Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

(Beyond Pesticides, March 31, 2008) Researchers studying related individuals who share environmental and genetic backgrounds find an association between pesticide use and Parkinson’s disease. The strongest links were between the disorder and use of herbicides and insecticides, such as organochlorines and organophosphates. The study, “Pesticide exposure and risk of Parkinson’s disease: a family-based case-control study,” [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 28, 2008) Three years ago, Carlos Candelario was born without arms or legs and with spinal and lung deformities, birth defects caused by his mother’s exposure to multiple pesticides while working in Ag-Mart Produce fields during her pregnancy. His parents, Francisca Herrera and Abraham Candelario, sued the company in 2006, and last [...]

Action: Stop Congress from undermining USDA’s ability through its conservation programs to (i) curtail dangerous pesticides that exceed safety thresholds or have not been fully tested, and (ii) advance the transition to organic production and land management.
Issue: USDA should retain its discretionary authority to restrict or prohibit specific classes of pesticides as a condition for [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 26, 2008) The sowing of gene-altered corn, called MON810, in France this spring will not be allowed until further scientific evidence on its safety is reviewed. This ruling came after growers argued that they faced serious economic harm if the ban on genetically modified crops was not immediately released before the start [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 25, 2008) According to a new study, Simplifying the Pesticide Risk Equation: The Organic Option, converting the nation’s eight million acres of produce farms to organic would reduce pesticide dietary risks significantly. The report provides the first-ever quantitative estimate of the degree to which pesticide risks from food can be eliminated through [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 24, 2008) Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced that they have identified ten contaminants, including pesticides, in the Potomac River, which flows through downtown Washington, DC, that could be responsible for the alarming discovery of “intersex fish,” male fish producing eggs. The suspected chemicals include: atrazine, a common herbicide used [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 21, 2008) Will this be the pesticide label of the near future? It will be unless you act now to stop cause marketing on toxic pesticide products. Send your comments to EPA by Thursday, March 27, 2008 and oppose cause marketing on toxic pesticide products. See Take Action webpage.

On October 31, 2007, [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 20, 2008) A 2000-2005 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study, Pesticide Occurrence and Distribution in the Lower Clackamas River Basin, Oregon, 2000-2005, finds a variety of pesticides in river and tributary samples, along with trace-level detections of pesticides in treated drinking-water samples collected from a drinking-water treatment plant that uses the Clackamas River [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 18, 2008) Congress on Monday opened an investigation into allegations of potential conflicts of interests among scientists appointed to panels that advise the EPA on the toxic effects of chemicals. Members of EPA’s science advisory panel have been linked to powerful chemical manufacturers and interest groups.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich), chair of the [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 18, 2008) To kick off National Poison Prevention Week on March 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is urging people to “lock up” their pesticides to protect children –stopping far short of advising the public on non-toxic methods of pest management. According to public health advocates, EPA, as a facilitator and [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 17, 2008) Not everything that goes down the drain can be removed by water treatment plants, which leaves some alarming contaminants in America’s drinking water. A five-month investigation by the Associated Press (AP) finds trace quantities of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of 41 million Americans. Scientists fear that ingestion of these [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 14, 2008) An innovative pilot program integrating organic apple and organic pork production proves successful by decreasing pest problems and increasing farm profitability, according to the initial results of a one-year USDA Integrated Organic Program funded study.Jim Koan, owner of Al-Mar Orchards in Flushing, Michigan, had been fighting the plum curculio [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 13, 2008) Exposure to certain chemicals, including pesticides and nerve agents, explains the high rates of illness in Persian Gulf War Veterans, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Veterans from the 1990-91 conflict have a higher rate of chronic, multi-symptom health problems than [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 12, 2008) BioDiversity Research Institute, a nonprofit ecological research group, released a new report that was presented March 12, 2008 to Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Entitled “Contaminant Screening in Maine Birds,” it documents over 100 harmful contaminants that were found in Maine bird eggs.
Scientists collected 60 eggs, representing 23 [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 11, 2008) A Decade of Children’s Health Research: Highlights from EPA’s Science to Achieve Results Program, a ten-year Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study released March 10, 2008, summarizes important research findings found from $127 million invested in research grants on children’s environmental health in response to an executive order issued in 1997. [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 10, 2008) Head lice affect an estimated 12 million people in the U.S. each year, and are rapidly becoming resistant to over-the-counter and prescription medications. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have found that ivermectin, a compound produced by soil-dwelling bacteria, was 100 percent effective in killing head lice resistant to [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 7, 2008) A number of counties in California’s Bay Area have voiced strong opposition to state plans to aerially spray a pheromone mixture over areas where the light brown apple moth (LBAM) has been found. While the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) plans to begin spraying this summer, state legislators [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 6, 2008) The public is invited to a screening of the remarkable Rachel Carson film, A Sense of Wonder, opening at the D.C. Environmental film festival, March 12th at 7 pm at E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C. The film was shot last fall at Miss Carson’s cottage in Maine and is [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 5, 2008) The state of Minnesota will this week make a decision on a bill that would create a public database of all pesticides applied in the state. The bill would also require farmers and commercial applicators to notify neighbors before using restricted pesticides that are volatile.
Democratic Rep. Ken Tschumper of La [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 4, 2008) Concern about environmental health and justice has exploded in our communities and around the world as a political and moral issue. One of the central threats, toxic pesticides, is directly linked to adverse health effects, particularly in children, and poisoning of the environment. We have learned enough in the last [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 3, 2008) In a five-year study of the Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found that, “Synthetic organic pesticides and their degradation products have been widely detected at low levels in the watershed, including emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and hormones.“ The report finds that concentrations of [...]