18
Feb
Public Comments Needed Now to Ban the Dangerous Herbicide 2,4-D
(Beyond Pesticides, February 18, 2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting through February 23, 2009 public comments on a petition to cancel all registrations for the herbicide 2,4-D and to revoke all of its tolerances. The petition was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in November and published by EPA on December 24, 2008. As the most commonly used “home and garden” chemical, millions of U.S. households especially vulnerable children and pets, are exposed to this toxic chemical.
Beyond Pesticides fully supports the cancellation of this dangerous pesticide which has been associated with a host of adverse human impacts, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental effects, as well as water contamination and toxicity to aquatic organisms. The highly toxic chemical can be replaced by cost-competitive and effective management practices widely used in organic agriculture and lawn care.
As long as 2,4-D remains on the market, the public will continue to be exposed to, and suffer the effects of this chemical whose health impacts have long been ignored by EPA. Public health and environmental advocates believe it is time that EPA put science and the health of the public and the environment first and ban this dangerous chemical.
2,4-D is one of the most widely used herbicide for the control of broadleaf weeds in commercial agriculture and residential landscapes in the U.S. About 46 million pounds of 2,4-D are used annually, with 16 million pounds used in non-agricultural settings, such as golf courses, playing fields, and residential lawns. 2,4-D was considered eligible for reregistration by the EPA in 2005 with the publication of its Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) document. However, according to advocates, extensive important scientific evidence pointing to the dangers of 2,4-D have been ignored by the agency during its risk assessment process. These include scientific observations that 2,4-D is an endocrine disruptor with predicted human health risks ranging from changes in estrogen and testosterone levels, thyroid problems, prostate cancer and reproductive abnormalities. EPA has yet to finalize a screening program to assess endocrine disruption for pesticides. According to EPA’s RED document for 2,4-D, current data “demonstrate effects on the thyroid and gonads following exposure to 2,4-D, there is concern regarding its endocrine disruption potential.” Despite this finding, the agency found 2,4-D eligible for reregistration, a fact that advocates say illustrates EPA’s flawed risk assessment process.
Along with numerous health effects that continue to be ignored, EPA removed the additional (10X) safety factor instituted to protect children from pesticide exposure. The removal of this extra safeguard for children means that children playing on lawns and fields continue to be exposed to a chemical that has known and uncertain toxicological effects from which they are not adequately protected. In fact, there are several data gaps and uncertainties in the toxicological database for 2,4-D such as, according to the RED, concern for developmental and neurotoxic effects. 2,4-D is also commonly formulated with other toxic herbicides such as dicamba and mecoprop-p (MCPP). The agency has not evaluated the cumulative effects of these chemicals, even though they are growth regulators and have the same mode of action. As such, exposures and risks posed from this combination(s) of chemicals have gone unchecked.
2,4-D is one of the oldest registered herbicides in the US. Its association with a host of human effects, including cancer, promoted a Special Review of the chemical in 1986. A few years later in a unique move, several large pesticides companies with a common interest in keeping 2,4-D on the market formed the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data. In 2007, EPA decided not to initate a special review after all. 2,4-D, once part of the deadly duo of chemicals that made up Agent Orange, can also be contaminated with several forms of dioxin, including 2,3,7,8-TCDD, a known carcinogen. Studies have also documented that once tracked indoors from lawns, 2,4-D can stay indoors (on carpets) for up to a year. 2,4-D is also absorbed by the body more easily in the presence of sunscreen, DEET and in the consumption of alcohol.
TAKE ACTION: Tell EPA that it is time to put science and the health of the public and the environment first! Tell the agency that 2,4-D is too dangerous to remain on the market. If you would like to sign on to Beyond Pesticides’ comments, email Nichelle Harriott at nharriott@beyondpesticides.org by February 22. Or submit your own comments in support of this petition at www.regulation.gov, using docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0877, no later than February 23, 2009. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments. You can also send your comments via mail to Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
Please add me to the petition. Salamat!
February 19th, 2009 at 5:33 pmPlease add my name to the petition
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 pmI would like to know the name of the manufacturer of the herbicide. I can make an educated guess, but it’s best to be sure. I’ve read several of the public comments and most support use of the herbicide. I’m guessing they are “lobbyists” or have some vested interest in said manufacturer. I’m so tired of being duped by Big Agriculture.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:33 pmplease add my name to the petition to ban 2,4-D. Thankyou.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:42 pmBan this stuff Now………
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:24 pmPlease add my name to the petition of one who represents a community of 100s that have been exposed to lethal pesticides over a three month period and have since lost good friends to this atrocity.
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:41 pmWe must stop using these chemicals. They just aren’t necessary anymore and are ferociously dangerous to our youth and pets.
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:56 pmthese pesticides need to be discontinued.
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:05 pmAdd me to the petition!
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:05 pmI’ve been concerned about the use of lawn pesticides for years and their effects on children/pets. Our beloved dog died of lymphatic cancer and I truly believe it was caused by the widespread lawn pesticide use. Let’s protect our families and pets and bring back the honeybees by banning the pesticides.
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:55 pmBan 2,4D now!!
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:05 pmPlease add my name to the petition to stop using these pesticides.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:37 pmThere are safer and effective ways to deal with weeds. We urge you to cancel all uses of 2,4-D and to protect public and environmental health.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:45 pmPlease add my name to the petition to ban 2,4-D.
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:57 pmMy son plays baseball most of the year -much of it outdoors. These chemicals must be banned for the health and safety of our children, pets and those of us adults who like to be outside. Please add my name to the petition.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:59 amPlease people. If you want to start banning for cosmetic purposes, lets start with Febreze,Perfumes and Bounce Sheets.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:52 pmPlease add my name to the petition.
March 1st, 2009 at 12:52 pmI wish you would listen to what you are saying. With everything there are pros and cons. A complete ban is not helpful to anyone, including the environment. Yes there are other options. But to loose a whole set of chemistry is not a smart choice. Take a look at your lifestyles and tell me that you do not use or consume something that is already causing cancer and other issues.
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:08 pmAdd me to the petition.
My mother was exposed to 2,4-D 15 years ago. She was poisoned and left disabled, and she never recovered. Anybody who would oppose this ban doesn’t know what this chemical can do to human beings.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:01 pmPlease add my name to the petition to ban 2,4-D.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:00 pmPlease add my name to the petition
March 5th, 2009 at 7:43 pmI am delighted to learn that this vicious poison 2,4-D is being called on the carpet along with its manufacturer. Our country should be aware of just how dangerous this chemical is. Do you realize its similar to Agent Orange? and do you know the serious medical complications that have profoundly affected the health of our Vietnam Vets? It’s a travesty. Get real. Wake up.
I cannot wait for the lawn care company that frequents my neigbors next door to ensure the outright destruction of our back yard pond and surrounding habitat (which I now a Silent Spring). And, last but not least, I cannot imagine what will happen to my baby daugher in the future. Thanks alot you selfish and greedy lawn care companies and ignorant neighbors. And this is America?
March 5th, 2009 at 9:29 pmPlease add me to the petition.
March 8th, 2009 at 7:18 pmI am a 36 year old hodgkins disease survivor . i am been considered cured after having part of my childhood arrested by a disease that most likely was from a few days of crop dusting near my childhood home. eight months after the fields on either side of my home were treated, i noticed a lump in my neck. i had cancer at the age of twelve…a cancer that is less likely to affect young girls than other kinds,…and a kind of lymphoma that is loosely related to 2-4-d. i can tell you, there is no other reason on all of the earth, that i had cancer, and will spend the rest of my life trooping through the long term side effects of the cure…all could have been avoided….shameful really.
March 8th, 2009 at 10:15 pmPlease add me to the petition to ban 2,4-D. Remember clover lawns require no chemicals!
March 16th, 2009 at 5:27 pmSome of you folks leaving a comment need to get an education. 24d is not a pesticide, as in insect killer. It is a herbicide, a weed killer. I am sure that some people using this product are not adhearing to the product warnings and it could be harmful if not used properly, however farmers and ranchers need this product in their crops and pastures. Other so called alternatives simply are not feasible and your food supply would diminish greatly if this product were removed from the market.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pmMr. Nelson:
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:19 pmThese people refer to it as a pesticide because herbicides and pesticides are regulated by various Depts of Ag under one umbrella as “pesticides.”
Thanks
Allowing the continued use of deadly pesticides is a national disgrace. Haven’t we learned anything about deadly toxins the past hundred years?
April 16th, 2009 at 3:38 pmIt’s a shameful fact that money is more important
to powerful corporate officers and politicians than are human lives.
Ban it! Recall it from every shelf in America! A farmer gave some to my husband to use on our acre of weeds. I came home while he was spraying it, and immediately my entire body turned flaming red, I had severe stomach pains, and my first seizure ever. After a trip to the emergency room, the ER doctor recommended that I be placed on the National Pesticide list that requires a company to notify me of a spray in my area. My neighbor, however, does not have to notify me, and insists on using the product regardless of any health effects it has on me. Last week he used it without telling me, and I ended up having seizures and a myriad of other health implications. My autistic daughter ended up with a severe rash all over her body from it. Why should people have to suffer so much all for the sake of a beautiful lawn. I live in a farming community with a high rate of cancer and it just so happens, a high use of 2,4-d.
April 26th, 2009 at 7:34 pmOh, this the best. Going over an email I sent writing about endocrine disruptors on my gmail account I noticed a “sponsored link” to ABC Laboratories…(big oops on their part)curious I clicked the site. They are serving the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, and were bragging how they were going to be involved with the new EPA evaluation process and how they could make it all look good on paper….just what we need more “mad” scientists willing to do anything for a buck, involved with the process. Perhaps we should demand the EPA NOT include ABC Laboratories with the process…it is their type of “science” that has brought this country to its knees in a health care crisis.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:49 amI wish there had been more publicity regarding the deadline. My neighbor just sprayed 2,4 D all over his yard this morning– and I had the window open and two small children inside who know can’t even go outside to play. I sincerely hope that the EPA will make the right choice, the moral choice, the intelligent choice. PLEASE ban 2,4 D! It’s only purpose is to kill!
May 31st, 2009 at 1:14 pmI just came from the vet where my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. Looking on the internet I’ve found information linking 24D to cancer. I have my lawn sprayed regularly and found that 24d is used. Why is this still on the market! With all the government regulations on all kinds of things, how has this known toxin been allowed to remain on the market.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:00 pmMarcell sorry to hear about your pup…..Because the 2,4-D task force made up entirely of chemical company
(Charles & Conn, LLC, 5904 Treetop Ridge, Durham, North Carolina 27705; Dow AgroSciences, LLC, Indianapolis, Indiana; John Wise & Associates, Ltd., Liberty, Missouri; §BASF Aktiengesellschaft, Ludwigshafen/Rhein, Germany; and ¶The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan 48674)research touting that 2,4-D was perfectly safe and…. the government believed them?!
If the government is going to deem it cost effective to poison us….then let them pay for damages–instead of putting the financial burden on we the people– by assuming the full responsibility of paying for ALL HEALTH CARE–Health care by the way funded entirely by all those who use and manufacture poisons–and let’s see how long the poisoning will continue…IT”S THE PERFECT FAILSAFE.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:04 amIn 45 years I have never sprayed 2,4-D on my lawn, there is no reason for that. It is a broadleaf weed killer. More chemicals are misused by homeowners than any other group. It has to stop. I need a license and continuing ed. to buy chemicals. You are voting with your dollars every day. Why do you buy chemicals for your household and your lawn? Why do you buy processed food? You are always looking for big G to protect you, but you can’t protect against ignorance.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:33 pm