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Category: pesticides

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.

Published on Leave a comment on Where Are the Hummingbirds?
Cardinal flowers    Credit: M. Silgailis

Hummingbirds like the red Cardinal flower (also called lobelia). Really like them. Butterflies also swarm to these flowers. Usually.

But not always. Since an immediate neighbor started using a mosquito service that uses high-volume pesticide applications of a synthetic pyrethroid (think of a leaf blower on steroids), there has been an absence of butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds in my garden. Other people also report this happening.

Even though the synthetic pyrethroids (e.g., Fendona) are not neonicotinoids, which we know kills bees - pyrethroids are also toxic to bees. Pyrethroids are broad-spectrum insecticides - that is, they kill a wide variety of insects indiscriminately. This totally destroys the biodiversity of species in the environment. We need bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other species!

But what are the pesticides doing to humans? Developing children? The developing fetus? Sick people? Everyone? Yes, there is accumulating evidence of health harms to humans, especially children and babies.

Published on Leave a comment on Bees and Butterflies Now Missing From Yards

This year a number of persons reported to me that when their neighbors started with mosquito and tick control pesticide applications, they no longer have bees or butterflies in their yards. Even if they have lots of bee and butterfly friendly flowers, or lots of clover - they now rarely or never see bees and butterflies. This has also been my experience.

As I reported last year, this is because mosquito/tick services use pesticides that are highly toxic to bees and butterflies. The applicators hold pesticide sprayers at waist height that spray insecticides out at high volume, and usually walk along a property 's perimeter spraying. Looks like leaf blowers blowing out pesticides!

Typically pyrethroid and cypermethrin insecticides (e.g. made by Fendona) are used. These are broad-spectrum (kill many species, including bees), microencapsulated, long-lasting (up to 90 days) pesticides, and applications are usually every 3 weeks. So it's actually an over-application of the pesticides.

I observed an applicator walking along a neighbor's yard perimeter applying the insecticides at waist height directly into my hedges (yes, it is obvious to the applicator that they are on my property). As he walked along, I could see the hedges violently shaking from the high volume application.

By the way, that is a deliberate non-target application of pesticides, which is against the law in my state. But it's what these companies do with impunity - go look at their web-site photos. By the way, pesticide contamination of adjacent properties will always be a problem in suburban yards with this kind of application.

Bees are pollinators, and unfortunately they are in serious decline in the United States. Pesticides are a big cause. Pesticides, including pyrethroids, also have numerous health effects on humans - none of them good. Especially worrisome is exposure during pregnancy or in young children.

Interestingly, others and I have also noticed that bird species that were common in our yards no longer visit once a neighbor starts with the mosquito and tick pesticide applications. Hummingbirds, gold finches, black-capped chickadees, juncos, robins, song sparrows and other birds - all are now missing from yards.

Published on Leave a comment on Common Pesticide Found In Human Semen
Sperm Credit: Wikipedia

Pesticides stick around in the environment and in humans. Thus, it shouldn't be a surprise that a recent study found the pesticide glyphosate in men's sperm.

Glyphosate (also known as Roundup) is the most commonly used herbicide (weed-killer) in the world. It is used on both genetically modified crops (Roundup Ready crops), as well as conventional crops. [It is not allowed to be used on organic crops.] This means we ingest glyphosate when we eat nonorganic foods, when we breathe air that is contaminated with glyphosate (from applying the product or from nearby applications), or we get it on our skin.

In the study, 128 men with fertility problems had their blood and seminal fluid analyzed. Glyphosate was detected in the blood of 72 of the men, and in these men glyphosate was also detected in the seminal fluid (semen). Surprisingly, glyphosate levels were 4 times higher in the seminal fluid than in the blood!

Smokers had blood and seminal plasma concentrations twice as high as non-smokers, and workers on farms had higher levels than non-farm jobs (e.g., transport, communication, finance). The person with the highest glyphosate concentration was a farmer. They also found that in this study there was no difference in the sperm concentration, movement, or shape/abnormal forms between men with or without glyphosate in the blood.

However, oxidative stress was shown to be higher in men with glyphosate in the blood and seminal fluid. Oxidative stress is known to have harmful effects on sperm (e.g., injures mitochondria, sperm dysfunction). Thus, the researchers concluded that glyphosate has a negative effect on male reproductive health.

To lower your glyphosate levels: Your levels can be reduced within days by switching to an organic diet. Also, don't use Roundup for weed control. If possible, use non-toxic alternatives in your yard (e.g, vinegar, boiling water, burn weeds with a Dragon torch, hand weed, or accept weeds as "wildflowers").

Excerpts from Beyond Pesticides: Presence Of Weed Killer Glyphosate In Human Sperm Elevates Debate On Pesticide Threats To Human Survival

A study published in the most recent edition of the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety documents for the first time the presence of the herbicide glyphosate in human sperm. The study looked at 128 French men with an average age of 36 years who tested positive for glyphosate in their blood. ...continue reading "Common Pesticide Found In Human Semen"

Published on Leave a comment on Bees and Butterflies No More
Azalea blossoms and bee 

A few weeks ago I watched many bees buzzing around a large azalea bush. They were loud! This was in a rural wooded area, where there are no outdoor pesticide applications on lawns and bushes.

Meanwhile, in my suburban yard, it is now rare to see bees and butterflies. This started ever since neighbors started hiring a company to do "mosquito and tick" pesticide applications. Synthetic pyrethroids are applied with a large "leaf blower" type device at waist height. Unfortunately, pyrethroids are highly toxic to pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

As you can imagine, this type of application - high volume application at waist height, means that the pesticides go everywhere, including into neighboring hedges and yards. This means that even though I have an organic yard, the bees and butterflies are now gone. I miss them!

Published on Leave a comment on The EPA Reverses Course and Now Proposes Banning Toxic Pesticide

Update to the toxic pesticide acephate story of last week. Well, well, well.... Due to the big outcry after ProPublica's story exposing EPA's recent decision to relax standards and so allow much more of the toxic pesticide acephate in our food, the officials at the EPA changed their minds and now propose banning it! 

Acephate is an insect killer commonly used on celery, lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables, and residues stay on produce that we eat. It also contaminates drinking water. (It's used on non-organic crops, but it's not allowed to be used on organic crops.)

Propublica's story broke on April 24, 2024, and immediately afterwards there was outrage over the EPA's relaxing of the pesticide standards decision. This is because the FDA was totally ignoring years of scientific and medical research showing harms to humans, and only accepting and believing what the pesticide industry told them. It even ignored its own scientists and advisory groups.

Acephate is a pesticide known to be so harmful that it was BANNED in Europe more than 20 years ago, yet allowed in the US. A major reason: harmful effects on the developing brains of fetuses and children, and linked to autism, hyperactivity, and reduced scores on intelligence tests. In 2023, the CDC said that autism spectrum disorder rates have now increased to 1 out of every  36 births.

Now we wait and see: Will the FDA (once again) cave to industry or actually do what they are supposed to do - protect consumers? 

ProPublica is a non-profit investigative journalism site. The following are excerpts from their May 1, 2024 story on the FDA reversal. From ProPublica: EPA Proposes Ban on Pesticide Widely Used on Fruits and Vegetables

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a proposal this week to ban a controversial pesticide that is widely used on celery, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. ...continue reading "The EPA Reverses Course and Now Proposes Banning Toxic Pesticide"

Published on Leave a comment on The EPA Proposes Relaxing Standards For A Toxic Pesticide

Once again the EPA is about to let us down - by not protecting us (the consumers) and giving in to big business. Against the advice of scientists and scientific advisory panels, the EPA is about to really relax standards for the toxic pesticide acephate.

This pesticide is an insecticide (kills insects) used on food crops, such as celery, lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes. So when you eat non-organic produce, you will also be ingesting the pesticide. But... studies find it is linked to neurological harms (e.g., autism, reduced scores on intelligence tests, hyperactivity). It also causes harms to bees and other pollinators, fish, and other mammals.

How could this happen? The EPA is only relying on industry studies (notorious for being biased) and ignoring independent studies that find harms. The EPA is proposing allowing 10 times more on foods  than is now allowed. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) banned acephate 20 years ago!

The EPA also proposed relaxing standards for a similar pesticide - malathion. Nope, nope, nope - for all the same reasons .

Excerpts from the investigative news site ProPublica on April 24, 2024: 10 Times as Much of This Toxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal

When you bite into a piece of celery, there’s a fair chance that it will be coated with a thin film of a toxic pesticide called acephate.

The bug killer — also used on tomatoes, cranberries, Brussels sprouts and other fruits and vegetables — belongs to a class of compounds linked to autism, hyperactivity and reduced scores on intelligence tests in children. ...continue reading "The EPA Proposes Relaxing Standards For A Toxic Pesticide"

Published on Leave a comment on Pesticides and Other Chemicals Stored in Home Garages Linked to ALS Risk

For a while now researchers have been finding that certain environmental chemical exposures are linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease. Frequent exposure to pesticides and heavy metal and VOC exposure in solvents (e.g., in woodworking) are linked to ALS.

A recent study found that storing chemicals such as gasoline, kerosene, gasoline-powered equipment, lawn care pesticides, paint, and woodworking chemicals in an attached home garage is also linked to a higher risk for ALS. These are toxic chemicals that are volatile - get into the air.

The researchers felt that not only did the persons with ALS have a history of exposure by working with the chemicals, the chemicals also leach into the air when stored in the home (the attached garage). Every time the door to the garage is opened, the chemicals in the garage air rush into the home.

Earlier studies found higher amounts of pesticides in people with ALS, as well as faster disease progression. Certain pesticides show up repeatedly in studies, including 2,4-D, glyphosate, carbaryl, and chlorpyrifos. Note that 2,4-D is in popular feed and weed products (and was in Agent Orange), and glyphosate is in the commonly used Roundup.

ALS is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. There is progressive loss of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing.

From Science Daily: Chemicals stored in home garages linked to ALS risk

Over the last decade, researchers at University of Michigan continue to find that exposure to environmental toxins -- from pesticides used in agriculture to volatile organic compounds in the manufacturing industry -- is linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. ...continue reading "Pesticides and Other Chemicals Stored in Home Garages Linked to ALS Risk"