regular intervals), would adequately remove the levels of chlorothalonil found in Evian. But few are likely to take their bottled water and put it through another level of filtration.

The best way to eliminate pesticide contamination in drinking water is to remove the source of contamination in the first place. While EU and Switzerland are still finding the fungicide in drinking water, it is likely to significantly decline as use stops, though its long-lived nature shows the dangers in allowing a toxic product on the market in the first place. Switzerland has the potential to take even further steps, as it is in the process of debating a country-wide ban on pesticide use.

In the United States, reduce the pesticides that make their way into your drinking water by advocating for a local and state pesticide reform policies. For more information about protecting you and your family from pesticide contaminated water, see the Threatened Waters program page and Beyond Pesticides’ article Pesticides in My Drinking Water? Individual Precautionary Measures and Community Action.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: SWI, Water Research

(Beyond Pesticides, July 14, 2020) The Mexican government announced late last month that it plans to phase out the importation and use of glyphosate in the country over the next four years. The announcement means that Mexico will join other countries, such as Luxembourg, Vietnam, Germany in prohibiting the chemical and the toxic consumer products, like Roundup, that contain it as an ingredient. International watchdogs are keeping an eye on reactions from the United States, which in recent years has worked to intervene in other countries’ decision-making over toxic pesticides.

The government’s announcement cites the Precautionary Principle as part of its decision-making. According to the Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle, “Where 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 fully established scientifically.” In the case of glyphosate, there is strong evidence, per a 2015 review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), that glyphosate is carcinogenic. Since 2015, several more publications have added weight to glyphosate’s link to cancer. A February 2018 meta-analysis finds “a compelling link between exposures to GBH [glyphosate-based herbicides] and increased risk of NHL [non-Hodgkin lymphoma]. A February 2019 University of Washington study found that glyphosate increased the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by as much as 41%.

Víctor M. Toledo, Mexico’s Minister of the Environment, said in a press release that the effort is part of decision steps to transform the county’s food system to make it “safer, healthier and more respectful of the environment (más seguro, más sano y respetuoso con el medio ambiente).” The country will be analyzing alternatives to glyphosate, importantly, focusing in management experiences and practies used by farmers in indigenous communities for thousands of years.  

Cancer is far from the only health impact demonstrably linked to exposure to glyphosate-based herbicide formulations. glyphosate (and the adjuvant ingredients in formulations) is also linked to endocrine disruption, reproduction harm, and renal and hepatic damage, and toxicity to fish and other aquatic organisms. A 2018 Washington State University study determined that residents living near areas treated with the herbicide are one-third more likely to die prematurely from Parkinson’s disease. Studies also find that glyphosate is linked to multi-generational adverse health effects, including prostate, ovarian, and kidney diseases.

The Mexican government will launch an educational campaign to educate residents on the health risks involved with the use of glyphosate products. Minister Toledo sums of the concerns well, noting that this is a problem everyone must act on; “beyond productivity, there is human and environmental health (más allá de la productividad, está la salud humana y Ambiental),” he said.

The U.S. government has acted antagonistically to countries that have begun to phase out toxic pesticides like glyphosate. Last month, the U.S., alongside the Bolsonaro government in Brazil, launched complaints against Thailand with the World Trade Organization after the country added paraquat and chlorpyrifos to its list of hazardous substances. Due to U.S. pressure, Thailand had already delayed implementation and dropped its intent to include glyphosate on its hazard list.

As Mexico will show over the next decade, there are readily available alternatives to glyphosate that do not put human health and the environment at unnecessary risk. Organic practices represent a path forward that eschews the use not only of glyphosate but the myriad of other toxic pesticides registered by environmental agencies. See Beyond Pesticides’ Organic Agriculture program page for more information on why supporting organic is the right choice.  

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Source: Medtruth, Mexican Government press release (translated page)