(Beyond Pesticides, September 19, 2018) “‘Don’t get pregnant at George Air Force Base’” was the advice imparted from one female Air Force member to another in 1975 at that base, located 100+ miles north of San Diego and used as an active military site from 1941–1992. From the start of their service at George AFB, both parties to this conversation came to be familiar with the shared horror stories of repeated infections, vaginal bleeding, ovarian cysts, uterine tumors, birth defects, and miscarriages among female Air Force members at the site. Many women who served at George AFB in the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s suffered, but did not know what was causing, such health issues, which were frequent enough that even base doctors would sometimes privately warn women off of getting pregnant while serving there.

Among the many contaminants found at George AFB and other military sites are organochlorine-based pesticides (OCPs), such as DDT, dieldrin/aldrin, heptachlor, lindane, endrin, chlordane, mirex, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene, chlordane, and others. (A comprehensive list of OCPs is available here.) Most of these compounds were used on military bases for decades for vegetation control, as building pesticides or fumigants, or for personal pesticide treatments for lice and scabies, and to protect from mosquitoes. Use of all but DDT has been banned or severely restricted in most countries because of the pesticides’ toxicity; despite that, DDT is still occasionally used to combat malaria in some countries.

When George AFB was designated as an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site in 1990, women who had served there learned that they’d been exposed to a variety of harmful chemicals. The base’s water supply and soils were contaminated with jet fuel and solvents, such as trichloroethylene, a human carcinogen. In addition, the barracks in which they lived had been treated with toxic pesticides, and the workers were exposed to radiation while working on F-4 phantom fighter jets. Fast forward to nearly three decades later: in March 2018, Department of Defense monitoring wells (established to test for contaminants) showed that George AFB water sources, along with those of hundreds of other military locations, are contaminated with perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and/or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

These compounds are commonly used in the manufacture of surfactants and polymers, and are especially concentrated in the foam formulations used to douse aircraft fires. At George AFB, PFOS and PFOA levels were between 87 and 5,396ppt (parts per trillion), well beyond the EPA’s “recommended maximum” level of 70ppt. Exposure to these chemicals can cause maladies in the reproductive, hepatic, and immunological  systems, as well as problems with fetal and neonatal development and thyroid function; they can also cause cancers.

With this recent revelation, communities located near military bases — Patrick AFB in Florida, Wurtsmith AFB in Michigan, and Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio among them — are testing water and tracking cancer reports from those who lived on or near the sites. In February, Dayton, Ohio government told residents that, “The sampling data strongly indicates that the contamination is the direct result of activities occurring on the Air Force base.”

The U.S. military’s history with environmental contamination and resulting health debacles is hardly news — it has repeatedly been called the world’s biggest polluter, and recent decades have witnessed waves of veterans reporting various health impacts. See Beyond Pesticides’ recent coverage of the massive Agent Orange issue, and its coverage, a decade ago, of Gulf War illness, a condition caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides. In 2011, a study showed that among the contributing exposures for those with Gulf War Syndrome was that to lindane, an organochlorine pesticide (see below). Environmentally problematic sites in the U.S. include the 36 with water supplies poisoned by PFOS and PFOA, the more than 130 on the EPA list of Superfund sites, and the many that produce hazardous wastes and/or have dumped, intentionally or by accident, pollutants into their environment. Nearly three-quarters of Superfund sites are abandoned military sites that otherwise support military needs, not counting the military bases themselves. U.S. Representative John Dingell (retired) said, in 2014, that, “Almost every military site in this country is seriously contaminated.”

OCPs are toxic to people, very toxic to most aquatic life, and persistent in the environment once introduced; they accumulate in the fatty tissues of humans, plants, and animals, and have short- and long-term health impacts even at very low levels of exposure. Those impacts vary with the particular compound and across a significant range, and can include: neurotoxic, reproductive, immunological, anemic, tumorogenic, dermal, gastrointestinal, motor, hepatic, renal, and endocrine-disruptive effects, as well as cancers.  At least three organochlorine compounds — DDT, kepone, and toxaphene — are classified by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) as “Reasonably anticipated to be . . . human carcinogen[s].”

The website GeorgeAFB.info reports that, “In 2002, aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, and lindane were detected in the surface soil at the George AFB Family Housing. In 2005 the Air Force advised the City of Victorville that the levels of pesticides detected at the Base Family Housing ‘could present a danger to human health if soils are inhaled, ingested, or contacted by skin.’ On 1 October 2007, the levels of chlordane and other organochlorine pesticides’ (‘OCPs’) and their breakdown products was so high that the Air Force banned the property and housing for residential use. As of 5/22/2017, the Air Force has failed to notify the thousands of former tenants and building occupants of their possible toxic exposure.”

Though it has made progress, it would appear that the military still faces a huge amount of remediation and compensation, for damage to both the environment and to people’s health. More information on the relationship between pesticides and health impacts can be found at Beyond Pesticides’ webpage, Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database.

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

Source: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/06/20/why-women-were-told-dont-get-pregnant-at-george-air-force-base/

(Beyond Pesticides, September 18, 2018) While climate change campaigners have long warned of increased pest pressure as a result of a warming planet, new research published in Science has begun to envisage the true extent of this expanding crisis for agriculture and crop yields. An Earth warmed by 2 degrees Celsius will see significant increases in insect metabolism and population growth, increasing global food scarcity. The study underlines the need to move towards more sustainable agricultural models that can better handle pests and other stressors brought about by climate change.

Scientists focused their models on the three staple crops that comprise over 40% of calories consumed worldwide – rice, corn, and wheat. Pest impacts were considered for a variety of scenarios, including a world warmed by 2 °C from Earth’s current global mean surface temperature. The Paris Climate Accords aims to limit warming to 1.5 °C, but with uncertainty around the U.S. pulling out of the voluntary agreement, the model produced by researchers represents a very possible scenario.

The results paint a grim picture for global food security and nutrition, with pest-related losses expected to increase by 19% for rice, 31% for corn, and 46% for wheat. The trajectory boarders on Malthusian, as these pest-related losses will come as the Food and Agriculture Organization predicts global food demand will need to rise 70% from 2007 levels by the year 2050.

“For many, many people in the world there is already a shortage of food, so it is not like we can afford to spare [more],” said study lead Prof Curtis Deutsch at the University of Washington to the Guardian. “A lot of people in the world, the most vulnerable, can’t afford to give up anything.”

Warmer temperatures act to speed up the metabolisms of most pests, increasing their need to eat. At the same time, the population growth of pests in most areas of the world is also expected to increase lock-step with warmer temperatures. The exception is tropical regions, where temperature is already ideal for pest population growth. While climate change will reverse this trend, tamping down on the pest pressure for most rice crops, further warming in subtropical areas is expected to intensify pest pressure there as temperatures reach optimal levels.

The study didn’t take into account the potential for explosive pest outbreaks, the ability of pests to spread crop diseases, or the interplay between specific pests and each crop, which could further exacerbate the issue. Even more concerning were the worst-case climate change scenarios modeled by researchers. In a world that experiences 4 °C warming, pest pressure for these three crops could increase by 40-100%, according to the models.

This data all point to an urgent need to transform agriculture. While researchers indicate that more crop rotation is necessary, farmers are likely to respond by increasing their use of toxic pesticides. However, it is clear that we cannnot continue down a path reliant on petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers in order to feed the future world.

Organic agriculture represents a viable path forward that can successfully address stressors brought about by a warming climate and increased pest pressure. This method of farming can help sequester carbon, improve human health, boost local economies, and is essential to a sustainable future. Pests are addressed not through outside inputs, but by fostering natural, on-farm diversity of pest predators.

For more information on why organic is the right choice for the future of farming, see Beyond Pesticides’ Why Organic webpage. And take action to ensure that organic remains a healthy, sustainable, and resilient crop production system by taking action to comment to the National Organic Standards Board by October 4^th, 2018.

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

Source: The Guardian, Science

(Beyond Pesticides, September 17, 2018) The Fall 2018 NOSB meeting dates have been announced and public comments are due by October 4, 2018. Your comments and participation are critical to the integrity of the organic label. Written comments may be submitted through Regulations.gov  until 11:59 pm ET October 4, 2018. Reservations for in-person and webinar comments close at the same time.

The proposals of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), as a part of its ongoing review of practices and materials, are published for public comment. On our Keeping Organic Strong page, Beyond Pesticides will be providing the public with a listing and analysis of the issues under consideration of the Board when it meets in Saint Paul, MN on October 24 – 26, 2018. You can view USDA’s announcement of the NOSB’s meeting and proposals here.

Issues before the NOSB include materials allowed in organic production as well as some policy issues. Materials are either the subject of petitions or the subject of sunset review (concerning whether to be allowed for another 5 years). To be allowed, materials must have evidence summarized in the proposals that they meet the OFPA requirements of essentiality, no adverse effects on humans and the environment, and compatibility with organic practices.

Major issues before the NOSB at the Fall 2018 meeting include:

• Natamycin is an antimicrobial proposed for post-harvest use on organic food crops. It is used in medicine to treat a number of diseases. Natamycin is produced by fermentation, and the NOSB may classify it as a natural material, which would allow its use without restriction. The NOSB should list natamycin on Sections 602 and 604, to prohibit its use in organic crop and livestock production, where use would promote resistance to this medically valuable antimicrobial medication. See Beyond Pesticides draft comments.
• Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is proposed as a crop fumigant. It would be difficult to find a practice less compatible with organic production than soil fumigation with a “broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound that effectively kills both plant pathogens and beneficial soil microorganisms.” Organic production uses practices that feed soil organisms who feed crop plants. It creates healthy soil food webs. Using a toxic chemical to wipe out soil biology is the antithesis of organic practices. The petition for AITC should be rejected because it is hazardous, not essential for organic production, and incompatible with organic practices. See Beyond Pesticides draft comments.
• Silver Dihydrogen Citrate (SDC) is an antimicrobial with important medical uses that is proposed for use in handling produce and poultry carcasses. Although the proposed annotation eliminates the nanosilver form, SDC poses health and environmental risks –particularly the risk of increasing resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobials. The petition for SDC must be denied to protect the effectiveness of remaining antimicrobial medications. See Beyond Pesticides draft comments.

Written comments may be submitted through Regulations.gov  until 11:59 pm ET October 4, 2018.

Not sure how to use our suggested language to comment? Follow these simple steps:

1. Select the text in our comments (place your cursor before the first word in the text, then press and hold down the left mouse button and, without releasing the button, move the cursor to the end of the comments).
2. Copy the selected text by selecting the Ctrl and C keys simultaneously.
3. Click on this link to open a new tab and in that tab, place your cursor in the “Comment” box.
4. Paste the comments you copied by selecting the Ctrl and V keys simultaneously.
5. Personalize your comments before entering your contact information and selecting “Continue”.

More information will be available soon on Beyond Pesticides’ Keeping Organic Strong webpage to learn more about these and other substantive issues, and to provide a unique public comment to the NOSB.

Thank you for helping to protect and uphold organic integrity!

Please take action now!

(Beyond Pesticides, September 14, 2018) A lawsuit first filed nearly a decade ago over dioxin contamination released from the storage of chemical treated utility poles was settled this week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Judge Richard Seeborg signed the agreement between California utility company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and the Ecological Rights Foundation (ERF), which commits PG&E to identifying storage yards holding treated poles, and implementing technologies that reduce dioxin levels through the year 2026. The utility poles of concern were treated with the chemical pentachlorophenol, which is regulated as a pesticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is known to produce dioxin as a byproduct of its manufacture.

“Dioxins are among the most toxic chemicals known to science,” noted ERF attorney Fredric Evenson to KPIX 5.  “This has been a hard-fought legal battle, but in the end PG&E now appears to understand that dioxin has no business in our bay, and will now take meaningful action to benefit San Francisco Bay’s wildlife and residents who eat locally caught seafood.”

As part of the settlement, PG&E is not required to admit any wrongdoing. “Because environmental stewardship is a guiding principle at PG&E, we are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Ecological Rights Foundation to perform environmental testing on new storm water treatment methods of PG&E’s treated wood pole storage areas,” the utility said in a statement received by KPIX 5. “Northern California waterways may benefit from any enhancements to existing power pole storage practices and storm water treatment technologies PG&E adopts as a result of the testing,” the company said.

The original lawsuit was brought against PG&E under the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. After being dismissed in 2015, it was appealed to the 9^th US Circuit Court and remanded back to the lower court after the judges determined ERF had standing to sue.

ERF pointed to 31 locations in central California where utility poles coated in pentachlorophenol were stored. Now, PG&E will need to implement measures to reduce to flow of dioxin into local waterways. The company has leeway in its approach, but options such as indoor storage, stormwater treatment upgrades are being considered.

PG&E could reduce dioxin levels by eliminating entirely its use of pentachlorophenol and wood-based utility poles, and opting instead for steel or cement poles.

Beyond Pesticides has long sounded the alarm against the use of hazardous wood preservatives for utility poles, as these chemicals – creosote, pentachlorophenol, and copper chromium arsenate – represent the most toxic pesticides currently allowed by EPA. A 1997 report Poison Poles, and 1999 follow-up Pole Pollution highlighted an issue that has been dismissed by EPA.

Pentachlorophenol was restricted from all uses except utility poles in 2004. Prior to that, the chemical was allowed for use in a range of wood products, even children’s playground equipment. In 2015, the Stockholm Convention, which provides a framework to moving persistent organic pollutants out of commerce, banned the use of the chemical as a result of human and environmental health impacts.  However, the United States is not a signatory to the Stockholm Convention and has taken no further action to restrict the use of the chemical at the federal level.

Homeowners and individuals should avoid chemically-treated wood for home improvement projects, particularly in garden beds. Redwood, cedar, and cypress are woods naturally resistant to insects and rot, and other options include stone, metal, recycled plastic and wood-lumber plastic.

For more information on the toxicity of poison poles and alternatives to their use, see Beyond Pesticides most recent article on the issue, “Beyond Poison Poles.”

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

Source: KPIX 5

(Beyond Pesticides, September 13, 2018) House proposal would wipe out communities’ power to restrict pesticides. In an effort to protect the rights of communities nationwide, over 60 local officials from across the country sent a letter to Congress today opposing a farm bill provision that takes away local governments’ authority to restrict hazardous pesticides. The signatories are urging the farm bill conference committee to reject a “poison pill” rider that will preempt local governments, making the entire legislation unacceptable.

Section 9101 of the House version of the farm bill will institute federal preemption of local pesticide policies, a move that will overturn a decades-old Supreme Court decision and prevent communities from adopting protective laws that meet the needs of their residents or unique local environment.

The letter urges the conference committee to reach an agreement on a final 2018 farm bill that does not include this rider. It was signed by over 60 local officials in 39 communities from 15 different states, ranging from North Miami, FL to South Euclid, OH, West Hollywood, CA and Maui, HI. The County Council of Montgomery County, MD, which passed a landmark policy on toxic pesticides, also sent a letter to the farm bill conference committee.

“The pesticide industry’s attempts to stymie a national grassroots movement against their toxic products is only serving to elevate the voices of local leaders that have seen their communities successfully transition to safer land care practices, in many cases organic land management,” said Drew Toher, Community Resource and Policy Director with Beyond Pesticides. “The farm bill’s preemption provision represents an unacceptable federal overreach into community parks, playing fields, and natural spaces.”

Mayor Ethan Strimling of Portland, ME, said, “At a time when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to act, and follow sound science on toxic pesticides like bee-killing neonicotinoids or the probable carcinogen glyphosate, it is critically important that local governments retain the right to protect their citizens and environment.”

 “The Farm Bill should not be a tool for stripping city and county officials of their ability to protect their citizens from pesticides,” said Jason Davidson, Friends of the Earth’s Food and Agriculture Campaign Associate.

 “The Farm Bill should be supporting healthy farming and rural communities, not undermining local control,” said Kristin Schafer, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network.

Quotes from local officials:

Mayor Ethan Strimling of Portland, ME: “At a time when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to act, and follow sound science on toxic pesticides like bee-killing neonicotinoids or the probable carcinogen glyphosate, it is critically important that local governments retain the right to protect their citizens and environment. The City of Portland deliberately undertook a years-long process, involving considerable debate between a range of stakeholders, before passing legislation to restrict toxic pesticides in favor of organic land care. Removing the rights of communities in Maine and elsewhere to have the same robust debate on this important topic doesn’t represent who we are as a nation.”

City Council President Ben Stuckart of Spokane, Washington: “As someone who has worked on local food issues for the past 6 years it is very important that innovative cities continue to have the ability to lead our federal government when they refuse to act. That is how progress is being made across the country. I have dealt with the federal government over the last 6 years and if you want to get something done you do it locally, not rely on the bureaucracy in Washington, DC.  We will never make progress if that is what our options are. We have done a horrible job as a society taking care of our natural environment.  We must be allowed the option to deal with these issues locally if the Federal government refuses to act.”

Mayor Scott Zerby of the Shorewood, MN: “The City of Shorewood passed an ordinance banning city use of pesticides containing ingredients proven harmful to pollinators by University of Minnesota researchers and other scientists around the country. Pollinators are the very foundation of much of our food supply and the elimination of these products has not changed the beauty or functionality of our city. This issue was raised by our citizens and it should be their right to manage local resources as they believe right if does not deny public safety or damage property.   Federal guidelines should remain that and not mandates.   We find the alternative products to satisfy the public need as well as what has been used in the past.  We continue to support the approach that it is better to be cautious when managing precious environmental resource like our beneficial pollinators.”

Recreation and Parks Commission Chairperson Chip Osborne of Marblehead, MA: “Marblehead, MA debated the issue of pesticide use on public property 18 years ago. A local policy by the Board of Health has been in place since 2001 and strengthened to a Health Regulation in 2005. This was an important discussion that focused upon synthetic pesticides and how they were regulated by the US EPA. There was not enough confidence in the regulatory system to ensure that the public was in little or no danger from the use of these materials, particularly where children play. It is my firm belief, both as an elected public official and a private homeowner that a local jurisdiction should have the right and the ability to restrict the use of pesticides within the community both on public and private property. I do not believe that the federal government should step in and regulate home rule. The federal government should not supersede states’ rights and ultimately the final right should rest with the local jurisdiction.”

TAKE ACTION:
If a Democratic Senator(s) represents you in the U.S. Senate, click here to let the Senator know that you want this provision preempting the rights of local governments kept out of the Farm Bill.

If your Democratic U.S. Representative is not on the letter from 105 members to the Farm Bill conference committee (click here to see letter), please reach out and tell them that you want them to sign-on the letter or write their own letter opposing preemption. Click here to find your Representative and then click on the envelope under his/her picture to send the following message: Please sign on to Rep. Donald McEachin’s letter to the Farm Bill conference committee, urging that Sec. 9101 in the GOP Farm Bill be rejected and the right of local governments to protect children’s and environmental health be preserved.

Contacts:
Drew Toher, community resource and policy director, Beyond Pesticides, 202-543-5450, [email protected]
Jay Feldman, executive director, Beyond Pesticides,202-255-4296, [email protected]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 12, 2018) The city of Amsterdam, Netherlands is leading global bee recovery efforts by increasing its diversity of wild pollinator species, according to reporting and an analysis by NBC News. A new map published by the city identified 21 bee species not found in an earlier 1998 survey recorded by Amsterdam officials. The increase has been attributed to a range of pollinator-protective measures, including a ban on bee-toxic pesticides and the planting of native flowers, prioritized by the city government since the turn of the century. Local communities throughout the world can look to Amsterdam for policies and practices that will safeguard their own unique pollinator populations.

The NBC News report notes several initiatives undertaken by the Amsterdam government. Many of these measures come out of a $38.5 million fund aimed at broadly improving environmental sustainability. “Insects are very important because they’re the start of the food chain,” said Geert Timmermans, an Amsterdam ecologist to NBC News. “When it goes well with the insects, it also goes well with the birds and mammals.”

Insect and bee hotels are often installed in conjunction with the development of green roofs, which are encouraged for all new buildings. And parks and other public areas have undergone conversions that have increased the number of native flowering plants available for pollinators. “Our strategy is to when we design a park, we use native species but also the species that give a lot of flowering and fruit for (bees),” noted  Mr. Timmermans.

Amsterdam residents can also request that the city remove a 16 inch strip of pavement in front of their property in order to plant flowers, vines, or other vegetation. “(Citizens) acknowledge the importance of the natural environment. It’s part of the culture,” Mr. Timmermans said to NBC News.

While the EU recently made indefinite a ban on bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides in agriculture, urban spaces have been singled out for the continued risk to pollinators posed by the lawn and garden use of these chemicals.  Amsterdam appears to have successfully made up the difference, banning the use of bee-toxic neonicotinoid insecticides on public city property, and encouraging residents and businesses to eliminate their use through brochures and informational pamphlets.  Neonicotinoids have been implicated in the decline of wild and managed pollinators, leading governments, both large and small, to impose restrictions on their use.

With a 2017 study published in PLOS, showing wild lands in Europe losing 75% of flying insect biomass over the last three decades, Amsterdam represents a bright spot that can be replicated in other cities and towns in order for pollinator populations to remain viable on the whole. Even minor efforts can make a difference. Incorporating clover into a lawn is a great example of a way to add pollinator habitat, as studies find that mixed grass-clover lawns can support diverse pollinator populations.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not taken significant action to protect pollinators, there is a growing trend within U.S. states and communities to enact measures similar to those in Amsterdam. The states of Maryland and Connecticut have restricted neonicotinoids for consumer uses, and adopted other pollinator friendly habitat policies. The Map of US Pesticide Reform Policies highlights over 40 different local communities that have banned or restricted the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Many of these policies include a comprehensive approach to improve habitat and plant for native vegetation.

Help defend pollinator protective policies from a federal attempt to block them in the 2018 farm bill. Tell your Senators to stand up for local rights in the farm bill by eliminating the inclusion of a poison pill rider that would preempt local communities in the final farm bill. For more information on the plight of pollinators, see Beyond Pesticides’ Bee Protective webpage.

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

Source: NBC News

(Beyond Pesticides, September 11, 2018) A report released this summer by the nonprofit group The Cornucopia Institute helps consumers avoid ‘factory farmed’ dairy products in light of disturbing revelations uncovered in a 2017 Washington Post investigation of major organic brands. The report, The Industrialization of Organic Dairy, traces the broken promises of many major dairy companies and provides a scorecard enabling consumers to review brands for their overall sustainability and adherence to truly organic standards.

“With the USDA’s failure to protect ethical industry participants and consumers from outright fraud, using our Organic Dairy Scorecard is a way for organic stakeholders to take the law into their own hands,” said Mark A. Kastel, codirector and senior farm policy analyst of Cornucopia, on the group’s website. “In every market and product category, consumers can vote in front of the dairy case to economically support authentic organic farmers while simultaneously protecting their families.”

The Washington Post’s 2017 report found that Aurora Organic Dairy, a major milk supplier for big box retailers like Walmart and Safeway, is producing milk that was less nutrient dense compared to small-scale organic family farms. Information on nutritional deficits in this milk was preceded by an earlier 2014 Cornucopia Institute report featuring aerial photographs of industrial confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs, or factory farms). While certified organic, the farms in the photos appeared indistinguishable from conventional factory farming operations, with some ‘organic’ dairies holding 10,000-20,000 cattle. At the time, Aurora Dairy, which was photographed as part of 2014 report, told reporters, “A single photo doesn’t really tell us anything about a farm and its practices.” The subsequent Washington Post report found that the living conditions indicated by the photos did result in cows producing nutritionally deficient milk.

Cornucopia notes that while these investigative reports finally brought USDA interest in these unethical practices during the years of the Obama administration, regulators gave the dairy every opportunity to correct any issues by making an appointment before reviewing the farm’s practices. “Whoever heard of a law enforcement agency calling up a suspected meth lab and setting up a mutually convenient appointment to carry out a search?” said Francis Thicke, a longtime certified organic dairy farmer from Fairfield, Iowa and a former Obama-era appointee to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), in a Cornucopia Institute press release.

The group’s scorecard works off of a point system addressing everything from a brand’s ownership structure, to milk supplier, how often cows are milked, the health and longevity of a farm’s cattle, whether cows are grass fed, antibiotic and hormone usage, and more. These data are distilled into a ranking between 0 to 5 ‘cows’, with 5 cows being top-rated as ‘Beyond Organic’ and 0 cows indicating no response to the organization’s questionnaire and the likelihood of poor practices. While many of the 5-cow brands are produced by small-scale family farms, some nationwide dairy producers, such as Maple Hill Creamery, made the list. Notably, some larger brands, such as Organic Valley, Liberte, Annie’s HomeGrown, and Helios Kefir, all scored 4 cows. In general, the organization warned individuals against purchasing store branded products such as Trader Joe’s store-brand organic milk. The organization notes, “Even though none of the one cow rated brands responded to our survey request, we were able to determine that these brands were, at the time of our research, buying some or all of their organic milk from factory-farm sources.”

Consumers are encouraged to review the scorecard for their current dairy purchases and consider the ability to vote with your food dollars by supporting more ethical, sustainable, and transparent brands.  For more information on why it is so important to not only protect, but strengthen the organic label, see Beyond Pesticides Keeping Organic Strong webpage.

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

Source: The Cornucopia Institute

(Beyond Pesticides, September 10 2019) 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.

Organophosphates, which include malathion (Fyfanon), naled (Dibrom), and chlorpyrifos (Mosquitomist), 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 and cancer. 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.

In addition to the dangers, adulticiding is usually the least effective mosquito control method.

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.
• 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.

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

(Beyond Pesticides, September 7, 2018) As the marijuana industry gears up for exploding markets created by the increasing number of states that permit medical and/or recreational cannabis use, the quality of marijuana products is emerging as an important issue for patients and consumers. Beyond Pesticides identified this concern back in the winter of 2014–2015, and pointed to the importance of organic production practices for the emerging industry.

As of July 1, California’s mandated testing of cannabis became effective, and initial results are in. New Frontier Data CEO Giadha Aguirre de Carcer is pointing to those results as a threat to the medicinal cannabis market. She notes that 84% of 2016 product batches tested were found to harbor pesticide residue; and that in the recent California round of assays, 20% failed established standards due to contamination from pesticides, bacteria, or processing chemicals, and in some cases, inaccurate labeling.

Ms. de Carcer, speaking to attendees at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Toronto recently, said that cannabis producers must reduce the pesticide contamination in their products, at the very least because of consumer concerns that will translate to the marketplace. At that conference, she said, “Those are troublesome figures. . . . When we talk about people taking cannabis for medicinal use, we probably should do something about that.” Beyond the health implications of toxically tainted marijuana products, consumer concerns about purity of those products will no doubt affect the success of the developing industry, which Ms. de Carcer predicts will be a $20 billion market by 2025.

The risks of pesticide contamination of cannabis include: exposure from inhalation, ingestion, or absorption of pesticide residues on the crop, exposure to workers cultivating the plant, environmental contamination, and impacts on wildlife. Such risks are especially unnerving for those patients using cannabis products medicinally, because their health is already compromised. As Mariellen Jurkovich, owner of the Humbolt Patient Resources Center in Arcata, California, has said, “If you are buying [just] any cannabis . . . you are risking your health,” Jurkovich said. “You are risking a chance that these things could be filled with very toxic chemicals.” The sensical option for human and environmental health is for this industry to choose organic production as its standard.

Meanwhile, the regulatory landscape for pesticide use in cannabis production is relatively straightforward since cannabis is classified as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance by the U.S. government. At the federal level there is a fundamental legal issue, as Beyond Pesticides has identified: “Because cannabis is not considered an agricultural crop under federal law, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not evaluated the safety of any pesticide on cannabis plants. EPA has established no restrictions for pesticides used in cannabis production, no tolerances, nor any exemptions from tolerances for allowable pesticide residues on cannabis. As a result, EPA-permitted pesticide labels do not contain allowances for pesticide use in cannabis production. Beyond Pesticides maintains that because of the federal status of cannabis (as a Schedule 1 illegal drug), EPA cannot legally register pesticides for use in the production of the crop. Therefore . . . pesticide use on cannabis is illegal. . . . [Further,] several states have codified this understanding by adopting policies that prohibit all federally registered pesticides. Other states have taken the position that state policy is unnecessary, since EPA has not registered any pesticides for cannabis production and registered pesticide use is illegal.”

All of that said, Beyond Pesticides also noted in its Winter 2014–2015 issue of its journal, Pesticides and You, that EPA has acted to muddy the waters: when some states asked for clarification and guidance on the matter, the agency said that although cannabis does not fit into any general category (e.g., herb, spice, or vegetable), “it may be legally used on marijuana under certain general types of crops/sites when there is an exemption from tolerance;” tolerance is the standard set by EPA for allowable pesticide residue in food. In the wake of that, some states deemed it acceptable for producers to use broad-spectrum herbicides and fumigants outdoors (as long as the pesticide label does not specify the food crop to be planted after the application). Subsequent to that development, Beyond Pesticides began to evaluate use and exposure issues associated with pre-planting uses on soil, whereby plants can take up the toxic compounds; these issues have generally been ignored by EPA and the states.

The lack of clear federal regulation has resulted in state regulations that are, at best, a patchwork of rules providing inconsistent, and often inadequate, protection for consumers and the environment. (See a snapshot of the status of regulations at the state level as of 2015.) Absent federal review (because of the classification of cannabis as a narcotic under federal law), any state permitting of a pesticide not evaluated for its potential health impacts concerns health advocates. A few states (Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts) and the District of Columbia have adopted regulations that focus on less-toxic approaches to cannabis cultivation, with some focus on ensuring growing practices that avoid or prohibit the use of pesticides. Critically, the federal “limbo” provides an important opportunity for states to incentivize this developing industry to anchor its production practices — and perhaps its identity — in protocols that do not rely on toxic pesticides.

Somewhat ironically, in July of 2017, EPA issued a notice of intent to disapprove California’s planned registration of four pesticides for cannabis production. Although reports at the time suggested that EPA’s rejection was likely politically motivated (because of the then-current administrator’s opposition to cannabis legalization generally), this guidance from EPA was, nevertheless, consistent with Beyond Pesticides’ letters to states and EPA, which encouraged the cannabis industry to establish itself as an organic industry that eschews the use of toxic pesticides.

Beyond Pesticides is gravely concerned with the direction of this burgeoning sector. As of 2015, Executive Director Jay Feldman noted that “five states and DC have adopted rules that require marijuana to be grown with practices that prevent the use of pesticides. State officials have an opportunity to restrict all pesticide use at the front end of a growing market, require the adoption of an organic system plan, and set a course to protect health and the environment.” In states with medical and/or recreational legalization — or for those that may move in that direction — Beyond Pesticides strongly recommends the adoption of laws governing cannabis production that prohibit federally registered, though toxic, pesticides, and require the adoption of organic practices.

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

Sources: http://news.morningstar.com/all/benzinga/BenzBZW12229670/contamination-threatens-medicinal-cannabis-market-new-frontier-data-ceo-warns.aspx and https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/27/first-tests-are-in-and-one-in-five-marijuana-samples-in-california-isnt-making-grade

(Beyond Pesticides, September 6, 2018) Red swamp crayfish have long been associated with Louisiana and Gulf Coast bayous, but the species has found new homes throughout the world over the last 70 years, and evidence is showing that their introduction may alter ecosystems in ways that increase mosquito populations and human disease risk.  In late August, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and Pepperdine University published new evidence in the journal Conservation Biology associating non-native crayfish in California streams with declines in dragonflies that would otherwise eat local mosquito populations. As mosquito species and disease vectors shift in response to a changing climate, influxes of non-native species and their impacts on ecosystems add another layer of complexity to communities aiming to manage mosquitoes and other vector-borne diseases.

Red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) are native to the U.S. Gulf Coast, but as a result of the aquarium pet trade, and their use as fish bait, have established opportunistic populations in wild ecosystems throughout the world – in every continent except Australia and Antarctica. In Southern California, researchers observed higher levels of mosquitoes in streams where the non-native crayfish have been found. To further understand the impact of this species on the native ecosystem, both laboratory and field studies were initiated.

Streams in Southern California were sampled, finding a strong correlation between the presence of crayfish and the number of mosquito and dragonfly nymphs, which are major predators of mosquito larvae. In streams where only dragonfly nymphs were found, no mosquito larvae were discovered. However, in steams that had crayfish present, both mosquito and dragonfly larvae were found.

Researchers then looked into whether the presence of crayfish was depressing the ability of dragonflies to hunt mosquito larvae. Laboratory tests found while dragonfly nymphs consumed roughly 70% of mosquito larvae provided when alone for a 60 minute period, when in the presence of crayfish, this number dropped to seven percent. Crayfish alone only consumed 12% of mosquito larvae provided, a fraction of what the dragonflies controlled.

In the lab, dragonflies were closely observed when they were put in tanks alongside crayfish. Researchers found that, rather than adjust their behavior based on the novel species, dragonfly nymphs exhibited what could be considered fear and confusion. Dragonflies were generally inactive when in the presence of red swamp crayfish, either hiding in the corner, or resting on crayfish claws or body.

The sum of this study points to significant concerns for disease management and ecosystem stability in Southern California streams and waterways. In the study, researchers either observed crayfish in a stream, or did not – there were no streams where crayfish were found at one location in the stream but not another. However, at each stream where crayfish had opportunistically colonized the area, there were higher levels of mosquito larvae, and lower levels of their main predator, the dragonfly nymph.

By depressing dragonfly predation, thereby increasing mosquito populations, non-native red swamp crayfish precipitated a trophic cascade that could lead to increased rates of human disease transmission. Beyond Pesticides recently covered pesticide-mediated trophic cascades in the Pesticides and You article Pesticide Use Harming Key Species Ripples through Ecosystem. In the case of California ecosystems, non-native crayfish are degrading the ecosystem, and causing stress much like the influx of a toxic pesticide.

However, while there are answers available that can readily replace toxic pesticide use and its ability to contaminate ecosystems through alternative practices and products, species removal is a much more difficult undertaking. But there are novel options being considered for this particular species. In Germany, for instance, the city of Berlin has recently licensed the wild catch of crayfish for restaurants.

Ultimately, this issue will need to be another consideration for mosquito managers as part of an integrated mosquito control framework. For instance, without natural dragonfly predators, streams that are found to contain crayfish should be made a priority target for use of a least-toxic larvacide like bacillus thuringiensis.

For more information on how to address mosquitoes and their diseases safely in your community and backyard, see Beyond Pesticides’ Mosquito Management homepage.

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

Source: National Geographic,  Conservation Biology

(Beyond Pesticides, September 5, 2018) Local Limits on Spraying Monsanto’s Toxic Weed Killer in Parks, Playgrounds, and Schoolyards. More than 50 city and county ordinances banning the use of the toxic weed killer glyphosate on local playgrounds, parks and schoolyards could be overturned by a provision championed by House Republicans in their version of the farm bill, a Beyond Pesticides and EWG analysis found.

A four-page provision tucked away in the 748-page farm bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June would likely preempt local governments from adopting their own pesticide regulations, including ordinances that prohibit the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, in parks and playgrounds.

Beyond Pesticides found that 58 local ordinances ban the use of glyphosate. Overall, 155 local ordinances that regulate the use of toxic chemicals in parks and playgrounds could be preempted by Sec. 9101 of the House’s farm bill.

Glyphosate is classified by the state of California as a chemical known to cause cancer, and as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Earlier this month, a San Francisco jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million to a school groundskeeper who said years of working with Roundup caused his terminal cancer.

The analysis comes just weeks after tests commissioned by EWG found potentially unsafe levels of glyphosate residues in popular oat-based foods marketed toward children, including Cheerios.

Cities and counties that may no longer be able to ban glyphosate in places where children play include big cities like San Francisco and smaller communities like Evanston, Ill., among many other locations.

“Children are especially susceptible to the health impacts of toxic pesticides, so our communities should be able to decide whether our kids are rolling around in weed killers linked to cancer while playing at the park,” said Scott Faber, EWG’s senior vice president of government affairs. “Section 9101 of the House farm bill would block our communities from keeping our kids safe.”

“As independent science continues to shine light on the dangers pesticides pose to human health and the environment, local communities are responding by successfully eliminating these toxic products from regular use,” said Drew Toher, Community Resource and Policy Director at Beyond Pesticides. “Congress must continue to uphold the right of these localities to restrict pesticides linked to cancer, water contamination and pollinator decline.”

The section of the farm bill that could block cities and counties from adopting their own pesticide safety standards is opposed by the National League of Cities and the National Association of County Officials. Last week, 107 members of the House sent a letter to the farm bill conferees outlining their opposition to pesticide riders like Section 9101 and the “Poison Our Waters Provision,” which would eliminate Clean Water Act safeguards to protect communities from pesticides sprayed directly into water supplies.

Among the companies and industry groups registered to lobby Congress on pesticide provisions of the farm bill is Bayer, which now owns Monsanto, Dow and CropLife America.

“Parents and city leaders, not pesticide corporations, should decide whether their kids are playing in pesticides,” Mr. Faber said.

“To protect the health of their residents and local environment, communities have successfully implemented policies that should not be prohibited by laws written in Washington, DC,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. “But, that’s what proposed language in the farm bill will do, by preempting local rights to restrict pesticides,” he continued.

To see all communities with existing pesticide restrictions that could be preempted by the House farm bill, click here.

TAKE ACTION:
If a Democratic Senator(s) represents you in the U.S. Senate, click here to let the Senator know that you want this provision preempting the rights of local governments kept out of the Farm Bill.

If your Democratic U.S. Representative is not on the letter from 105 members to the Farm Bill conference committee (click here to see letter), please reach out and tell them that you want them to sign-on the letter or write their own letter opposing preemption. Click here to find your Representative and then click on the envelope under his/her picture to send the following message: Please sign on to Rep. Donald McEachin’s letter to the Farm Bill conference committee, urging that Sec. 9101 in the GOP Farm Bill be rejected and the right of local governments to protect children’s and environmental health be preserved.

Contacts:
Jay Feldman, executive director, Beyond Pesticides,202-255-4296, [email protected]
Drew Toher, community resource and policy director, Beyond Pesticides, 202-543-5450, [email protected]
Alex Formuzis, Sr VP Communications and Strategic Campaigns, Environmental Working Group (EWG), 202-667-6982, [email protected]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 4, 2018) Close on the heels of the recent landmark California decision against Monsanto, maker of the glyphosate-based pesticide Roundup, Vietnam has demanded that the company pay damages to the many victims of its Agent Orange herbicide and defoliant, which Monsanto supplied to the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. (Monsanto was not the only U.S. manufacturer of the compound; there were nine in total.) U.S. forces, in a program dubbed Operation Ranch Hand, used more than 13 million gallons of the compound in Vietnam — nearly one-third of the 20 million gallons of all herbicides used during the war in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam alone, 4.5 million acres were impacted by Agent Orange.

Nguyen Phuong Tra, a spokesperson for Vietnam’s foreign ministry, said, “The [U.S.] verdict serves as a legal precedent which refutes previous claims that the herbicides made by Monsanto and other chemical corporations in the U.S. and provided for the U.S. army in the war are harmless. . . . Vietnam has suffered tremendous consequences from the war, especially with regard to the lasting and devastating effects of toxic chemicals, including Agent Orange.”

Around the world, the U.S. case may be sparking bolder actions on the toxic weed killer. In that watershed decision, the jury in San Francisco County Superior Court awarded Dewayne “Lee” Johnson $289 million in compensatory and punitive damages for his exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup (whose active ingredient is glyphosate) that caused his subsequent development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as for the corporation’s deliberate and protracted cover-ups to keep the risks of exposure to glyphosate hidden from the public and regulators.

Agent Orange got its moniker because of the color of the band around the 55-gallon drums in which the chemical was transported. Other herbicides used by U.S. forces in Vietnam were identified as Agents White, Blue, Purple, Pink, and Green. The Orange version — comprising 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, still widely used as a broadleaf herbicide) and 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) — was used to defoliate food crops and forest cover used by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops during the Vietnam War. The toxic compound was sprayed heavily on forested areas, farmland and rice paddies, waterways, and roads. Military members — numbering approximately 2.6 million — were not the only people potentially exposed; crops and water sources used by non-combatant South Vietnamese people were also affected.

The compound contained significant amounts of the synthetic contaminant dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), often called TCDD. Dioxins are highly toxic chemicals that persist for years in the environment (especially in soils, lake and river sediments, and the food chain), and accumulate in fatty tissues of animals. Dioxins are carcinogenic, toxic even at very low exposure levels, and responsible for both acute and long-term effects. They have been proven to cause not only cancer, but also, other grave health problems, such as birth defects, extreme rashes (chloracne and related conditions), and severe neurological and psychological issues. This has been true for both Vietnamese military and civilian people who were exposed, and for U.S. Vietnam-era service members. It should be noted that those in the military are not the only workers impacted by TCDD; workers in other sectors have registered health effects, including employees in pesticide manufacturing and transport facilities, farm and forestry operations, and pulp and paper mills.

Many Vietnam Era service members have long charged Agent Orange with responsibility for a host of maladies they suffered both in the field, and in the years after their return stateside. They began to link their exposures to Agent Orange with the myriad chronic health issues some were developing. In 1979, the first class action suit was brought against five manufacturers (with more added to the suit later on) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit was brought by the class comprising Vietnam veterans, and their spouses, parents, and children; it did not name the federal government as a third-party defendant. (A 1950 U.S. Supreme Court case gave rise to the Feres doctrine, which prevents claims against the federal government by armed forces members and their families for injuries arising from, or in the course of, activity incident to military service.) The outcome was a settlement in the form of a $180 million fund to be used to: (1) provide cash payments to totally disabled veterans and survivors of deceased veterans; (2) establish a class assistance foundation to help meet the medical, social, and legal service needs of members of the class; and (3) establish a trust fund for New Zealand and Australian class members. Because a settlement was made out of court, no determination of the causal relationship between Agent Orange exposure and veterans’ health outcomes was made.

Subsequently, beginning with the first claims the Veterans Administration (VA) received related to Agent Orange in 1977, veterans’ groups and other advocates have worked persistently to get recognition for the harms of Agent Orange to veterans — and in some cases, to their children — as well as coverage for medical needs and disability. It has been, no doubt, a maddening journey, with repeated delays in progress and glacially incremental expansion of coverages.

Any federal attempt to deal with coverage for exposed veterans started with the 1984 Congressional passage of Public Law 98-542, which “provide[d] compensation to Vietnam veterans for soft tissue sarcoma and require[d] the VA [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] to establish standards for Agent Orange and atomic radiation compensation” (which law the VA has been charged with largely ignoring). This was followed by a 1989 order, by a federal judge, that the VA reconsider 31,000 Vietnam Era vets’ claims related to health impacts of exposure, and the Agent Orange Act of 1991, which established that certain diseases tied to chemical exposure would be presumed related to a veteran’s military service and would make such veterans eligible for benefits.

This act really marked the beginning of at least passive acknowledgement, by the federal government, that its use of Agent Orange was causal of many health problems. The health issues covered by this “presumption policy” has grown over time to include: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft-tissue sarcoma, and chloracne (1991); multiple myeloma, respiratory cancers, Hodgkin’s disease, and porphyria cutanea tarda, a metabolic disease (1994); type II diabetes (2001); chronic lymphocytic leukemia (2003); AL amyloidosis (2009); chronic B-cell leukemias, Parkinson’s disease, and ischemic heart disease (2010); prostate cancer (2015); and peripheral neuropathy (2016). VetsHQ is an online veterans’ community that describes its mission as “helping ensure America’s commitments to veterans and their families are honored.” Its website provides many tools for vets, and a very useful timeline of significant events in the Agent Orange saga.

A 2018 update on coverage from the VA is available here. The agency reported in June of this year that its presumption policy — which sets out the diseases or syndromes that are assumed related to Agent Orange exposure — has resulted in increased utilization of VA healthcare benefits by veterans. The agency notes that a study by researchers from the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) at the VA New Jersey Healthcare System found that the “law passed by Congress nearly 30 years ago [the Agent Orange Act of 1991] has largely met its goal: helping affected Veterans get the care they need.”

Yet progress in veterans receiving the support they need has been interspersed with plenty of setbacks, including denials of claims, government statements of inconclusive causation, and delays or failures of potentially helpful legislation. For example, until 2015, military personnel who worked in, on, or around the C-123 — the aircraft that delivered Agent Orange in Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia during or after the Vietnam War — were deemed ineligible for medical care and disability coverage for their exposures. These contaminated transport aircraft were never decontaminated after their Southeast Asia service, and some were repurposed, back in the U.S., for basic transport operations, such as cargo shipping and medical evacuation missions.

The VA had declared that “dried residues” of Agent Orange in these C-123s were likely not harmful, but a 2014 study showed that people who worked on or around the C-123 were very likely to have been exposed to dioxin from those residues. Beyond Pesticides reported, in June 2015, that things were looking more hopeful, saying, “After years of denial and obstruction, Air Force and Air Force Reserve veterans now have the chance to receive compensation for their exposure to the highly toxic herbicide Agent Orange on contaminated aircraft used after the Vietnam War.” In that year, 1,500–2,100 service members did gain eligibility for coverage.

A further example of the difficulties veterans have had and continue to have: as Pro Publica reported in 2015, the 1991 Agent Orange Act made eligible for benefits veterans with certain diseases who “‘must have actually set foot on Vietnamese soil or served on a craft in its rivers (also known as “brown water veterans”),’ according to the Congressional Research Service. . . . Those who instead spent time on deep-water Navy ships (called ‘Blue Water Navy’ veterans) do not qualify unless they can show that they spent time on Vietnam land or rivers.” Now, in 2018, a U.S. House of Representatives bill (HR 299) that would extend Agent Orange disability benefits and health care to 70,000–90,000 veterans who served aboard ships in territorial waters off Vietnam during the war, passed the House unanimously, but is being opposed by the VA, which is urging the Senate to quash it.

Paul R. Lawrence, VA Undersecretary for Benefits, testified that “There’s still no credible scientific evidence to support extending Agent Orange-related benefits to shipboard personnel who never went ashore in Vietnam or patrolled its rivers. Without such evidence, he said, it would be wrong, and would create a disastrous precedent, to award VA benefits.” Although David Shulkin, the first VA secretary under the Trump administration, had said, one year into the job, “These veterans have waited too long and this is a responsibility that this country has. . . .  It is a high priority for us,” the scorching comment from Mr. Lawrence came days after the subsequent secretary, Robert Wilkie, assumed the secretary post.

Pro Publica offers a helpful guide to which groups are covered for Agent Orange–related issues, or are seeking coverage. Those groups include: those who served in Vietnam; Air Force personnel exposed to contaminated C-123 aircraft; Blue Water veterans; those who served in or near the Korean DMZ (demilitarized zone), 1968–1971; Air Force personnel who worked in Thailand, 1961–1975; and children of veterans. Currently, kids of Vietnam Era vets with spina bifida qualify for benefits, and children of female vets qualify if they suffer from 18 other various conditions. There may be coming research on potential epigenetic effects on children of veterans that could add others to the coverage list.

Halfway across the world, people in Vietnam are dealing with many of the same health, never mind environmental (such as persistence of dioxin in the food chain) issues. In 2012, as Beyond Pesticides reported, the U.S. launched its first major effort to address environmental contamination brought on by its use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War — after decades of denying Vietnamese requests for assistance in a cleanup. Five years later, PBS reported a mixed picture, and perhaps waning commitment, on keeping on top of that task, given costs. Whether Vietnam’s latest attempt to achieve some justice for its affected people bears future fruit — in what may, in light of the recent California award, be a changing landscape on corporate culpability for harms to human health — will be a development eagerly awaited by that country, and by advocates for policies on toxic chemicals that will actually protect people and our environments.

For more information about the legacy of Agent Orange, see Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide Induced Diseases Database.

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

Primary source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/vietnam-agent-orange-monsanto-victims-compensation-a8508271.html

(Beyond Pesticides, August 31, 2018) Given the choice to forage on untreated or pesticide-contaminated food sources, bees will increasingly choose the pesticide, according to research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B in late August. The data indicate that risks to pollinators grow, rather than wane, over time, making improved regulation over bee-toxic neonicotinoid pesticides even more climacteric. In essence, the study indicates that bees may be undertaking the human equivalent of chain-smoking themselves to death.

Authors of the study note that numerous studies have been performed that subject bees to neonicotinoid-treated food, however this research generally allows pollinators to only forage on contaminated sources. While this provides important information on hazard criteria, it does not indicate risk of exposure.

Positing the idea that pollinators may eventually seek to avoid neonicotinoid-contaminated nectar, researchers provided bumblebee colonies with a choice over the course of 10 days. At the start, the bees exhibited no discernable preference between toxic and nontoxic food. However, as time went on more and more bees fed from nectar laced with thiamethoxam, a widely used neonicotinoid. By the end of the experiment, food containing 2 parts per billion of the pesticide was eaten 10% more than in the beginning of the study. Researchers changed the location of the nectar sources throughout the experiment, but bumblebees still sought out the toxic food.

“Given a choice, naïve bees appear to avoid neonicotinoid-treated food,” said lead researcher Richard Gill, PhD. “However, as individual bees increasingly experience the treated food they develop a preference for it. Interestingly, neonicotinoids target nerve receptors in insects that are similar to receptors targeted by nicotine in mammals. Our findings that bumblebees acquire a taste for neonicotinoids ticks certain symptoms of addictive behaviour, which is intriguing given the addictive properties of nicotine on humans, although more research is needed to determine this in bees.”

Bees are choosing to seek out and ingest a chemical that has a range of effects on their long-term health and colony success. Neonicotinoids have been linked to altered feeding behaviors and reduced egg development in bumblebee queens, as well as the inhibition of pollination skills among bumblebee workers, the loss of bumblebees’ characteristic “buzz” pollination technique, and reductions in overall colony size.

Only one other similar study has been conducted, and it found similar results in both honey bees and bumblebees exposed to neonicotinoids. In addition to preferring the pesticide laced nectar, that study found that bees also eat less food overall while doing so.

While the European Union recently voted to extend and make permanent a moratorium on neonicotinoids in agriculture, and Canada has proposed a phase-out of the chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has effectively taken no significant steps to protect pollinator populations, making only very minor label changes to products that contain bee-killing pesticides. And no further actions have been taken within EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture since a 2016 Government Accountability Office report cited those agencies for insufficient steps to protect pollinators.

That is why pollinator advocates have looked to the state and local level for protections that other countries like Canada and the EU are currently implementing. Maryland and Connecticut have led the way, and while a similar effort in Massachusetts recently failed to garner unanimous support, campaigners are sure to redouble their efforts in the next session.

At the local level, dozens of pollinator policies have been passed in states throughout the country. However, many local laws are at risk in the farm bill, as a dangerous provision would allow the federal government to preempt local jurisdictions even if a state does not have a preemption law on the books. Beyond Pesticides is urging supporters to reach out to Congressional leadership in opposition to the inclusion of this anti-democratic provision in the final farm bill.

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

Source: Imperial College of London Press Release; Proceedings of the Royal Society B

(Beyond Pesticides, August 30, 2018) A plan announced earlier this month by Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue, to relocate one of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) top research office — the Economic Research Service — into the Office of the Secretary, a political branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is raising alarm from some scientists. Concerned researchers see the move as a way to cut funding to important projects around climate change and nutrition, among others.

The plan by the Trump administration to overhaul two federal offices overseeing food and agriculture research, the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and move them out of Washington by the end of 2019 is being cited by leading agricultural scientists and economists as a ploy to stifle important federal research. Further, no economic or other analysis has been provided to show that such a move would be beneficial.

The Trump administration has targeted ERS for severe funding cuts and says streamlining USDA’s operations would save taxpayer money and help the agency recruit and retain top staff, but the move will only serve to isolate the agency from key colleagues and resources concentrated in the capital. This can weaken ERS research by making it more difficult for agency economists to consult with other federal research offices, lawmakers, and federal policy groups. More troubling, is that relocating ERS to the Office of the Secretary could compromise and politicize federal research responsible for nonpartisan food and agricultural economic analysis; an issue the office’s current placement was designed to prevent.

In the August announcement, it noted that new locations have yet to be determined, and that ERS and NIFA may be co-located when their new homes are found. ERS and NIFA account for just over half of the $2.5 billion Congress budgeted for agricultural research in 2018. ERS employs 300 people in the D.C. region, according to the USDA. NIFA, which funds competitive research grants at U.S. universities, employs a D.C. staff of roughly 400.

ERS research covers a range of issues, studying trends and emerging issues in agriculture, food, the environment, and rural America from crop yields and food prices to farm conservation practices, rural employment, and nutrition assistance. Key reports serve those who make or influence public policy decisions around farm and food and include Congress, other federal agencies, and state and local governments. For instance, recent ERS findings have concluded that trade liberalization benefits U.S. farmers, despite the Trump administration contrary stance.

According to The New York Times, Scott Swinton, PhD, an agricultural economist at Michigan State and the former president of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, said the reorganization may be a pretext for gutting federal agricultural research. Many top economists and scientists will resign, he predicts, rather than leave the D.C. area.

“What really troubles me is that the administration proposed cutting the ERS budget by 48 percent and laying off half its staff six months ago,” Dr. Swinton said. “My fear is that now this plan will lead to a high number of resignations — and the administration will say, ‘Well, we don’t need as much money now,’ rather than build that capacity again.”

Sonny Ramaswamy, PhD, who served as NIFA’s administrator until his six-year term expired in May, said that the new Agriculture Secretary refused to allow him to fill open positions at NIFA, even as other departments added employees. At one point, Dr. Ramaswamy also met with congressional staff members to argue against proposed cuts to his department’s budget, although he says he remained on good terms with USDA’s political appointees.

“I don’t have an ax to grind here,” Dr. Ramaswamy said. “I’m just concerned that they’re taking this agency back decades at a time when we want them thinking about compelling scientific challenges.”

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

Source: New York Times

(Beyond Pesticides, August 29, 2018) As pesticides drain from agricultural fields, they can poison waterways and coastal areas and harm wildlife. Now, a study finds that a gene that helps terrestrial mammals break down certain toxic chemicals appears to be faulty in marine mammals — potentially leaving manatees, dolphins and other warm-blooded aquatic life more sensitive to toxic pesticides, especially organophosphates.

As marine mammals evolved to make water their primary habitat, they lost the ability to make a protein that has the effect of defending humans and other land-dwelling mammals from the neurotoxic effects of certain pesticides. The gene, PON1, carries instructions for making a protein that interacts with fatty acids ingested with food. But that protein has taken on another role in recent decades: breaking down toxic chemicals found in a popular class of pesticides – organophosphates. An inspection of the genetic instructions of 53 land mammal species in the study, “Ancient convergent losses of Paraoxonase 1 yield potential risks for modern marine mammals,” found the gene intact. But in six marine mammal species, Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) was riddled with mutations that made it useless. The gene became defunct about 64 million to 21 million years ago, possibly due to dietary or behavioral changes related to marine mammal ancestors’ move from land to sea, the researchers say. However, PON1 is the primary mammalian defense against organophosphorus toxicity. Marine mammals may be at a great disadvantage if run-off of these agricultural products into the marine environment continues.

Further, the researchers also gauged the rate at which two organophosphate chemicals — chlorpyrifos-oxon and diazoxon — broke down in blood samples from five land mammal species and six marine or semiaquatic mammal species. While blood from the terrestrial species, including sheep, goats, and ferrets show a decrease in toxic molecules over time, the marine species’ blood show almost no change. Mice genetically engineered to lack the gene could not break down the chemicals either.

“The big question is, why did they lose function at PON1 in the first place?” said lead author Wynn K. Meyer, Ph.D. “It’s hard to tell whether it was no longer necessary or whether it was preventing them from adapting to a marine environment. We know that ancient marine environments didn’t have organophosphate pesticides, so we think the loss might instead be related to PON1’s role in responding to the extreme oxidative stress generated by long periods of diving and rapid resurfacing. If we can figure out why these species don’t have functional PON1, we might learn more about the function of PON1 in human health, while also uncovering potential clues to help protect marine mammals most at risk.”

The implications of this discovery lead these researchers to call for monitoring our waterways to learn more about the impact of pesticides and agricultural run-off on marine mammals. Current real-world consequences of losing function at PON1, the researchers explain in their study, are, like in Florida, where “agricultural use of organophosphate pesticides is common and runoff can drain into manatee habitats. In Brevard County, where 70 percent of Atlantic Coast manatees are estimated to migrate or seasonally reside, agricultural lands frequently abut manatee protection zones and waterways.”

The researchers believe the next step is to launch a study that directly observes marine mammals during and shortly after periods of excess agricultural organophosphate run-off. Such a project would require increased monitoring of marine mammal habitats, as well as testing of tissues from deceased marine mammals for evidence of organophosphate exposure.

“Marine mammals, such as manatees or bottlenose dolphins, are sentinel species — the canary in the coal mine,” said senior author Nathan L. Clark, Ph.D., associate professor in Pitt’s Department of Computational and Systems Biology, and the Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine. “If you follow their health, it will tell you a lot about potential environmental issues that could eventually affect humans.”

See Beyond Pesticides’ webpage Impact of Pesticides on Wildlife.

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

For more information on the impacts of pesticides on marine and other wildlife, visit our Wildlife page

Source: ScienceNews

(Beyond Pesticides, August 28, 2018) Reinforcing findings of glyphosate residues in numerous food products, high levels of the herbicide is found in Cheerios and other popular oat-based food products, according to a study conducted by Environmental Working Group (EWG). The news comes at a time of increased public attention to the weed killer, following a landmark court case that resulted in a $289 million verdict for a school groundskeeper who presented evidence that regular glyphosate use caused him to develop cancer. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, has been found in popular foods, as the prior research has found similar results, and the chemical has also been detected in “100% pure” honey, Doritos, Oreos, Goldfish, Ritz Crackers, German beers, California wines, and UK bread. Glyphosate has been ranked as potentially cancer causing in humans and adversely affects the human gut microbiome.

EWG tested 45 different conventionally grown oat products, and 16 organic items. Results found glyphosate in nearly every conventional product, 43 out of 45, and 5 of the 16 organic products. However, conventional products generally contained much higher levels of glyphosate than those which were organic certified (typically caused by chemical drift from neighboring chemical-intensive farms and environmental contamination). Allowed levels of glyphosate on foods vary by product, however EWG indicates that ingesting amounts higher than 160 parts per billion each day is likely to lead to a 1 in 1,000,000 risk of cancer. While no organic foods hit that benchmark, 31 conventional foods did.

The highest residue levels were found in Quaker Old Fashioned Oats at over 1,000 ppb. Cheerios also contained levels near 500 ppb. Although the detections in organic food are concerning, they represent the impact of the widespread use of glyphosate in agriculture. Nature’s Path, an organic brand that had foods with low levels of glyphosate, told EWG of the detection, “While this news may come as disappointing, it is not entirely surprising. Glyphosate use has skyrocketed in the past decade, and it maintains the ability to adhere to water and soil particles long enough to travel through the air or in a stream to nearby organic farms.”

While the Food and Drug Administration has conducted internal testing for glyphosate, results have not been formally released to the public, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cancelled further testing in March of last year.

The ubiquitous presence of glyphosate in our food and environment, coupled with growing evidence of its harm, underlines the urgent need to move away from the toxic agricultural system the herbicide perpetuates. Rather than approve new cropping systems that employ glyphosate and other older, hazardous pesticides, leading to widespread weed resistance, federal agencies should encourage the promotion of organic farming systems that never use glyphosate or other toxic synthetic pesticides in their growing practices.

You can help reduce glyphosate in the environment by avoiding conventional products, and opting for organic whenever possible. Take further action by getting involved in this issue at the community level, where you can work towards policies that restrict not only glyphosate, but a full range of toxic synthetic pesticides. Take action today by telling your local leaders to take a precautionary approach to pesticide use.

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

Source: Environmental Working Group

(Beyond Pesticides, August 27, 2018) Beyond the visual and audial charms of some bird species, insect-eating birds play a significant role in controlling pests that can ruin crops or ravage forests. A meta-study by Martin Nyffeler, Ph.D. of the University of Basel in Switzerland finds that globally, birds annually consume 400-plus million metric tons of various insects, including moths, aphids, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and other arthropods (invertebrate organisms with exoskeletons, paired and jointed appendages, and segmented bodies, such as insects, crustaceans, and spiders). This research reviews 103 studies that examine the volume of insects consumed by various birds in seven of the world’s major biomes.

In consuming such volumes of insects that can inflict damage on crops, trees, and other plants on which organisms may feed or otherwise depend, birds provide significant services to ecosystems, to denizens of habitats, and to human food system and economic interests; they also keep local ecosystems in balance. Threats to birds — and thus, to those ecosystem services — include those from pesticide use.

Of the 10,700 known bird species distributed across the planet, more than 6,000 are primarily insectivorous. The study indicates that forest-dwelling birds consume the majority of insects (approximately 300 million metric tons), and the balance (100 million metric tons) is devoured by birds living in crop- and grasslands, savannas, deserts, and Arctic tundra. Birds are especially interested in insects during breeding seasons, when they seek protein-rich food for their hatchlings.

Dr. Nyffeler comments, “The estimates presented in this paper emphasize the ecological and economic importance of insectivorous birds in suppressing potentially harmful insect pests on a global scale — especially in forested areas,” noting that this is especially so for tropical, temperate, and boreal forest ecosystems. He adds, “Only a few other predator groups such as spiders and entomophagous insects (including in particular predacious ants) can keep up with the insectivorous birds in their capacity to suppress plant-eating insect populations on a global scale.” In a previous study, he found that spiders eat 400–800 million tons of insects each year.

Birds’ role in protecting vulnerable and valuable plant life, as well as other features of ecosystems, deserves greater understanding and appreciation. Given that birds themselves are vulnerable to a multitude of threats, such understanding is urgent. As Dr. Nyffeler notes, “Birds are an endangered class of animals because they are heavily threatened by factors such as afforestation, intensification of agriculture, spread of systemic pesticides, predation by domestic cats, collisions with man-made structures, light pollution and climate change. If these global threats cannot soon be resolved, we must fear that the vital ecosystem services that birds provide — such as the suppression of insect pests — will be lost.”

Rachel Carson began to warn us, in 1962, that pesticides were a distinct threat to bird populations. She famously wrote, in her groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, that pesticides were causing “the sudden silencing of the song of birds.” A litany of bird die-off events is only the anecdotal tip of the iceberg. Indeed, the Defenders of Wildlife white paper report, The Dangers of Pesticides to Wildlife, notes that, “Some scientists have likened bird deaths from pesticides to an iceberg: those that are actually found and analyzed and whose deaths can be attributed represent the tip of the iceberg. The base of the pyramid represents the majority of pesticide related bird deaths that go undetected.” Just two of those were: a 2014 mass die-off of 700 birds in New South Wales, Australia from use of the pesticide fenthion, which was implicated in a number of bird kills in the Florida, California, Louisiana, and Massachusetts; and in 2016 in Maryland, the deaths of 13 bald eagles after they ingested the highly toxic pesticide, carbofuran.

Pesticides threaten birds through a number of vectors: direct ingestion of pesticide granules that birds pick up while searching for seeds, consumption of insects that have been killed by pesticides, and ingestion of pesticide-treated seeds, among other routes. The nature of the impacts on birds is likewise varied, depending on the particular pesticide’s toxicity, its persistence in the environment, amounts of pesticide applied, any synergy with other pesticides present, delivery method and location, general ecosystem impacts, and whether the particular compound concentrates through the food chain. Effects of pesticides on birds include: starvation; endocrine disruption and dysfunction; nervous system toxicity; and behavioral changes that imperil survival and/or successful reproduction.

Bird populations are in decline in the U.S. (especially among grassland species). A 2013 study found that the best predictor of bird declines is the risk from pesticide use, to which birds are especially vulnerable. Neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) appear to be a particular culprit in birds’ slumping numbers. The American Bird Conservancy issued a report in 2013, titled The Impact of the Nation’s Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds, that sets out the risks to birds of neonicotinoids, the most-common toxic pesticides in use in the U.S.

A Defenders of Wildlife report notes, “Many experts believe birds are amongst the most vulnerable species when it comes to pesticide exposure and serve as sentinels of the quality of the environment. One reason they are most susceptible is that they are very mobile and difficult to exclude from areas that have been treated with pesticides and there is little that can be done to prevent them from landing in areas that have recently been treated. Their susceptibility relates to their high rates of ventilation and inhalation of vapor and fine droplets, which makes them at risk from pesticides that are sprayed. They also ingest pesticides through their food and by preening and grooming and by absorbing them through their skin and their feet.”

Bird populations are affected by pesticides indirectly, as well as directly. A 2014 Dutch study linked the use of a neonicotinoid pesticide — imidacloprid — to reductions in localized bird populations; the mechanism was the significant reduction of populations of the insects on which they feed, such as beetles, mosquitoes, moths, aphids, and others. Pushback from industry on that study’s results were contravened by a report from the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides, which analyzed the findings of more than 800 peer-reviewed publications on the impacts of systemic pesticides: “The report emphasizes that neonicotinoids and their metabolites are persistent and harmful, even at very low levels, and that the chemicals have far-reaching impacts on entire ecosystems, from direct exposure to persistence in soil and water. Bees, butterflies, worms, and other pollinators and non-target organisms are also put at risk. Scientists concluded that even when neonicotinoids were used according to guidelines on their labels, the chemicals’ levels in the environment still frequently exceeded the lowest levels known to be harmful to a wide range of species.”

In the summer of 2018, new research pointed to an alarming ubiquity of neonicotinoids once released into the environment. The study, by a group from the University of Guelph, Ontario points to the wide effects of neonics on wildlife. The team found that 25% of their sample of wild turkeys had residue of the pesticide in their livers. Turkeys in agricultural areas, as the studied turkeys were, tend to eat seeds from farmers’ fields; those can easily be neonic-treated seeds. In addition, they may consume insects that have been contaminated with the pesticide; and when predators chow down on those turkeys, the residue of the pesticide moves up the food chain.

Evidence continues to emerge that such contamination of one aspect of an ecosystem can ripple throughout the system and portend other dynamics harmful to the balanced functioning of the system. Such ripples are an example of what’s known as a “trophic cascade” — a series of indirect ecosystem effects set off by a change in the status or abundance of a predator or prey organism. For example, decline in a bird population due to one or more factors (pesticides, habitat loss, et al.) might lead to: overgrowth of populations of prey insects on which the birds typically feed; greater destruction of plants (whether trees or agricultural crops) by those insects; increases in other populations that feed on the same insects (e.g., bats) and/or on the damaged plants — essentially, a destabilization of the equilibrium and well-being of the ecosystem.

Beyond Pesticides continues to work to raise awareness about the dangers to wildlife and the wider environment that pesticides pose. Learn more about what you can do in your community to protect pollinators and other species impacted by pesticides, and by neonicotinoids, in particular, via the short video, “Seeds that Poison.” More broadly, organic solutions to pest management and land management are the best ways to protect bird and non-target wildlife populations. On the home front, there are alternatives to toxic neonics. Commercially, we can manage land used for food production without the use of toxic pesticides by moving to organic practices, which forgo pesticide use in favor of cultural practices that improve soil health and enhance natural ecosystem processes. For more information on organic land management see the recent article in Pesticides and You titled “Thinking Holistically When Making Land Management Decisions.”

Source: https://www.springer.com/gp/about-springer/media/research-news/all-english-research-news/birds-eat-400-to-500-million-tonnes-of-insects-annually-/15910278

(Beyond Pesticides, August 24, 2018)  We must stop the adoption of a law that will prevent local communities from restricting pesticides. Request that Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi lead the effort to protect a basic principle of local democratic decision making, especially in light of inadequate federal environmental and health protections.

As a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, Rep. Pelosi can stop this provision, which was unanimously rejected by Democrats in the House and is not in the Senate Farm Bill.

Tell Nancy Pelosi to stand up for democracy, public health, and environmental protection in the Farm Bill!

In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.2 (the Farm Bill) with a provision that prohibits local governments from restricting pesticide use on private property within their jurisdictions. Existing local laws in two states, Maine and Maryland, will be overturned with final passage of this law. In those 43 states that forbid local pesticide laws by state law, future reconsideration of such state prohibitions would be foreclosed —a squelching of local authority pushed by the chemical and pest management industries. The fight to defend the authority of local governments to protect people and the environment has been ongoing for decades, reaching the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991. In response to the Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin Pub. Intervenor v. Mortier, which found in favor of localities’ authority, the pesticide lobby immediately formed the “Coalition for Sensible Pesticide Policy,” and developed boilerplate legislative language to restrict local municipalities from passing ordinances on the use of pesticides on private property. The coalition’s lobbyists descended on states across the country, seeking, and in most cases obtaining, pre-emption legislation whose text was often identical to the coalition’s. Since the passage of those state laws, there have been numerous efforts to pre-empt local authority in states that do not prohibit local action on pesticides. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an industry-backed group, appeared to be behind a failed effort during the last two years to pre-empt local authority in the Maine state legislature.

In addition to the pre-emption language, the House Farm Bill contains other provisions that weaken protections against pesticides. The bill would:

• Exempt the use of pesticides from the Endangered Species Act, effectively dooming hundreds of endangered species to extinction, and making it legal to kill any endangered species with a pesticide at almost any time;
• Eliminate litigation as a remedy when pesticide decisions threaten endangered species;
• Eliminate all protections under the Clean Water Act when toxic pesticides are sprayed directly into rivers and streams;
• Enact the “Pesticide Registration Improvement Act,” providing long-term funding to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for expedited processing of pesticide approvals, without accompanying measures to ensure that farmworkers and other pesticide applicators are safe;
• Weaken restrictions on the use of the highly toxic ozone deplete, methyl bromide; and
• Provide state pesticide regulatory agencies a secret chance to slow or effectively veto EPA pesticide protections before they are proposed.

Tell Nancy Pelosi to stand up for democracy, public health, and environmental protection in the Farm Bill!

Letter to Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

To protect people from the threats of pesticides, your leadership is urgently needed in your capacity as a conferee on the Farm Bill Conference Committee. In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.2 (the Farm Bill) with a provision that prohibits local governments from restricting pesticide use on private property within their jurisdictions. We need you to stand up for democracy, public health, and environmental protection in the Farm Bill Conference Committee –and lead the members of the Conference Committee and the Democratic Party on this critical issue.

Existing local laws in two states, Maine and Maryland, will be overturned with final passage of this law. In those 43 states that forbid local pesticide laws by state law, future reconsideration of such state prohibitions would be foreclosed —squelching local authority.

 The fight to defend the authority of local governments to protect people and the environment has been ongoing for decades, reaching the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991. In response to the Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin Pub. Intervenor v. Mortier, which found in favor of localities’ authority, the pesticide lobby immediately formed the “Coalition for Sensible Pesticide Policy,” and developed boilerplate legislative language to restrict local municipalities from passing ordinances on the use of pesticides on private property. The coalition’s lobbyists descended on states across the country, seeking, and in most cases obtaining, pre-emption legislation whose text was often identical to the coalition’s. Since the passage of those state laws, there have been numerous efforts to pre-empt local authority in states that do not prohibit local action on pesticides. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an industry-backed group, appeared to be behind a failed effort during the last two years to pre-empt local authority in the Maine state legislature.

 I ask you to take a public stand and leadership role on features of the Farm Bill that undercut the authority of states to allow its political subdivisions to restrict pesticides on all land within their jurisdictions. Please ask the Democratic members of the Conference Committee to commit to opposing any provision in the Farm Bill pre-empting state and local authority to restrict pesticide use within their jurisdictions.

 In addition to the pre-emption language, the House Farm Bill contains other provisions that weaken protections against pesticides and must be opposed. These include:

 Exempting the use of pesticides from the Endangered Species Act, effectively dooming hundreds of endangered species to extinction, and making it legal to kill any endangered species with a pesticide at almost any time;

• Eliminating litigation as a remedy when pesticide decisions threaten endangered species;
• Eliminating all protections under the Clean Water Act when toxic pesticides are sprayed directly into rivers and streams;
• Enacting the “Pesticide Registration Improvement Act,” providing long-term funding to EPA for expedited processing of pesticide approvals, without accompanying measures to ensure that farmworkers and other pesticide applicators are safe;
• Weakening restrictions on the use of the highly toxic ozone deplete, methyl bromide; and
• Providing state pesticide regulatory agencies a secret chance to slow or effectively veto EPA pesticide protections before they are proposed.

 Again, please ask the Democratic members of the Conference Committee to commit to opposing any provision in the Farm Bill that pre-empts state and local authority to restrict pesticide use within their jurisdictions. Ask them to oppose the above provisions that weaken protections against pesticides. We ask that you issue a public statement on this matter in your leadership capacity and as a Farm Bill conferee.

 Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.

 Sincerely,

(Beyond Pesticides, August 23, 2018) Three nonprofit groups today jointly announced that they have resolved a consumer-protection action filed by the groups against General Mills on August 24, 2016, concerning General Mills’ labeling of its Nature Valley Granola Bars as “Made with 100% Natural Whole Grain Oats.” See a copy of the Complaint.

The parties, which were represented by Brooklyn, N.Y- and Washington, D.C-based Richman Law Group, were able to resolve the claims without going to trial. At a time specified by the agreement, packaging for General Mills Nature Valley Granola bars will no longer bear the term “100% Natural Whole Grain Oats.”

Beyond Pesticides is a national grassroots non-profit organization headquartered in the District of Columbia that works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. For more information, see www.beyondpesticides.org. 

Moms Across America is 501(c)3 non profit and a national coalition of unstoppable moms raising awareness about GMOs and toxins in our food and environment. Their motto is “Empowered Moms, Healthy Kids.” Visit www.momsacrossamerica.org.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action. Visit: https://www.organicconsumers.org/.

Richman Law Group is a collective of lawyers specializing in impact litigation to repair the world. Richman Law Group was founded on the idea that what cannot be achieved by way of legislation can sometimes be achieved by way of litigation. This tight-knit cadre of tenacious and diverse professionals is dedicated to fighting for the rights of its clients, and through them, the needs of the community at large. For more information, please visit www.richmanlawgroup.com.

Contacts:
Beyond Pesticides, Jay Feldman, 202-543-5450; https://www.beyondpesticides.org
Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul, 207-653-3090
Moms Across America, Zen Honeycutt, 949-525-1237

(Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2018) Mothers with high levels of DDT’s major metabolite, DDE, are more likely to have their children diagnosed with autism, according to a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry this month. Though this study links autism to long-banned DDT, it raises significant concerns about legacy contamination from this chemical, which remains ubiquitous in the environment and in human bodies. With an increasing number of studies linking autism and other developmental disabilities to pesticides, the need to transition to safer, organic methods of farming is now more important than ever before.

The study, Association of Maternal Insecticide Levels With Autism in Offspring From a National Birth Cohort, measured maternal serum levels of Finish women during early pregnancy whose children were born between 1987 and 2005. Specimens were analyzed for DDE as well as PCB contamination. Mothers with DDE at the highest 75% threshold reportedly had a 132% (1.32x odds ratio) increased risk of having a children diagnosed with autism after adjusting for confounders such as age and history of psychiatric disorders. Moms above the 75^th percentile had their chances of a child’s autism diagnosis increase by 221% (2.21x odds ratio). The study found no connection between PCBs and risk of autism, however.

This is not the first study linking organochlorine pesticides like DDT/DDE to autism spectrum disorders. A 2016 study looking at children born to mothers in Southern California between 2000 and 2003 identified those with organochlorine contamination in the highest 25% having an 80% increased risk of autism.

And while DDT/DDE is what the current research focuses on, there is growing evidence that pesticides still on the market play a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders. A 2014 study published by the CHARGE (Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment) project at University of California, Davis found that living near a field where synthetic pyrethroid insecticides were applied during a woman’s third trimester increased the risk of that woman having a child with autism by 87%. Another study published in 2017 found that communities that aerially sprayed synthetic pyrethroids for mosquito control were 37% more likely to have higher rates of childhood developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders than communities that did not have aerial spray programs.

While pesticides may ultimately be only one piece of the puzzle in determining exact causes of autism spectrum disorders, the available science provides reason to take a precautionary approach to the continued use and introduction of toxic synthetic pesticides in the environment. Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide Induced Diseases Database lists over 150 studies linking pesticides to learning and developmental disorders, with one third of these evaluating connections to autism.

We can eliminate the use of toxic pesticides in producing our food, managing of public spaces, and controling invasive species. Organic food production and land management employs least-toxic pesticides only as a last resort, and represents one of the needed paths forward in building a future free of concern about the health impacts of of environmental chemical exposure.

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

Source: American Journal of Psychiatry

Pesticide plant Crosby, TX flooded during Harvey and 50,000 pounds of chemical exploded and caught fire.

(Beyond Pesticides, August 21, 2018) Please comment by Thursday, August 23, midnight. The Trump Administration is proposing to weaken or repeal virtually all of the modest improvements to the Risk Management Plan (RMP) adopted in January 2017. While this proposal has broad implications for communities near pesticide manufacturing plants, according to Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, “EPA itself admits that the proposed rollback will disproportionately endanger communities of color and low-income communities. . .”

“EPA concludes that there is evidence that risks from RMP facilities fall on minority and low-income populations, to a significantly greater degree than those risks affect other populations. Therefore, EPA believes that this action may have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority populations, low-income populations and/or indigenous peoples, as specified in Executive Order 12898 [Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations].” (EPA, Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act, 83 FR 24881, 40 CFR Part 68 [EPA–HQ–OEM–2015–0725; FRL–9975–20– OLEM], RIN 2050–AG95.)

Tell the Trump Administration to reject the proposal to rollback disaster prevention plans for chemical plant accidents (see suggested comment below)

As has become more evident with the experience after many storms in recent memory —Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Irene (2011), Isaac (2012), Sandy (2012), and Harvey, Irma, José, and Maria (all in 2017)— a significant threat to human health accompanies such events. Processing and storage facilities for petroleum products, pesticides, and other chemicals can be compromised by floodwaters, resulting in explosions and fires at damaged chemical facilities that can add airborne contaminant exposure, in addition to the release of toxicants into waters and soil.

If pesticides, petroleum derivatives, and other chemicals cannot be safeguarded at the point of production in the event of increasingly strong storms and other potential natural disasters, federal and state agencies must accommodate for these events in the risk calculations that inform the regulation of these compounds’ storage, use, and emergency mitigation. Current regulations are weak at best and must be improved and strengthened.

Tell the Trump Administration to reject the proposal to rollback disaster prevention plans for chemical plant accidents (see suggested comment below)

Suggested comment:

The proposed Risk Management Plan (RMP) Amendments reduce protections from chemical plant accidents with disproportionate impact on people of color and low-income communities. The rollback, if adopted, will directly subvert the goals and commitments of Executive Order 12898 [Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations]. As stated by the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform,

• Rather than serving to “improve on-the-ground results for overburdened communities through reduced impacts,” the action will increase hazards and impacts in these communities, as documented in EPA’s Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the action;

• Instead of “institutionaliz(ing) environmental justice [EJ] integration in EPA decision-making,” the action will proceed without addressing EJ issues or providing for meaningful involvement of affected communities;
• Rather than strengthening the agency’s ability “to take action on environmental justice and cumulative impacts,” the action will eliminate regulatory elements and tools that would have helped address these impacts;
• Instead of “deepen(ing) environmental justice practice within EPA programs to improve the health and environment of overburdened communities,” the action will ignore EJ consideration requirements and worsened the health and environment of EJ communities by the agency’s own hand;
• Rather than “work(ing) with partners to expand our positive impact within overburdened communities,” the action will create negative impacts and has been developed while the agency refuses to respond to EJ community requests for meaningful involvement.

We urge you to reject the proposed changes to the RMP. Thank you for your consideration of my comments.

Sincerely,

———-

Note on posting in Regulations.gov –the method federal agencies use to collect public comments. These types of action are not “one-click” because the federal government only receives your comment through the regulations.gov webpage. That is why we are providing language that you can cut-and-paste onto the federal government’s regulations.gov webpage. Signing your name to a petition is not as effective as your individual comments cut-and-pasted on the regulations.gov webpage.

Not sure how to do this? Follow these simple steps:

1. Select the text you want (use the suggested text above). Place your cursor before the first word in the text, then press and hold down the left mouse button and, without releasing the button, move the cursor to the end of the comments).
2. Copy the selected text by selecting the Ctrl and C keys simultaneously.
3. Click on this link to open a new tab and in that tab, place your cursor in the “Comments” box.
4. Paste the comments you copied by selecting the Ctrl and V keys simultaneously.
5. Personalize your comments before entering your contact information and selecting “Continue.”

Thank you for taking action!

(Beyond Pesticides, August, 20, 2018) Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has announced a plan to phase out the outdoor use of two neonicotinoid insecticides — thiamethoxam and clothianidin — over three to five years, due to concerns about their effects on aquatic invertebrates. This comes after their 2016 proposal to phase out another neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, for the same concerns, but the proposal has not been finalized. In April, the European Union (EU) voted to ban the most widely used neonicotinoids, citing risks to bees.

Earlier this year, PMRA proposed to phase out a number of uses of neonicotinoids in order to mitigate risks to pollinators. And now, after the Canadian agency initiated a special review based on a preliminary analysis of available information on the concentrations and frequency of detection of clothianidin in aquatic environment, the agency has proposed another round of phase-outs. The agency’s review focused on assessing potential risk to aquatic invertebrates exposed to clothianidin applied as a seed, foliar or soil treatment. The assessment finds that, in aquatic environments in Canada, clothianidin and thiamethoxam are both being measured at concentrations that are harmful to aquatic insects. These insects, according to the agency, are an important part of the ecosystem, including as a food source for fish, birds and other animals. The agency goes on the state further, “Based on currently available information, most outdoor uses in Canada are not sustainable.”

For instance, clothianidin uses on corn and soybean (seed treatment), potatoes, vegetables, and orchards and vineyards (foliar spray) led to frequent exceedances to the chronic level of concern for freshwater invertebrates. As a result, PMRA proposing to cancel all outdoor uses of clothianidin and thiamethoxam on food and feed crops, including seed treatments, and on turf. This will occur over a three to five-year timeframe. The agency will also “consider alternate risk management proposals, provided that they can achieve acceptable levels in the environment within the same timeframe.”

Canadian beekeepers have reported significant losses since neonicotinoids were given conditional registration by PMRA. Despite growing complaints, PMRA continued to renew conditional registrations. This new decision, along with the 2016 proposed decision on imidicloprid, brings Canada in line with the European Union which banned the pesticides in April this year after a moratorium on their use since 2013

The proposed special review decision is open for public consultation for 90 days.

PMRA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collaborate on their pollinator assessments, which are based on the jointly developed harmonized Guidance for Assessing Pesticide Risks to Bees. In 2016, PMRA released its aquatic assessment of imidacloprid which found that the pesticide was building up in the surface and groundwater water and causing widespread death among aquatic insects. Its interim recommendation then was to ban imidacloprid from most agricultural and outdoor uses entirely, however, a final decision has been delayed. EPA’s assessment of imidacloprid also found high risks to aquatic insects. Earlier this year, EPA ended its public comment period for the ecological impacts of the neonicotinoids, with the separate pollinator assessments released last year. EPA’s risk assessments find deadly impacts to birds from neonicotinoid-treated seeds, poisoned insect prey, and contaminated grasses. However, EPA has not indicated whether it will restrict or ban the use of these chemicals.

In April 2018, European Union (EU) member states backed a proposal to further restrict uses of bee-toxic neonicotinoids finding the pesticides’ outdoor uses harm bees. These restrictions go beyond those already put in place in 2013, and now all outdoor uses of clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam will be banned. According to the European Commission, the protection of bees is an important issue since it concerns biodiversity, food production, and the environment.

Researchers have found that tiny amounts of neonicotinoids are enough to cause migrating songbirds to lose their sense of direction. A recent study by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers found neonicotinoids widespread in the Great Lakes at levels that harm aquatic insects, and potentially the aquatic food web—the foundation of healthy aquatic ecosystems. The Beyond Pesticides report Poisoned Waterways documents the persistence of neonicotinoids in U.S. waterbodies and the danger they cause to aquatic organisms, resulting in complex cascading impacts on the aquatic food web. The report also highlights current regulatory failures of EPA aquatic standards, which continue to underestimate risks to sensitive species, due to a reliance on test protocols that do not reflect real-world exposures or susceptibilities.

The loss of bees represents a significant issue for food sources since about one-third of food crops require pollinators for production.  Numerous scientific studies implicate neonicotinoid pesticides as key contributors to the global decline of pollinator populations. EPA’s own scientists have found that neonicotinoids pose far-reaching risks not only to bees but to birds and aquatic invertebrates.

Previous studies have indeed found neonicotinoids to be associated with altered feeding behaviors and reduced egg development in bumblebee queens, as well as the inhibition of pollination skills among bumblebee workers, the loss of bumblebees’ characteristic “buzz” pollination technique, and reductions in overall colony size.

Given the historic move in Europe, and this proposal in Canada. U.S. regulators must also take action to protect sensitive species from toxic neonicotinoids. Help push EPA to take substantive action on neonicotinoids by urging your U.S. Representative to support the Saving America’s Pollinators Act. With managed honey bee losses remaining at unsustainable levels and many wild pollinators at risk of extinction, for the future of food and our environment, it is urgent that the U.S. finally protect pollinators.

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

Source: The Star; Health Canada

(Beyond Pesticides, August 17) Please comment by the deadline of Monday, August 20, 2018, 11:59 pm EDT. The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has announced plans to weaken one of our country’s bedrock environmental laws, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA provides a foundation for environmental law in the U.S., and requires a precautionary approach that is stronger than other laws. NEPA requires the government to investigate and publish results concerning all alternatives –including a “no action” alternative of major federal actions.

While the NEPA regulations can be improved, the current administration has been dismantling environmental protection programs. We do not believe that this is the time to open up NEPA regulations, given the importance of this program. Tell the Trump Administration to enforce current CEQ regulations –during this period when we are seeing serious degradation of the environment with the loss of species 100 to 1000 times the normal rate, tropical diseases advancing into temperate regions in step with global climate change, and elevated environmentally induced diseases, such as cancer, asthma, and autism.

The American Bird Conservancy and other organizations are submitting detailed comments, which can be viewed here for more background.

CEQ is accepting comments through Regulations.gov. For quick copy and paste, use the text below to comment at Regulations.gov. Add a personal message at the beginning about why this is important to you, if possible.

Suggested comments:

CEQ’s regulations provide a well-crafted, comprehensive framework for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA. The regulations have stood the test of time well. Rather than contemplating a rewrite of the regulations, we urge that CEQ invest its modest resources, and most importantly, its leadership position, in a systematic initiative to enforce them. Changes to the regulations will not result in improvements unless federal agencies have the organizational structure and resources that facilitate their implementation. The single most important key to efficiency and effectiveness is having competent, trained, and adequate staff in agencies to implement the regulations. The existing regulations already address many of the questions raised by CEQ in regard to reducing paperwork and delay. What is lacking is the capacity and will to fully implement the regulations.

CEQ has an essential leadership role in ensuring that agencies receive the appropriate direction and resources. As the agency with NEPA oversight responsibility, CEQ should lead an effort to identify the real-world obstacles to implementing those provisions and ensure that the goals of inclusive analyses and informed decision making are met. Only after undertaking such an effort should CEQ consider whether any regulatory revisions are warranted.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,

Note on posting in Regulations.gov –the method federal agencies use to collect public comments/

Not sure how to do this? Follow these simple steps:

1. Select the text you want in the suggested comments above (place your cursor before the first word in the text, then press and hold down the left mouse button and, without releasing the button, move the cursor to the end of the comments).
2. Copy the selected text by selecting the Ctrl and C keys simultaneously.
3. Click on this link to open a new tab and in that tab, place your cursor in the “Comments” box.
4. Paste the comments you copied by selecting the Ctrl and V keys simultaneously.
5. Personalize your comments before entering your contact information and selecting “Continue”.

Thank you for taking action!