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Category: pesticides

Published on Leave a comment on Exposures to Pesticides and Childhood Cancer Risk

The US is awash in pesticides - whether used on farms, in homes, on lawns, right-of-ways, on flea collars, etc., etc. They are used for specific reasons (e.g., to kill specific pests or weeds), but they also cause harms. People have more exposure to pesticides than they realize, and this results in health harms, especially to children and during pregnancy.

For example, people are exposed when there is drifting of pesticides to non-target areas when applied, or there is contamination of drinking water, or from the pesticide residues in the foods we eat, touching dogs wearing flea collars, or when children play on treated lawns.

A large study found that exposure to multiple pesticides results in an increased risk of childhood cancers - brain cancer by 36%, leukemia rates by 23%, and overall pediatric cancer rates by 30%. The study was done in Nebraska, the state with the second highest cancer rates. Many scientists, and also researchers of the study, believe this is from extensive use of multiple pesticides on crops.

Unfortunately, the government only looks at exposure to one chemical at a time - not the mixtures we are exposed to on a daily basis. Also, the most toxic pesticides (dicamba, paraquat, glyphosate) are more regulated or banned in Europe, but not in the US. (Remember: $$$ first in the US).

Simple steps you can do to lower your pesticide exposure: 1) Eat as many organic foods as possible. Pesticide levels in the body will rapidly go down. 2) Use non-toxic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or organic methods for pest problems. 3) Don't use pesticides on the grounds where you live. View lawns as having wildflowers (bee habitats!) and not weeds. 4) Take your shoes off at the door (so you don't track in pesticides). 5) Use some sort of water filter for drinking water if you suspect that there are pesticides in your water.

From The Guardian: Exposure to combination of pesticides increases childhood cancer risk – study

Exposure to multiple pesticides significantly increases the risk of childhood cancers compared with exposures to just one pesticide, first-of-its-kind research finds, raising new fears that children are more at risk to the substances’ harmful effects than previously thought. ...continue reading "Exposures to Pesticides and Childhood Cancer Risk"

Published on Leave a comment on Study Finds Common Pesticide Has Effect On Pregnancies and Babies

The US uses massive amounts of the pesticide glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup) on farms, the sides of roads, and even by homeowners on their properties. More than 127,000 tons of this weed-killer (herbicide) is used just on US farm fields! But studies, including this recent study, find that glyphosate is also linked to health harms, including lower weights and earlier birth of babies.

The recent research found that increased glyphosate applications on farm fields in the last two decades (especially due to genetically modified crops and preharvest use) has especially impacted pregnancies and babies born in rural areas of the United States. That is, pregnant women in farm areas are the most impacted by glyphosate - it's not just used on the fields nearby (they get exposed from pesticide drift), but also in the non-organic foods that they eat. Lower birthweights are generally considered a predictor of health problems (and higher health care costs).

Evidence for health harms from glyphosate are increasing each year, such as an increased risk of cancer (e.g., non-Hodgkin lymphoma), premature births, endocrine disruption, and even disruptions of the gut microbiome (it kills beneficial microbes in the gut, including such important keystone bacteria as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii.) The percentage of people with glyphosate detected in their urine, and the amount (concentration) has been rising over time. It can now be detected in almost all of us, including children.

By the way, the US allows much higher levels of glyphosate residue on foods than countries in other parts of the world, including Europe. But in Brazil it's even worse with levels much higher than in the US, and with higher rates of childhood cancer and infant mortality.

Organic food production does not allow the use of glyphosate. To lower glyphosate levels in your body - increase the amount  of organic foods that you eat.

Excerpts from Science: Common weed killer may be harming infants

Babies in rural counties of the United States that use a common weed killer are born slightly earlier and underweight, a large study finds. These changes, although small on average, could result in learning disabilities and an increased risk of infection, researchers reported last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, resulting in more than $1 billion in health care costs nationwide each year. ...continue reading "Study Finds Common Pesticide Has Effect On Pregnancies and Babies"

Published on Leave a comment on When Will Our Government Protect Us From Endocrine Disruptors and Harmful Pesticides?

Over the course of the past decade, while reading many, many studies and articles about the FDA and EPA (you know, the government agencies meant to protect us) I have become cynical. And depressed. The agencies are not doing a good job protecting ordinary people (us), especially from endocrine disruptors and pesticides. There is too much corruption and too much money involved, with the bottom line being that Big Business is protected and does as it wants.

One example is why paraquat is still used in the US. This pesticide is a weed-killer that researchers link to a wide variety of diseases, including Parkinson's disease. It is widely used in the US, but banned in more than 70 countries. The EPA won't take action, and keeps saying the evidence for harms is "weak" and "insufficient", and they'll have to reassess the pesticide. But neuroscientists say:

“We know from animal work—and this is convincing and consistent—that paraquat isn’t safe,” says Bas Bloem, a neurologist at Radboud University Medical Center. The compound can pass from the bloodstream to the brain, he notes, and kills dopaminergic neurons, the loss of which drives Parkinson’s; indeed, paraquat is used to create laboratory animals with Parkinson-like disease. It also enhances the buildup of a misfolded, toxic version of the protein alpha-synuclein that’s a hallmark of the disease."

This relationship between Big Business (Big $$) was summed up by Dr. Theo Colborn back in 2014: “Our government operates via the stakeholder approach,” says (Theo) Colborn, “where those who are creating the problem are invited to solve the problem.”  Yup.

Plastic duck containing endocrine disruptors

Theo Colborn was an absolutely amazing person. She is the main reason that endocrine disruptors are even being discussed these days. [Go read Our Stolen Future, published in 1997]. And, of course, Big Business (Big $$) went after her. But she (and others) persisted, and nowadays endocrine disruptors are taken very seriously by researchers and the general public.

Some good resources for up-to-date information about endocrine disruptors and pesticides: Collaborative About Health and the Environment (CHE) (up-to-date research, including research webinars), Silent Spring Institute, Environmental Working Group (EWG), PFAS Central, Beyond Pesticides (including their Daily News Blog), and Environmental Health News (EHN). ...continue reading "When Will Our Government Protect Us From Endocrine Disruptors and Harmful Pesticides?"

Published on Leave a comment on Some Pesticides Are Linked to Prostate Cancer

Pesticides are once again in the news as being linked to cancer. A recent study found that 22 pesticides show direct associations with prostate cancer in the US, and 4 of these pesticides are associated with death from prostate cancer.

The Stanford Univ. researchers also found that the more these pesticides were used in a county-wide area, the greater the association with prostate cancer. They analyzed a total of 295 pesticides across US counties. One of the pesticides associated with prostate cancer is 2,4-D, which is commonly used on lawns as a weed-killer, for example in Feed and Weed products. [Note: it was also one of the 2 pesticides in Agent Orange).

Earlier studies also found a link with some of the pesticides and prostate cancer, including 2,4-D. But this study found a link with 19 more.

The four pesticides associated with death from prostate cancer are three herbicides (trifluralin, cloransulam-methyl, and diflufenzopyr) and one insecticide (thiamethoxam). But of these, only trifluralin is classed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a "possible human carcinogen". (Yes, current studies used to evaluate pesticides are inadequate)

Bottom line: Avoid the use of pesticides as much as possible. Organic methods or least toxic integrated pest management (IPM) is best. On lawns - embrace diversity and view weeds as wildflowers, and your lawn a bee habitat.

From Medical Xpress: Study reveals links between many pesticides and prostate cancer

Researchers have identified 22 pesticides consistently associated with the incidence of prostate cancer in the United States, with four of the pesticides also linked with prostate cancer mortality. The findings are published in Cancer. ...continue reading "Some Pesticides Are Linked to Prostate Cancer"

Published on Leave a comment on The US Government Helped Fund A Group Attacking Pesticide Critics

Now, this is wild, but it makes sense. A former executive of the giant pesticide company Monsanto started a consulting firm v-Fluence, which secretly profiled critics of pesticides and GMOs (genetically modified organisms). All to downplay the dangers of pesticides, to discredit environmentalists, and to undermine any anti-pesticide legislation in North America, Europe, and Africa.

And...drumroll... which was partly paid for by US taxpayer money. Yes, over $400,000. US taxpayers partly funded this covert campaign for services done by v-Fluence, such as "enhanced monitoring of critics" of "modern agriculture approaches" (genetically modified crops, conventional pesticides).

What?  How can this be? For years now, Big Business (pesticide industry) has had a huge influence over safety rules, research, and studies deemed "acceptable" at the EPA and other US government agencies. So v-Fluence profiled and attacked in-depth any critics of pesticides or a "threat" to their interests. Even the writers and food critics Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman - due to their support for organic farming and concerns with industrial farming.

Journalists from a number of groups, including the non-profit newsroom The Lighthouse and The Guardian, investigated the "private social network" called Bonus Eventus. This social network was set up by v-Fluence to counter resistance to pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops, and to also denigrate organic and other alternative farming methods. [Organic farming does not use conventional pesticides, thus it would result in Monsanto and other pesticide companies losing $$.]

More than 30 current US government officials are on the membership list, most of whom are from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). At the least, this is a conflict of interest.

By the way, the problem with genetically modified foods is not the concept of genetic modification, but that it is used in a way that dramatically increases the amount of pesticides used. For example, growing Round-up Ready Corn (which means it is resistant to glyphosate) means that more Roundup is being used on the GMO corn than ever before, and this means consumers ultimately ingest more pesticides than ever before when eating products with corn in it. Such as cereal.

Excerpts from The Lighthouse: Poison PR

Paraquat is among the most toxic agricultural chemicals ever produced. It’s banned in the European Union, where the consequences of its use are still being felt, but in parts of the world it’s still being sold. This is made possible, in part, by an influence machine that works to suppress opposition to an $78 billion global industry.

A year-long investigation managed to penetrate a PR operation that casts those who raise the alarm, from pesticide critics to environmental scientists or sustainability campaigners, as an anti-science “protest industry,” and used US government money to do so. ...continue reading "The US Government Helped Fund A Group Attacking Pesticide Critics"

Published on Leave a comment on Some Pesticides Linked to Increased Risk of Stillbirth

Once again, another study found that being exposed to pesticides has harmful health effects. Of all sorts. A recent study found that pregnant women exposed to certain pesticides increases the risk of a stillbirth. In this case, exposure means living near (less than 1/3 mile) where certain pesticides have been used.

The pesticides linked to increased stillbirths when exposed to in the pre-conception period were: cyfluthrin (a pyrethroid), zeta-cypermethrin (a pyrethroid), pyrethroids as a class, organophosphates as a class, malathion, carbaryl and propamocarb hydrochloride. Exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy to the following pesticides were associated with stillbirths: fenpropathrin (a pyrethroid), permethrin (a pyrethroid), organophosphates as a class, acephate and formetanate hydrochloride.

This means living near a non-organic farm has increased risks to pregnancy and the baby, including stillbirth. Note that some of these are also commonly used residential pesticides, such as pyrethroids (used as insecticides, and especially by mosquito and tick services).  We shouldn't be surprised when pesticides applied to kill living things (e.g., insects) also have harmful effects on developing babies (also alive). [Some studies showing harmful effects of pesticides on pregnancy and the developing fetus (baby).]

From Medical Xpress: Pesticide exposure linked to stillbirth risk in new study

Living less than about one-third of a mile from pesticide use prior to conception and during early pregnancy could increase the risk of stillbirths, according to new research led by researchers at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center. ...continue reading "Some Pesticides Linked to Increased Risk of Stillbirth"

Published on Leave a comment on Eating Organic Foods Lowers Pesticide Levels In the Body

We all have some pesticide residues in our body, and the levels vary. One way that people are exposed to pesticides is from the foods they eat, specifically non-organic foods. Pesticides that people are exposed to can be measured in the blood and urine. 

A recent review of 72 scientific studies found that people who eat an organic diet have lower pesticide levels in their urine. (Other pesticide exposures are from the environment around us, for example, garden and lawn pesticides.)

The study authors specifically looked at pesticide residues and metabolites of common pesticides such as organophosphates, pyrethroids, 2,4-D, and glyphosate. The most commonly mentioned pesticide residue was from pyrethroids, with 34% of studies finding it in urine. Keep in mind that only a limited number of pesticide residues were looked for. In reality, people are exposed to many more in life, including from non-organic foods that they eat.

Looking at the studies, the researchers found a massive reduction in pesticide residues when an organic diet is adopted. For example, phenol and phosphonate herbicide levels drop 41% to 100% in the studies, and pyrethroid metabolites dropped 16% to 100% [Note: each study had different drops in pesticide residues.]

And yes, you want lower levels of pesticide residues in your body for health reasons. For example, pyrethroids have been associated with numerous health harms, including cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive effects.

Bottom line: To lower pesticide levels in your body, eat as many organic foods as possible.

Excerpts from Beyond Pesticides: Review of Pesticide Residues In Urine, Lower Concentrations With Organic Diet

 A literature review, published this month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, explores levels of pesticide residues found in samples of human urine with environmental exposure and dietary intake and confirms prior findings about the benefits of an organic diet. Similar to past findings, lower concentrations of chemicals are detected in the urine of participants who report eating an organic diet. ...continue reading "Eating Organic Foods Lowers Pesticide Levels In the Body"

Published on Leave a comment on Pesticides Are Contributing To Bee Declines

For several years I've been reporting on the effects of pesticides on bees. Yes, it's all bad because pesticides kill bees. Commonly used pesticides such as pyrethroids that many view as "safe" kill bees. Pyrethroids are broad spectrum insect killers, which means they kill both beneficial bees and other pollinators, as well as potentially harmful insects (mosquitos).

A recent study confirmed that pesticides are a major reason that wild bee populations are significantly down in the US. The researchers found that bee species are about 43% down in areas of heavy pesticide use. They singled out pesticides (insecticides) such as neonicotinoids and pyrethroids as drivers of this bee species reduction. They pointed out that using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or organic methods would help reduce pesticide use and so help with bee species populations.

This means that businesses (e.g., Mosquito Joe) that apply long-lasting pyrethroids throughout suburban yards and hedges in the US are contributing directly to bee species reduction.

Other studies found that applying pesticides (no matter what kind) to lawns destroys bee populations and reduces the number of bee species. Think of lawns that are not treated with pesticides as having wildflowers, not weeds. These are bee habitats!

From Environmental Health News (EHN): Pesticides may be contributing to the disappearance of bees across the US

A recent study published in Nature Sustainability found that pesticide use may be a major factor in the decline of bee populations within the United States. ...continue reading "Pesticides Are Contributing To Bee Declines"

Published on Leave a comment on Brain Disease Cluster In Canada

The province of New Brunswick in Canada is home to a mysterious cluster of brain diseases in some of its residents - even in young persons in their 20s and 30s. The numbers of persons stricken (currently 430) with neurodegenerative brain diseases and dying is growing, and at this time no one knows exactly why this is happening.

One possibility is pesticide exposure, especially the pesticide (herbicide) glyphosate. Glyphosate is heavily used in the province in the forest industry, which is also a main industry. The herbicide is heavily used in clear cuts and tree plantations.

Lab tests found incredibly high levels of the pesticide glyphosate in the persons with the neurological symptoms. But after these results were revealed, the provincial government basically shut all research down. A doctor who was instrumental in bringing attention to this mysterious brain disease cluster was muzzled. Uh oh... a political and industry cover up?

The NY Times did an in-depth investigation, and the article written by Greg Donohue makes for fascinating reading.  They All Got Mysterious Brain Diseases. They're Fighting to Learn Why.

The article pointed out that recent studies have shown that glyphosate crosses the blood-brain barrier, and that chronic exposure can lead to neurological inflammation that can trigger Alzheimer’s disease. There is a link between glyphosate and an increased risk for Parkinson's disease and other health problems, including cancer.

A further discussion of that investigation and the role of pesticides (glyphosate) in brain diseases. Good list of references for more information. Excerpts from Beyond Pesticides: One Of World's Largest Dementia Clusters In Young People May Be Tied To High Blood Levels Of Glyphosate

A piercing investigative article in the August 14 New York Times by journalist Greg Donahue reveals the abandonment of a group of brain disease patients in an area of Canada with forestry management for paper products, agriculture, and large amounts of pesticide use, including glyphosate. ...continue reading "Brain Disease Cluster In Canada"

Published on Leave a comment on Slow Death For A Pollinator
Dying pollinator

There was a rare sighting of an insect pollinator in my yard recently. Unfortunately, it was dying. I suspect that pesticides were the cause of the slow death.

The ordinary person has no clue how damaging pesticide applications on their lawns and plants can be to insects living nearby. To pollinators (e.g., bees and wasps). To entire insect and bird ecosystems.

On the day I saw the dying insect pollinator, an immediate neighbor had not one, but two pesticide applications by two different services in one day! One service was for their lawn, and the second one was for mosquitos (using pyrethroid and cypermethrin insecticides) with a device that looks like a leaf blower. This device is held at waist-height (a high volume application).

Soon after that I found the dying, but still twitching, pollinator on the hood of my car (close to the property line). As I've discussed before, since the neighbor started mosquito pesticide applications 2 years ago, I rarely see a bee, wasp, or butterfly in my organic yard. At most, maybe one bee every 2 months? Before that, there were many daily.

The mosquito applications are done using cypermethrin and pyrethroid insecticides (which are synthetic pesticides, e.g., made by Fendona). Pyrethroids are known to be highly toxic to pollinators such as bees and wasps, and there is growing evidence of harms to humans (here, here).

Of course, when pesticides are applied, they drift and travel to non-target neighboring areas. It's sad. But totally legal.