Search Results
Monday, February 3rd, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, February 3, 2025) As a result of executive orders on January 20, 2025 and subsequent actions by the Trump administration, the public airwaves have been flooded with presidential proclamations, some of which have been subject to legal action and outrage. While the president has issued dozens of executive orders dismantling programsâfrom the environment to foreign aid, the impact of the orders on the functioning of an independent government workforce has been raised by those targeted. On January 29, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) filed a lawsuit that âasserts that President Trump illegally exceeded his authority in attempting to unilaterally roll back a regulation that protects the rights of civil servants,â according to an AFGE press release. The release continues, âThe suit also names the Office of Personnel Management for its role in failing to adhere to the Administrative Procedure Act in its attempts to roll back this same regulation.â According to AFGE National President Everett Kelley, âAFGE is filing suit with our partner union today to protect the integrity of the American peopleâs government,â On January 27, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair and Commissioner Charlotte Burrows, having […]
Posted in Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Agencies, Litigation, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, January 31st, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, January 31, 2025) A recent cross-sectional study in Heliyon highlights the link between sleep disorders in Thai farmers and pesticide exposure. The authors find pesticide exposure as an important risk factor for sleep disorders after surveying 27,334 farmers over the age of 20 who had work experience for at least five years. The importance of sleep health is reflected both physically and mentally, as studies find âsleep deficiency increase[s] mortality and various health complications, including hypertension, obesity and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, mood disorders, and neurodegenerative disorder.â Additional studies find that these issues are compounded when sleep health is affected by environmental factors such as pesticide exposure. (See previous Beyond Pesticidesâ coverage here and here.) The researchers report: âThe study found a positive association of 19 individual pesticides (twelve insecticides, two herbicides, and five fungicides). Some associations demonstrated a dose-response pattern. Additionally, the study revealed that women are at a higher risk of sleep-related issues with pesticide exposure compared to males. These results not only substantiate existing literature but also unveil several new individual pesticides that may impact sleep health.â Focusing on study participants in Thailand, which is âcharacterized by heavy pesticide use and minimal protective measures, […]
Posted in Benomyl, Brain Effects, Carbaryl, Carbendazim, Carbofuran, Chlordane, Chlorpyrifos, copper sulfate, DDT, Diuron, Endosulfan, Farmworkers, Imidacloprid, Metalaxyl, Methamidophos, Methomyl, Mevinphos, Occupational Health, Paraquat, Sleep Disorders | No Comments »
Friday, January 24th, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, January 24, 2025) Based on data collected from government sources and independent monitoring, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Connecticut finds that 46% of Connecticut waterway samples are contaminated with levels of the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidaclopridâone of the most widely used insecticides in the United States on lawn and golf courses. The authors relied on federal data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), state-level data from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT-DEEP), and a small-scale data collection study by the Clean Rivers Project funded by the nonprofit Pollinator Pathway, Inc. In their report, Neonicotinoids in Connecticut Waters: Surface Water, Groundwater, and Threats to Aquatic Ecosystems, the researchers provide the most comprehensive view to date of neonicotinoid levels in Connecticut and offer critical recommendations for future testing within the state and nationally, given glaring data gaps. It is important to note that the authors acknowledged early in the report the “abandonmentâ of Integrated Pest Management in âthe use of neonicotinoids has coincided with and been implicated in the decline of many non-target species of insects, in particular pollinators such as bees () and monarch butterflies.â They point out that […]
Posted in Connecticut, Drinking Water, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Groundwater, Integrated and Organic Pest Management, neonicotinoids, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, U.S. Geological Survey, Uncategorized, Water, Water Regulation | No Comments »
Thursday, January 23rd, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, January 23, 2025) According to reporting by Bangor Daily News, âStarting in 2025, the Miâkmaq Nation, [Upland Grassroots], [University of Virginia], the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and Central Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District will use a four-year, $1.6 million EPA grant to continue hemp planting at [the former] Loring [Air Force Base] and testing potential ways to extract PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] from harvested hemp.â This grant will support an existing initiative led by members of the Miâkmaq Nation to remediate this contaminated Superfund-designated land purchased from the U.S. government in 2009 based on interviews of the Nationâs Vice Chief Richard Silliboy. Â PFAS, colloquially known as âforever chemicals,â persist in various petrochemical-based pesticides, chemicals, and other consumer products. Beyond Pesticides, in coordination with national coalitions and local communities, continues to act against the proliferation of PFAS and PFAS-contaminated products through grassroots organizing and litigation. The use and associated public and environmental exposure to PFAS as pesticide active ingredients in pesticide products and a wide range of consumer products (including containers holding pesticides targeting mosquitoes and sewage sludge fertilizers) represent a grave threat as a result of their use in homes, emergency rooms, health care facilities, […]
Posted in Biosolids/Sewage Sludge, Indigenous People, Maine, PFAS, Sewage Sludge, soil health, State/Local, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, January 16th, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, January 16, 2025) In Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, researchers highlight a multitude of studies on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and endocrine disrupting pesticides (EDPs) showing epigenetic effects from exposure. These EDCs imitate the action of endocrine hormones and lead to gene damage and multigenerational adverse effects to health. âThese chemicals can interfere with the normal functioning of target tissues by altering their response to hormonal signals, thereby affecting various physiological processes including reproduction, development, the nervous system, the immune system, and even the process of carcinogenesis [causing cancer],â according to the authors from Hebei Agricultural University and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Â In causing epigenetic modifications, the authors describe that EDCs can create changes âat the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (nDNA and mtDNA) or RNA levels, without changing the underlying DNA sequence. These alterations modify the structure or conformation of DNA, influencing gene expression and, consequently, cellular function.â They continue, âThe mechanisms of epigenetics include changes in DNA methylation, chromatin modifications and the involvement of certain noncoding RNAs.â In reviewing over 80 studies on EDCs, predominantly fluorinated compounds such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the researchers provide a summary of linkages between pesticide exposure and the […]
Posted in Body Burden, Cyfluthrin, DDT, Endocrine Disruption, Endosulfan, Epigenetic, Fipronil, Glyphosate, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), Imidacloprid, Metolachlor, PFAS, Sulfoxaflor, Trifluralin | No Comments »
Monday, January 13th, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, January 13, 2025) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is officially taking comments on whether to issue new restrictions on the herbicide atrazineâs use. Beyond Pesticides is telling the agency that it is time to recognize the biodiversity destruction that atrazine is causing and the viability of alternative organic management practices. The group has released an action and is asking the public to join this campaign to ban atrazine. As a yardstick for what is possible under existing federal pesticide law (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act), EPA on August 7, 2024 announced that it was taking emergency action to ban the weed killer Dacthal (or DCPA–dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate), leaving many people asking, âWhy Dacthal and not other very hazardous pesticides?â The weed killer atrazine (in the triazine chemical family) poses similar elevated hazards to people and the environment, has proven to be impossible to contain, and has viable alternatives. Therefore, we need to challenge EPA to apply the same standard that removed Dacthal from the market to the long list of pesticides that are contributing to a health crisis, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency. In its current proposal, EPA is choosing to downplay atrazine’s risk to ecosystems, allow more contamination with […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »
Thursday, January 9th, 2025
(Beyond Pesticides, January 9, 2025) In a Frontiers in Public Health review article, researchers report on the wide body of science connecting adverse effects to female reproductive system, such as infertility, with exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The authors call these effects a significant concern for public health, as there has been growing evidence of EDCs with risk factors for decreased fertility.  Infertility âaffects a substantial proportion of the worldâs population with approximately one in six people affected,â the researchers note. They continue: âOver the last 70 years, global fertility has been constantly in decline due to behavioral and societal changes… [E]merging evidence has shown that infertility incidence is linked to exposure to environmental factors such as tobacco, alcohol, and a wide range of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) including pesticides (chlorpyrifos, glyphosate, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT] and methoxychlor), phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), dioxins, and bisphenols.â In this review, over 100 studies are summarized to showcase the link between EDC exposure and reproductive effects in women, including infertility and related diseases such as endometriosis, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), and endocrine axis dysregulation. The studies included investigating the âmechanisms by which EDCs cause ovarian aging, folliculogenesis, decrease of oocyte quality, ovulation disorders, development and receptivity […]
Posted in Atrazine, Children, Chlorpyrifos, DDT, endometriosis, Endosulfan, Glyphosate, Infertility, Reproductive Health, Women's Health | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 18th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, December 18, 2024) A bombshell investigation conducted by Canadaâs National Observer finds that Bayer, which acquired the Monsanto chemical company in 2018, colluded with environmental and public health regulators in Canada to obstruct a proposed neonicotinoid insecticide ban originally introduced in 2018. Advocates were stunned back in 2021 when Canadaâs Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)âthe Canadian counterpart to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)âreversed its decision to phase out imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam by 2023. The weaponization of scientific institutions and regulatory processes is commonplace in the U.S. context, with U.S. Right to Know publishing a report earlier this year on the corrupting impact of pesticide manufacturers at the Entomological Society of America 2023 annual meeting. (See Daily News here.) There are numerous Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports signaling EPA corruption and failures, including persisting industry influence in the cancer risk assessment process, inadequate leadership in addressing community harms of a former creosote-treated wood preservative plant turned Superfund site in Pensacola, Florida, and failure to protect the public from endocrine-disrupting chemicals, to name several examples. In a recent press release, the David Suzuki Foundation, alongside numerous medical, legal, and civil society organizations, is calling on Health Canada […]
Posted in acetamiprid, Bayer, Canada, Clothianidin, Health Canada, Imidacloprid, Monsanto, neonicotinoids, Pesticide Regulation, thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 17th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, December 17, 2024) A systematic review of studies on pesticides as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on body weight, published in Biomedicines, evaluates 36 clinical and preclinical studies and links their agricultural use to obesity. The authors, with the lead researchers from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Catholic University of Valencia San Vincente, Valencia, Spain, assess studies on a range of pesticides, including organophosphates, pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, and others. In addition to concluding that the EDCs promote obesity, they report that the chemicals cause âother anthropometric changes by altering lipid and glucose metabolism, modifying genes, or altering hormone levels such as leptin.â Endocrine disruption and obesity are public health concerns, and there is a wide body of science linking pesticide exposure to these effects (see more here). âObesity is considered to be a worldwide pandemic that leads to an increase in medical costs and thus becomes a public health problem,â the researchers share. They continue, â[Obesity] is also associated with the increased production of environmental chemicals, also called environmental obesogens, used mainly in agriculture, as disease vector control, helping to prevent harmful effects caused by fungi, bacteria, or even pests, using pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides, or endocrine disruptors […]
Posted in 2,4-D, acetamiprid, Benomyl, Bifenthrin, Carbamates, Carbendazim, Chlorpyrifos, Clothianidin, cypermethrin, Dicamba, Diuron, Endocrine Disruption, Fenoxycarb, Fipronil, Fungicides, Glyphosate, Imidacloprid, Isoxafutole, Malathion, mancozeb, Maneb, neonicotinoids, Obesity, organophosphate, Permethrin, Synthetic Pyrethroid, Thiamethoxam | No Comments »
Monday, December 16th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, December 16, 2024) The fact that three-quarters of all U.S. fruits and nuts and one-third of all U.S. vegetables are grown in California means that all U.S. food eaters have a stake in how food is grown there. California is proposing the continued use of the fumigant 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D, also known as Telone), which can cause deadly effects to farmworkers and endocrine disrupting effects to communities of people exposed through nontarget chemical drift from farmland. So, it is with deep concern that Beyond Pesticides is urging the state of California, where the chemical is undergoing review, to ban the toxicant. Endocrine disruption, an adverse effect for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has never completed a pesticide testing protocol, adversely affects the functioning of glands and hormones and is linked to major life-threatening diseases in most organ systems in the bodyâcontributing to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Parkinsonâs, Alzheimerâs, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, early puberty, infertility and other reproductive disorders, and childhood and adult cancers. In a recently released draft regulation, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) will allow highly elevated exposure to 1,3-D, ignoring the scientific literature and advice of the stateâs own toxicologists at […]
Posted in 1, 3-dichloropropene, 1-3D, ADHD, Agriculture, Alzheimers's, Cancer, Diabetes, Endocrine Disruption, Obesity, Parkinson's, Telone, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Friday, November 22nd, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 22, 2024) With numerous campaigns at the state and federal level to ban the weed killer paraquat and nearly 6,000 individual lawsuits alleging exposure to it causes Parkinsonâs disease (PD), U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and six Senators on October 31 called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the chemical. Citing that â[f]armworkers and rural residents are disproportionately exposed to paraquat,â the Senatorsâ letter to EPA stating that, âParaquat has been linked to Parkinsonâs disease, thyroid cancer, and other health harms such as kidney, liver, and respiratory damage, and reproductive harm, including neurodevelopmental impact on developing fetuses [and] [i]n rural areas, exposure to paraquat and other pesticides during pregnancy can increase the risk of leukemia.â Most of the 6,000 cases against paraquatâs manufacturer, Syngenta, have been consolidated into Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. In April, the MDL judge ousted the plaintiffsâ expert witness regarding causality, which resulted in the first five cases ready for trial being tossed out. The defendant sells paraquat globally and is doing everything it can, according to investigative news reports, to discredit any link between paraquat and Parkinsonâs, including the use […]
Posted in Chem-China, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nervous System Effects, Parkinson's, Syngenta, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, November 19th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 19, 2024) Researchers at Stanford University recently published a study in Cancer, an international interdisciplinary journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS), that reveals a correlation for numerous pesticides with increased prostate cancer occurrence and associated death. The study finds that exposure to 22 pesticides is positively associated with prostate cancer. The 22 pesticides include 2,4âD, acephate, azoxystrobin, bifenthrin, carbaryl, chloropicrin, cloransulamâmethyl, cyhalothrinâlambda, diflufenzopyr, diuron, glyphosate, hexazinone, linuron, methyl parathion, pendimethalin, propiconazole, sulfosate, thiamethoxam, thifensulfuron, tribenuron methyl, trifloxystrobin, and trifluralin. (See more on 2,4-D and cancer prevalence here and here.) As prostate cancer is a leading national health concern, the authors investigate agricultural pesticide exposure and compared it to prostate cancer incidence and mortality across counties in the contiguous U.S. âThe geographic variation in prostate cancer incidence and mortality suggests that regional environmental factors, such as pesticide exposure, may contribute to the development of prostate cancer,â the researchers postulate. In comparing countyâlevel associations of 295 pesticides and prostate cancer reports, the authors were able to conduct an environmentâwide association study (EWAS) to determine any statistically significant links. âWe acquired annual estimated total usage data (kg per county) for all pesticides reported and applied to agricultural crops grown […]
Posted in 2,4-D, Acephate, Azoxystrobin, Bifenthrin, Cancer, Carbaryl, chloropicrin, Death, Diuron, Glyphosate, hexazinone, Linuron, men's health, Parathion, Pendimethalin, Propiconazole, Prostate Cancer, Thiamethoxam, trifloxystrobin, Trifluralin | No Comments »
Thursday, November 14th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 14, 2024) The destructive impact of Hurricane Milton, a climate-change-fueled extreme weather event that smashed into Florida in early October, led to the temporary closure of all phosphate mining facilities, integral to petrochemical fertilizer production, in the state after reported wastewater spillage, according to reporting by Tampa Bay Times. The Mosaic Company, the largest phosphate mining company in Florida, reported at least 17,500 gallons of wastewater from one of their processing plants leaked into Tampa Bay (âThe Bayâ), according to a company press release. It is unclear to local communities if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will permit the companyâs request earlier this year to test 1,200 tons of phosphogypsum, an industrial byproduct of phosphate rock mining, as a potential material in roadways. Local advocates find this alarming given a reported tear in a gypsum stack operated by Mosaic in one of its plants in New Wales. The wastewater was used as a storage medium for phosphogypsum, which when dissolved contains cancer-causing radon, according to reporting by Reuters. Besides phosphate waste leakage, over 30 waterways across Tampa Bay were polluted after back-to-back hurricanes (Tropical Storm Debby in August, Hurricane Helene in September, and Hurricane Milton in […]
Posted in Climate Change, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fertilizer, Florida, Mosaic, Synthetic Fertilizer, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Uncategorized, Water | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 13th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 13, 2024) A study in Chemosphere, conducted by researchers from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Germany, reveals the varied lethal and sublethal effects of different glyphosate mixtures through tests on the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis (X. laevis). After exposing embryos to four glyphosate formulations, mortality, morphological defects, altered heartbeat rate, and impaired heart-specific gene expression are observed. Glyphosate, an herbicide and popular weed killer in many RoundupÂŽ products, is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in waterbodies worldwide, threatening aquatic organisms and overall biodiversity. This study investigates the effects of Glyphosat TF, Durano TF, Helosate 450 TF, and Kyleo, four formulations containing glyphosate, as compared to the effects of pure glyphosate on embryonic development in amphibians. The formulations consist of varying concentrations of the active ingredient glyphosate, as well as other active and inert ingredients. The authors share that, âGlyphosat TF contains 34% glyphosate and 10â20% d-glucopyranose, while Durano contains 39â44% glyphosate and 1â5% NâN-dimethyl-C12-C14-(even numbered)-alkyl-1-amines. In Helosate most of the ingredients are listed – 50â70% glyphosate, 1â10% isopropylamine, 1â3% lauryl dimethyl betaine, 0.25â1% dodecyl dimethylamine. Kyleo only lists the active ingredients glyphosate (27.9%) and 2,4-D (32%).â 2-cell stage embryos (early […]
Posted in 2,4-D, Aquatic Organisms, Biodiversity, Chemical Mixtures, Death, Developmental Disorders, DNA Damage, Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Epigenetic, Glyphosate, Herbicides, Pesticide Mixtures, synergistic effects | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 12, 2024) With revelations reported last month by Investigate Midwest and previously by The Guardian showing that Syngenta, the manufacturer and registrant of paraquat, kept secret scientific information on the weed killer’s adverse effects related to Parkinsonâs disease, there is increasing concern that endocrine-disrupting properties have not been fully disclosed. Endocrine-disrupting synthetic chemicals, derived from fossil fuels, will be the focus of Session 2 of Beyond Pesticides 41st National Forum: Imperatives for a Sustainable Future on Thursday, November 14 from 1:00-3:00pm (EST). Keynote Speaker The keynote speaker, Tracey Woodruff, PhD, will address the scientific, health, and regulatory issues associated with societal reliance on these chemicals. Dr. Woodruff, a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) senior scientist and policy advisor, is the director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, and professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. Roundtable Discussion Dr. Woodruff’s talk will be followed by a roundtable with panelists, including a former senior scientist focusing on ecosystem effects, a breast cancer activist, and a farmworker advocate who will share their experience and insight into both the regulation of hazardous materials […]
Posted in Agriculture, Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Paraquat, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, November 11th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 8-11, 2024) On Veterans Day 2024 we honor those who have served the country and allies. In the 117th (2021-2022) U.S. Congress, legislators enacted The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act). Since the law passed just over two years ago, there has been just under 1.3 million total approved claims marking a roughly 75% approval rate for PACT Act related claims, according to Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) accounting of progress between August 10, 2022, and October 12, 2024 through its dedicated bimonthly VA PACT Act Performance Dashboard. The legacy of toxic burn pits (open air areas where the military has burned toxic waste) and other avenues for toxic exposure in military bases oversees, as well as within the United States in Hawaiâi (See coverage on asbestos exposure continuously impacting veterans, as reported on by Honolulu Civil Beat) and Puerto Rico (See peer-reviewed literature review here on toxic heavy metals in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health), among other areas, comes at a time when the country assesses the ongoing impacts of a history that has been characterized by critics as colonial or imperialist. […]
Posted in Agent Orange, Alternatives/Organics, Cancer, dacthal, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Agencies, Parkinson's, Uncategorized, Veterans Administraton | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 6, 2024) An analysis in the International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews emphasizes the role of biodiversity in agriculture, adding to a wide body of science on its importance. The authors, from Western Illinois University in the United States and Rome Business School in Italy, find that biodiversity supports critical ecosystems and organisms needed for sustainable food production. Through literature reviews and case studies, the interconnectedness of agriculture with plant and animal diversity, beneficial insects, soil health, and climate change is highlighted, as well as the need to manage land organically to support biodiversity. Plant and Animal Diversity As the researchers note, âA diverse agricultural system can better absorb shocks and maintain productivity, ensuring food security in the face of uncertainty.â A wide range of species present within ecosystems protects from changing environmental conditions and improves resilience. When farmers use monocultures for their crops, this leads to reduced ecosystem services from beneficial insects and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases. âBy contrast, diverse cropping systems can enhance resilience, providing a buffer against environmental changes and fostering sustainable food production,â the authors say. Research shows that higher plant diversity disrupts pest life cycles and promotes beneficial insects, […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Beneficials, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecosystem Services, Farmworkers, Pollinators, soil health, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 5th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 5, 2024) Published in the journal Frontiers in Toxicology, a recent study uncovers serious flaws in the pesticide registration process at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with an in-depth evaluation of the agencyâs failure to protect the public from the harmful effects of five neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticidesâas mandated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and amendments, including Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. This coincides with EPA’s ongoing review to renew their approval for the next 15 years (set to be announced in 2025). The report is based on the first comprehensive assessment of unpublished rodent-based Developmental Neurotoxicity (DNT) studies, conducted between 2000-2003 and submitted by pesticide manufacturers as part of the registration process. All five neonicotinoids evaluatedâacetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxamâare associated with significant shrinkage of brain tissue at the highest dosage, according to EPA data reports (see acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam). However, with little or no data regarding the chemicalsâ impacts at low and mid-level dosages, EPA has either failed to find a âNo Observed Adverse Effect Levelâ (NOAEL) or, seemingly at random, set the NOAEL at the mid-level dosage. The evaluation suggests that perinatal exposure to […]
Posted in acetamiprid, behavioral and cognitive effects, Brain Effects, Children, Clothianidin, Developmental Disorders, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Epigenetic, Imidacloprid, Learning Disabilities, Pesticide Regulation, Reproductive Health, thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 4th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, November 4, 2024) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week opened a public comment period on the regulation of endocrine-disrupting pesticides, a proposal that lays out a drawn-out 10-year process that is narrow in evaluating the underlying mechanism that causes endocrine disruption. The proposal, published in the Federal Register as a partial settlement agreement and consent decree, responds to a lawsuit filed by farmworker and health groups challenging the agency’s failure to test and regulate endocrine-disrupting pesticides. Earlier in the year, after over 25 years of delay following the 1996 Congressional mandate to determine whether pesticides disrupt the endocrine system of humans and other organisms, EPA issued a proposal for modifying its approach to the implementation of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). The National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences explains endocrine disruptors this way: âEndocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are natural or human-made chemicals that may mimic, block, or interfere with the bodyâs hormones, which are part of the endocrine system. These chemicals are associated with a wide array of health issues. . . Endocrine glands, distributed throughout the body, produce the hormones that act as signaling molecules after release into the circulatory system. The human body is […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Chemicals, Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Litigation, Pesticide Regulation, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 29th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2024) STARTS TOMORROWâNATIONAL FORUM: IMPERATIVES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. A legal victory in federal court is the latest in a series of attempts to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fulfill the mandate given to it by Congress in 1996 to test all pesticides for their endocrine disrupting effects and regulate them accordingly. The case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California was brought by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and a collection of agricultural workersâ organizations, farmersâ groups, and pesticide activists. Beyond Pesticides wrote in 2019, EPAâs âEndocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) began, then virtually stopped, its review and regulation of endocrine disrupting pesticides, despite [its 1996 Congressional mandate] to develop a screening program within two years and then begin regulating.â (See timeline, Figure 2, p11.) After the release of a  a damning 2021 Office of Inspector General (OIG) report (see Beyond Pesticidesâ reporting) on the agencyâs lack of progress in protecting the population from potentially damaging endocrine disruption impacts of exposures to synthetic chemical pesticides (and other chemicals of concern), CFS wrote: âThe 2021 [OIG] report included the shocking revelation that some EPA staff were instructed to function as […]
Posted in Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Litigation, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, October 28th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, October 28, 2024) STARTS WEDNESDAYâNATIONAL FORUM: IMPERATIVES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. As scientific articles and regulatory reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focus on individual pesticides or families of pesticides and specific health outcomes associated with exposure, legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), S. 5084, Safe School Meals Act (SSMA), proposes a holistic response to the protection of children by banning pesticides in school lunches. While focused on the elimination of certain individual pesticides and other chemicals of known concern, the bill unilaterally allows children to be served food from certified organic farms. The overwhelmingly large body of scientific findings on the adverse effects of pesticides in the food that children eat in schools and generally. For example, last week Beyond Pesticides commented on EPAâs Draft Human Health and/or Ecological Risk Assessments for Several Pesticides, citing scientific findings that, âNeonicotinoids . . .have been found to affect mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) [which] are of critical importance to human brain function, especially during development and for memory, cognition, and behavior.â (See more here.) This month, Jennifer Sass, PhD, et al., in Frontiers in Toxicology, published a review of  unpublished rodent developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) studies […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Children, Children/Schools, Disease/Health Effects, neonicotinoids, Take Action, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 18th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, October 18, 2024) On October 30 at 2:00pm (eastern time, U.S.), Beyond Pesticides convenes the first session (virtual) of its 41st National Forum: Imperatives for a Sustainable FutureâReversing the existential crises of pesticide-induced illness, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency. The Forum provides an opportunity to discuss with world-renowned scientists, from Germany and the United States, both (i) the hazards that define the urgency of threats associated petrochemical toxicants, with a focus on chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system (including pesticides) and lead to life-threatening diseases, and (ii) the strategy for adopting a path forward that tackles the problem holistically, rather than one chemical at a time. Whatâs Happening on October 30 at 2:00pm (eastern time US)? An opportunity:âŻMeet Felix LĂśwenstein, PhD, author ofâŻFood Crash: Why Organic Is the Only Way Forward, just released in the United States. Focus:âŻAdopt a holistic worldwide strategy to reverse the existential crises of pesticide-induced illness, biodiversity collapse, and the climate emergency.  Vision:âŻExplore Dr. LĂśwensteinâs passion, grown from his life as an agricultural scientist, farmer, international agricultural aid worker, and leader in Germanyâs association of organic food producers and organic research. Mandate: Delve into the compelling facts about the adverse impacts of chemical-intensive agriculture on […]
Posted in Announcements, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 9th, 2024
(Beyond Pesticides, October 9, 2024) An agrichemical industry-funded study published in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability dissects the development of national organic standards and opportunities that can be applied in expanding the use of âregenerativeâ agriculture. Not surprisingly, the study authors offer support for integrated pest management (IPM) and reassurance of a rigorous pesticide registration review process before the chemicals are marketed. The study included a survey of five farmers, who farm a total of 100,000 acres, but do not have extensive experience farming organically. For those practicing regenerative organic practices and organic advocates, the bottom line is that the study concludes that a list of criteria that would be needed for regenerative agriculture criteria (e.g., list of allowed substances) already exists within the standards and requirements of the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and the National Organic Program. Environmental and public health advocates are concerned about this piece representing an industry position being cloaked in an academic journal serving as an obstacle to the widespread adoption and improvement of organic principles and practices. The study was written by four authors with varying levels of connections to CropLife America (the major agrichemical industry trade group), including academic researchers with […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, Chemical Mixtures, Chemicals, Corporations, Federal Agencies, Integrated and Organic Pest Management, National Organic Standards Board/National Organic Program, Pests, Pollinators, soil health, Soil microbiome, Uncategorized | No Comments »