28
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 28, 2024) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) pesticide labeling requirements fail to adequately communicate acute toxicity levels to the public, as evidenced in a recent study of consumers published last month in the journal Nature. After evaluating whether the current three “signal” words (CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER) on pesticide products adequately convey pesticide toxicity, the authors conclude that current labeling may result in “unintended adverse effects” because it does not “effectively communicate toxicity risks to consumers.” The signal words on pesticide labels, based on laboratory animal testing for determining lethal doses, are intended to protect users of the product from exposure that can kill through inhalation, skin absorption, and ingestion of the pesticide. However, the signal words do not warn about long-effects like cancer, neurological diseases, reproductive harm, as well as other adverse effects associated with pesticide exposure. (See Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database.)  The study tests two prototype labels to evaluate the effectiveness of visual elements in communicating toxicity information, citing research in cognitive psychology that indicates visual elements, like images and graphics, are more effective for conveying information than text alone. This is particularly crucial for pesticide labels, where complex toxicity details need to be communicated quickly […]
Posted in and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Chemicals, Disease/Health Effects, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Herbicides, Inerts, Integrated and Organic Pest Management, Label Claims, Lawns/Landscapes, Pesticide Efficacy, Pesticide Mixtures, Pesticide Regulation, synergistic effects, Uncategorized | No Comments »
05
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 5, 2024) After years of advocacy against corporate interference in global pesticide policy, the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) has ended its “strategic partnership” with petrochemical pesticide and fertilizer trade association CropLife International. This decision, which allows the expiration of a 2020 Letter of Intent (LoI), was announced in a June press release by a coalition of international public interest, environmental, and trade groups. The organizations objected to the partnership from the inception of the agreement and has issued objections, including in 2022 and covered by Daily News. The signatories to the release last month believe that this severing of ties with the chemical industry will contribute to building momentum from frontline communities for “sustainable, resilient and equitable production systems under the agroecological paradigm.” The groups say, however, “We remain concerned about the FAO’s continuing informal engagements with CropLife and call for greater transparency and accountability in this regard.” Beyond Pesticides has urged that models for change, whether advanced by FAO or other international or national institutions, must embrace clear definitions and standards that are certified and enforceable in order to reverse the existential threats to health, biodiversity, and climate from petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers. […]
Posted in Announcements, International, Uncategorized, United Nations | No Comments »
23
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 23, 2024) The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report last week finding that the agency has failed to establish “institutional controls” at the American Creosote Works Superfund Site in Pensacola, Florida, leading to continuous groundwater and soil contamination that “leav[es] the public at risk of exposure.” The 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) established the Superfund program, codified under 42 U.S.C. Chapter 103, to clean up contaminated sites with tax money from polluting industries. The OIG made eight recommendations for the regional EPA administrator and one for the assistant administrator “for Land and Emergency Management to improve the institutional controls at American Creosote Works Superfund Site.” There are three main determinations found in the results section of the OIG report: first, the institutional controls to prevent potential exposure were either “insufficient or unimplemented;” second, the EPA missed its mark in communicating associated risks to the public in areas surrounding this Superfund site; and third, the full administrative record for this site was not available at the time of inspection. This report builds on what advocates argue is the sustained legacy of EPA inaction and failure to […]
Posted in CCA, Chemicals, Children, contamination, creosote, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pentachlorophenol, Uncategorized, Wood Preservatives | No Comments »
16
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 16, 2024) Citing serious health issues associated with its use, including Parkinson’s disease, and inaction by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the weed killer paraquat would be banned through legislation introduced in the California Assembly (AB 1963). Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), in the Assembly’s leadership, chair of the bicameral Environmental Caucus, and a self-described “steadfast advocate for the environment [and] sustainable communities,” introduced the legislation to phase out and ban the use of paraquat across all uses, including agriculture, by the end of 2025. The introduction of this bill follows a long history of scientific documentation of the pesticide’s hazards, fits and starts in the regulatory process, and previous efforts to ban the herbicide through legislative action. In 2018, U.S. Representative Nydia Velasquez (D-NY) introduced legislation (Protect Against Paraquat Act) to ban paraquat. In a 1986 factsheet, Beyond Pesticides wrote, “In mammals, paraquat attacks the epithelial tissues (the skin, nails, the cornea of the eye, and the linings of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract). There have also been reports of damage to the heart muscle and to nerves. It is easily absorbed through the skin as well as orally [and through inhalation]. Paraquat causes specific damage […]
Posted in California, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Paraquat, Parkinson's, Pesticide Regulation, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
29
Feb
(Beyond Pesticides, February 29, 2024) In the face of federal inaction, an Oregon regulation banning the agricultural uses of the highly toxic chlorpyrifos took effect on January 1, 2024. Chlorpyrifos was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in 2000 for most residential uses by its manufacturer, Dow Chemical, and has been the subject of extensive litigation. At that time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowed most agricultural uses to continue. Oregon joins four other states that have acted to ban chlorpyrifos, including Hawai’i, New York, California, and Maryland.  Central to state action are nervous system and brain effects in children, especially farmworker children. Chlorpyrifos is banned in 39 countries, including the European Union (see here for more Beyond Pesticides coverage). State action has become important since the November 2023 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, which overturned the EPA rule revoking all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos, an effective ban on chlorpyrifos use. The final EPA rule, issued in August 2021, came in response to a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found the agency’s inaction on chlorpyrifos unlawful. The case was filed by Earthjustice, on behalf of public health, labor, and disability organizations. The […]
Posted in Agriculture, Chlorpyrifos, Dow Chemical, Drift, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Farmworkers, Nervous System Effects, Oregon, Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Residues, Uncategorized | No Comments »
