(Beyond Pesticides, January 14, 2010) Stating that current water-quality criteria does not reflect the latest scientific knowledge, The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish new water-quality criteria for numerous endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) under the Clean Water Act. If adopted, it will be a big step in regulating and eliminating persistent and widespread chemicals that damage reproductive functions in wildlife and humans. The Center for Biological Diversity formally requested that the EPA publish water quality criteria and information taking into account overwhelming science about the effects of EDC pollution on January 11. It says that under the Clean Water Act, EPA has a duty to periodically update water quality criteria to reflect the latest scientific knowledge. The petition presents scientific information on endocrine disrupting chemical pollution found in our waters and requests that the EPA promptly update water quality criteria reflecting this scientific information. Last month, legislation was introduced into Congress to explore linkages between hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment and everyday products and the dramatic increase of autism, hyperactivity, diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer and other hormone related disorders. After the identification of endocrine disruptors, the bill, The Endocrine Disruption Prevention […]

(Beyond Pesticides October 22, 2009) At least seven million inhabitants of Moldavia and Ukraine are endangered by 10,000 tons of old pesticides. This has been reported by the International HCH and Pesticides Association (IHPA). According to the organization the EU must act as fast as possible to disarm this ”˜biggest chemical time bomb of Europe.’ This position was adopted at the closure of the 10th HCH & Pesticides Forum of the IHPA in the Czech Republic. During the congress, it became known that in the former Kalush factory in the west of Ukraine there is a stockpile of no less than 10,000 ton of superfluous Hexachlorobenzene (HCB). The factory location along the Dniester River makes the situation extremely hazardous: a single flood and the high concentrations of poison would pollute the natural habitat of some seven million people in the west of Ukraine and Moldavia. Pesticides are threatening tens of millions of people living throughout Europe, Central Asia, and the former Soviet Union, accordding to the statement. There is an estimated 178,000 to 289,000 tons of obsolete pesticides stockpiled throughout the European Union, Southeast Europe, and the former Soviet Union. Ukraine alone has 4,500 storage locations with over 30,000 tons […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 30, 2009) The Center the Food Safety and the Resource Institute for Low Entropy Systems have petitioned the City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to immediately suspend the SFPUC’s Compost Giveaway program because the compost is made with sewage sludge which contains toxic chemicals and hazardous materials. The petition, submitted last Wednesday, cites that the distribution of contaminated compost will spread toxic sludge to homeowners’ backyards, increasing the risk of health problems to children and the community. The SFPUC’s compost giveaway program distributes free compost as part of the commission’s recycling efforts to community gardens, school gardens and local residents. The compost is made of sewage sludge, derived as a by-product of wastewater and sewage treatment, and contains heavy metals, pathogens, pharmaceuticals, PCB’s, flame retardants and endocrine disruptors, such as the antibacterial triclosan. “San Franciscans may think they’re getting a gift from the city, but this is no gift. City residents could be at serious risk of poisoning from the application of sewage sludge to local crops and gardens,” said Paige Tomaselli, staff attorney for the Center for Food Safety. “With this petition, we’re strongly urging the Mayor to put an […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 17, 2009) Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $5 million to the states of California, New York and Washington to conduct biomonitoring surveys to assess public exposure to chemicals and toxic substances. This will allow the states to determine which environmental chemicals people have been exposed to and how much of those chemicals are in their bodies. Many U.S. residents carry toxic pesticides in their bodies above government assessed “acceptable” levels. Biomonitoring, which measures levels of chemicals directly in people’s blood or urine, has become increasingly helpful for assessing people’s exposure to toxic substances as well as for responding to serious environmental public health problems. The PANNA report “Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate Accountability” in 2004, which compiled data from previous CDC biomonitoring surveys found that children, women and Mexican Americans carried the heaviest “pesticide body burden.” Another biomonitoring study by the World Wildlife Fund UK in 2003, revealed that chemicals, such as DDT, which have been banned for decades and are associated with cancer, immune system disorders, and other health problems, are still found in people today. “Biomonitoring measurements are considered the most health-relevant assessments of exposure because […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 27, 2009) A mother’s exposure to urban air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can adversely affect a child’s intelligence quotient or IQ, according to the new study “Prenatal Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5 Years.” PAHs are widespread in urban environments and throughout the world as they have many sources, several of which are related to pesticides, including creosote used for wood preservation, burning pesticide-laden grass seed fields, and exposure to organochlorine pesticides whether banned, yet ubiquitous DDT or the still used insecticide dicofol. Other sources include synthetic turf fields and the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. PAHs have been known to be bioaccumulative, carcinogenic and disrupt the endocrine system. The new study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a branch of the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several private foundations, found that children exposed to high levels of PAHs in New York City had full scale and verbal IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower than those of less exposed children. High PAH levels were defined as above the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 23, 2009) A new study published in the August 2009 issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry found that insecticides used in highly populated agricultural areas of California’s Central Valley affect amphibians that breed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east. This study adds to the increasing evidence that pesticides impact areas and wildlife species that are miles from sources of pesticide application. Researchers from the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois University and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) examined the chronic toxicity of two of the insecticides most commonly used in the Central Valley- chlorpyrifos and endosulfan, to larval Pacific treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla) and foothill yellow-legged frogs (Rana boylii), the amphibians with declining populations that live and breed in meadows surrounding the Sierra Nevada. The results are discussed in “Toxicity of Two Insecticides to California, USA, Anurans and Its Relevance to Declining Amphibian Populations.” The study used laboratory testing to examine how the insecticides affected the two frogs at environmentally realistic concentrations. During testing, tadpoles were observed at various stages of development to see how the insecticides affected their growth and health. The researchers found that endosulfan was more toxic than chlorpyrifos to both species, and tadpoles […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 2, 2009) The EPA has just finished up with a round of public hearings on a proposed plan to cap a part of the Palos Verdes Superfund Site. This 17 square mile area of ocean floor off the Southern coast of California is home to one of the largest deposits of DDT in the U.S. Despite the fact that this chemical has been banned in the U.S. for almost four decades, there is an approximate 110 tons of DDT in the sediment of the Palos Verdes Shelf. Concentrations of DDT and PCBs in fish continue to pose a threat to human health and the natural environment including the discovery of highly contaminated fish. In addition, a surge of additional problems with the lingering effects of DDT have risen in recent years, particularly with its buildup in our waterways. It has currently been identified as a threat to the Columbia River, as well as to the arctic. It has also been linked to a plethora of health concerns, including breast cancer, diabetes, non Hodgkin lymphoma, and autism. Most of the contamination of the Palos Verdes Shelf is attributed to The Montrose Chemical Corporation of California. At one time […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 30, 2009) How much do we know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? In Food, Inc., producer-director Robert Kenner and investigative authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) lift the veil on the U.S. food industry — an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihoods of American farmers, the safety of workers, and our own environment. The movie reveals how a handful of corporations control our nation’s food supply. Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms with red barns and white picket fences, our food is actually raised on massive “factory farms” and processed in mega industrial plants. The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before. But, the film asks, at what cost? Cattle are given feed that their bodies are not biologically designed to digest, resulting in new strains of E. coli bacteria, which […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 17, 2009) A new study finds that toxic pesticides, including those already banned, persist in homes. The study’s results indicate that most floors in occupied homes in the U.S. have measurable levels of insecticides that serve as sources of exposure to home dwellers. These persistent residues continue to expose people, especially vulnerable children, to the health risks associated with these chemicals. Published in Environmental Science and Technology, the study, entitled “American Healthy Homes Survey: A National Study of Residential Pesticides Measured from Floor Wipes,” was conducted as a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Five hundred randomly selected homes were sampled using alcohol wipes to collect dust from hard surface floors, mostly kitchen floor surfaces. The swipes were analyzed for 24 currently and previously use residential insecticides in the organochlorine, organophosphate, pyrethroid and phenylpyrazole classes, and the insecticide synergist piperonyl butoxide. Researchers found that currently used pyrethroid pesticides were, not surprisingly, at the highest levels with varied concentrations. Fipronil and permethrin, both currently used, were found in 40 percent and 89 percent of homes respectively. However, the researchers found that long discontinued pesticides like DDT and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 10, 2009) On June 4, Australia’s Queensland Government introduced legislation to prevent dangerous runoff of farm pollution, marking a major turning point for the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef. Some farmers claim it is unnecessary government interference in agricultural practices. Currently 80 percent of rivers draining to the Reef breach water quality guidelines due to farm fertilizer, pesticide and sediment runoff. The Queensland Government introduced the bill, entitled the Great Barrier Reef Protection Act, into Parliament to regulate farm practices and pesticide use. More specifically, the bill targets water pollution control at its agricultural origin. Failure to comply could trigger a $30,000 fine. Activists, while welcoming the new measure, say such legislation should have been introduced years ago. Environmental groups: WWF-Australia, Queensland Conservation, Australian Marine Conservation Society and Wildlife Queensland are united in their support for the new laws. Premier Anna Bligh says the Great Barrier Reef Protection Act will decrease sediment, nutrients and pesticides entering the reef. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) spokesman Nick Heath says the legislation will help the environment and farmers. “The Government’s just released a new estimate that there’s over $30 million worth of fertilizer and pesticide going onto the reef every […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 27, 2009) A recent, extensive study which investigated a variety of different chemicals, including organochlorine pesticides, in animal tissues reveals that marine mammals harbor high concentrations of hazardous chemicals in their brains. The results lay the groundwork for understanding how environmental contaminants influence the central nervous system of marine mammals. The study entitled “Organohalogen contaminants and metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid and cerebellum gray matter in short-beaked common dolphins and Atlantic white-sided dolphins from the western North Atlantic” is the first of its kind to find toxic chemicals in the brains of marine mammals. The study identified several contaminants including organochlorine pesticides like DDT, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and flame retardants in the cerebrospinal fluid and cerebellum gray matter of several species of marine mammals including the short-beaked common dolphins, Atlantic white-sided dolphins and the gray seal. PCBs were found in alarmingly high concentrations. Researchers found parts per million concentrations of PCBs in the cerebrospinal fluid of a gray seal. “We found parts per million concentrations of hydroxylated PCBs in the cerebrospinal fluid of a gray seal. That is so worrisome for me. You rarely find parts per million levels of anything in the brain,” remarked researcher, Eric Montie, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 8, 2009) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Global Environment Facility, have announced a renewed international effort to combat malaria with an incremental reduction of reliance on the synthetic pesticide DDT. As recently as two years ago, WHO was criticized for promoting DDT as the answer for malaria control in Africa, leading activists to call for increased use of alternatives. DDT has been recognized as a significant human and environmental health risk, including increased risk of breast cancer a wealth of other health concerns, and have built up in waterways and, in particular, the arctic. Now, ten projects, all part of the global program “Demonstrating and Scaling-up of sustainable Alternatives to DDT in Vector Management,” involving some 40 countries in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, are set to test non-chemical methods ranging from eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites and securing homes with mesh screens to deploying mosquito-repellent trees and fish that eat mosquito larvae. The new projects follow a successful demonstration of alternatives to DDT in Mexico and Central America. There, pesticide-free techniques and management regimes have helped cut cases of malaria by over 60 […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 26, 2009) Following safety concerns and recalls of peanut butter products and spinach, new food safety legislation has been introduced by the U.S. Congress. They have stirred fears that the future of food safety regulations will be designed for Big Agriculture, and will harm organic and small farmers, and even home gardeners. H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, and H.R. 759, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Globalization Act of 2009, are responsible for many of those fears. Due to growing concerns and rumors regarding these, and other, bills, Food & Water Watch (FWW) has summarized some of the chief points of each bill. FWW explains that H.R. 875 would turn FDA into two agencies: one that regulates food, and another for drugs and medical devices. It increases processing plant inspections, as the latest peanut butter recalls were traced to one terribly mismanaged plant. It requires farms to write a “food safety plan,” and extends FDA authority to include farms. It also requires imported food to meet the same safety standards as domestic products. It does not, however, establish mandatory animal identification, like the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), nor does it regulate backyard […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 13, 2009) National Women’s History Month (March 2009) features a new film honoring Rachel Carson, the woman who launched the modern environmental movement. The film, A Sense of Wonder, will be screened nationwide to celebrate today’s women leaders who are saving the planet. Beyond Pesticides believes that the film, which is available on DVD, is a great tool for community organizers. March activities include three major city celebrations and film premieres: Washington, DC: Wednesday, March 18, 7:00pm at the National Portrait Gallery. Co-sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. (8th & F Streets NW, Washington, D.C., 20001) Los Angeles: Thursday, March 19, 7:30pm at the Laemmle Music Hall Theater. (9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, Calif., 90211) New York City: Friday, March 27, 7:30pm at Anthology Film Archives Theater. (32 2nd Avenue at 2nd Street, New York, New York, 10003 Each screening is free and open to the public. This year’s National Women’s History Month will honor Rachel Carson, the pioneer of the modern environmental movement. Carson’s bestseller Silent Spring led to the banning of the chemical DDT, the creation of the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the birth of the organic food movement. Al […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 19, 2009) The Endocrine Exchange (TEDX) has released a new database on the prenatal origins of endocrine disruption, called Critical Windows of Development. It compares human development in the womb with laboratory research showing where and when low-dose exposures to chemicals have effects. The timeline currently charts three chemicals: dioxin, bisphenol A (BPA), and phthalates. TEDX plans to expand the database to include PCBs, PBDEs, DDT, and other endocrine-disrupting pesticides. Examples of conclusions from the prenatal exposure research include: BPA affects development of the male and female reproductive systems, increases susceptibility to breast cancer and alters behavior in adult animals; Phthalates decrease sperm production and increase body weight; and, dioxin affects male reproduction and the immune system. Before a baby is born it is exposed to a myriad of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs interfere with the delicate system of vital hormones, glands and organs that control how a baby develops and functions throughout life. EDCs such as BPA, dioxin and phthalates can penetrate the womb and cause adverse effects at extremely low exposure levels. These chemicals are found in water bottles, food cans, dental resins, cleaning products, cosmetics, fragrances, packaging and construction material, cars, planes, recreational […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 16, 2009) The first comprehensive look at toxic contamination throughout the Columbia River Basin has been released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Issued today, the Columbia River Basin State of the River Report for Toxics compiles currently available data about four widespread contaminants in the Basin and identifies the risks they pose to people, fish, and wildlife. The four contaminants are: * Mercury * Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its breakdown products * Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) * Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. According to Elin Miller, EPA Regional Administrator in Seattle, a team of more than 20 federal and state agencies, Tribes, local governments and organizations teamed-up to draw this latest portrait of the toxic threats faced by the Columbia River Basin, which drains nearly 260,000 square miles across seven U.S. states and a Canadian province. “This is troubling news,” said EPA’s Miller. “Today’s Report shows that toxics are found throughout the Basin at levels that could harm people, fish, and wildlife. Federal, tribal, state, and local efforts have reduced levels of some toxics such as PCBs and DDTs, but in many areas, they continue to pose an unacceptable risk. Tackling this problem will require a coordinated […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 18, 2008) The New Zealand’s Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) has announced it will ban the controversial organochlorine pesticide endosulfan, effective January 16, 2009. Endosulfan, already banned in numerous countries including all the European Union countries, is an insecticide used on a wide range of fruits and vegetables and also on athletic fields in New Zealand. Illegal residues have been found in beef destined for South Korea, resulting in enormous costs for New Zealand exporters. Use of endosulfan for agriculture continues in the U.S., despite causing severe health and environmental problems. A coalition of groups, including the Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand (PAN ANZ), Soil and Health Association and Safe Food Campaign, have long campaigned for the banning of endosulfan. Earlier this year, the three organizations carried out a number of residue tests on produce to draw attention to the extent of endosulfan residues, especially in tomatoes. “We are delighted that ERMA has overturned its earlier ”˜proposed’ decision to keep using this pesticide,” stated Meriel Watts, Ph.D., co-coordinator of PAN ANZ. “It would have been deeply embarrassing for New Zealand to continue its use when the pesticide has entered the process for a global ban under […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 15, 2008) Striped bass in the San Francisco Estuary are contaminated before birth with a toxic mix of pesticides, industrial chemicals and flame retardants that their mothers acquire from estuary waters and food sources and pass on to their eggs, according to a new study by University of California Davis researchers. Using new analytical techniques, the study, “Maternal Transfer of Xenobiotics and Effects on Larval Striped Bass in the San Francisco Estuary” finds offspring of estuary fish have underdeveloped brains, inadequate energy supplies and dysfunctional livers. They grow slower and are smaller than offspring of hatchery fish raised in clean water. The findings have implications far beyond fish, because the estuary is the water source for two-thirds of the people and most of the farms in California. “This is one of the first studies examining the effects of real-world contaminant mixtures on growth and development in wildlife,” said study lead author David Ostrach, a research scientist at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. “If the fish living in this water are not healthy and are passing on contaminants to their young, what is happening to the people who use the water, are exposed to the same […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 3, 2008) A new study, Pyrethroid pesticides and their metabolites in vacuum cleaner dust collected from homes and day-care centers (doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.07.022), by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Exposure Research Laboratory finds concentrations of 13 synthetic pyrethroids and their degradates in indoor dust collected from homes and childcare centers in North Carolina and Ohio. The study results show the extent to which hazardous pesticides are present in indoor environments and threaten the public’s health, especially the health of children. With 85 vacuum cleaner bags analyzed, permethrin was present in all 85 dust samples, at least one pyrethroid pesticide was found in 69 samples and phenothrin was found in 36 samples. According to the study findings published in the November issue of the journal Environmental Research, the median concentration of permethrin in the samples is 1454ng/g of dust. Excluding permethrin, pyrethroid conectrations are less than or equal to 100ng/g of dust. The majority of the metabolites are present in more than half of the dust samples. This is not the first time researchers have found pesticides in dust in homes. A study published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (208: 193-199) also found that […]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2008) Two of the largest pineapple growers, Dole and Del Monte, have agreed to stop using endosulfan on pineapples grown on their plantations in the Philippines, beginning next year. The companies have opted not to renew their licenses for the use of this highly toxic chemical but instead will consider a list of alternative pesticides. The Philippines is one of the few countries that still allow the use of endosulfan, though on a restricted basis. Endosulfan is used on pineapple plantations to kill pineapple mites that cause pink disease, a discoloration of canned fruits. This measure to stop the use of endosulfan has been attributed to the recent sinking of the ship MV Princess of the Stars, whose cargo hull contained ten tons of endosulfan. The ship capsized and partially sank on June 21 in a typhoon, killing nearly 800 people onboard. In the wake of that tragedy, leaders in the Philippine government called for an end to endosulfan exemptions granted to foreign companies. Frustrations were raised over the potential for toxic contamination which threatens the health of the Philippine people. 400 packs of endosulfan, each pack weighing 25 kilograms, or a total of 10 metric […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 17, 2008) A new study has found a link between total chemical contamination in the bodies of pregnant women and the risk of cryptorchidism in their male babies. Mothers whose babies were born with the defect had the highest concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mostly organochlorines like PCB and DDE, in their breast milk. The study, entiltled “Cryptorchidism at birth in Nice area (France) is associated with higher prenatal exposure to PCBs and DDE, as assessed by colostrum concentrations,” and published in the journal Human Reproduction, compared prebirth exposure to chemicals, as measured through their mother’s milk, and the risk of undescended testicles or cryptorchidism, during a three-year period. 164 mother/infant pairs were used and within 3-5 days of delivery, the researchers collected samples of colostrums, or “first milk” from the mother. Colostrum is a form of breast milk that is produced late in pregnancy and immediately after birth before the more creamy milk comes in. It is used as a proxy for what was circulating in the mother’s body and in her fetus during pregnancy. The colostrum was analyzed for three different chemical pollutants including seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethylene (DDE) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 25, 2008) A recent study by Spanish researchers has found a connection between an ncreased risk of childhood obesity and exposure to the organochlorine pesticide and contaminant hexachlorobenzene (HCB) before birth. Entitled “Exposure to hexachlorobenzene during pregnancy increases the risk of overweight in children aged 6 years,” the article was published online by Acta Paediatrica at the end of July. Found as a contaminant in the wood preservative pentachlorophenol, widely used in the U.S., HCB is extremely persistent in the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it “has been listed as a pollutant of concern to EPA’s Great Waters Program due to its persistence in the environment, potential to bioaccumulate, and toxicity to humans and the environment.” Researchers studied 405 infants in Menorca, Spain. They measured persistent organic pollutants (HCB, PCBs, p,p’-DDE, and p,p’-DDT) in their cord blood and then measured each child’s height and weight at 6.5 years of age. “Overweight” was defined as the 85 percentile or higher on the US National Center for Health Statistics/WHO reference body mass index (BMI). They also took into account information about the mothers, such as age, education, socio-economic status, smoking, alcohol use, weight, and diet. All 405 […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2008) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting comments on letters sent from the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requesting that EPA revoke all tolerances for the toxic pesticide endosulfan. In addition, EPA is accepting information on endosulfan residues on commodities consumed by Alaskan natives. PANNA’s August 12 letter stated: “We are particularly concerned about the effects of endosulfan on prenatal and child development. Peer-reviewed science demonstrates that endosulfan is both an endocrine disruptor and a neurotoxicant.” The letter followed up on a February 2008 petition signed by 13,300 people across the country, a legal petition filed by the National Resources Defense Council that same month, three letters sent to the Agency on May 19, 2008 signed by 111 nonprofit environmental groups, 55 scientists, and 5 coalitions of Indigenous groups and tribes, and a lawsuit filed on behalf of PAN, environmental and farmworker groups on July 24. “Endosulfan poses a threat to the health of children in the U.S.,” the letter concluded. “This antiquated DDT-era organochlorine has already been phased out of agriculture in the European Union and at least 20 other countries. It is high time for the […]