The Attorney General (AG) of the State of Massachusetts has succeeded, for what is believed to be the first time, in getting a pesticide giant to change they way they communicate with the public about pesticide risks to the environment. As this press release describes how the state accused Bayer of misleading consumers about the […]
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Virtually all Americans who enjoy at least a few servings of fresh fruits and vegetables are exposed on a daily basis to one to four residues of neonicotinoid (nicotinyl for short) insecticides. That’s why they are in me and you most every day, except of course for the days we purchase and consume organic produce. […]
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The February 2017 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives contains an important open access research paper on the human health effects of neonicotinoid insecticides (nicotinyls for short). The work was carried out by a team led by Dr. Melissa Perry of George Washington University. The issue also includes an accompanying news report by Nate Seltenrich. Dr. […]
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By Brian Baker Rotenone is a non-synthetic botanical insecticide and piscicide (chemical poisonous to fish) derived from the roots of Derris spp., Lonchocarpus spp. and Tephrosia spp. It has been used historically in organic production, usually with restrictions that limit its impact on human health and the environment. Prior to the isolation and commercialization of organically acceptable formulations […]
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The U.S. Geological Survey recently published a comprehensive overview of pesticides in the nation’s streams and ground water. Water samples were collected at 186 streams in 51 study areas across the country and pesticides in ground water were monitored in over 5,000 wells. The findings confirm earlier studies showing that pesticides have become ubiquitous contaminants […]
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A team based at the University of Washington in Seattle has published an important study showing that in school-age children, a diet composed of predominantly organic food “…provides a dramatic and immediate protective effect against exposures to organophosphorous (OP) pesticides.” Twenty-three children were enrolled in the study, which included three phases of testing for OP […]
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Over the last forty years nitrogen fertilizer use has increased seven-fold and nearly every acre of intensively farmed, conventional cropland is treated with pesticides. A team of scientists explored the impact of pesticides and other environmental toxicants on symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) brought about by Rhizobium bacteria (Fox et al., 2007). Their findings were published […]
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The National Institute of Health’s Agricultural Health Study has been underway for over a decade. It has produced valuable data on the impacts of pesticides on human health, and established linkages between pesticide use and cancer and neurological disorders. In an important paper in “Diabetes Care,” a team of government scientists found that pregnant women […]
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Some pesticides can disrupt the development of the brain and nervous system at extremely low doses. A study published in October 2006 provides key new insights into how and why (Slotkin et al., 2006). The organophosphate (OP) class of insecticides includes some of the most dangerous pesticides still in widespread use. This family of chemistry […]
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Latino farmworkers and their children face the highest levels of pesticide exposure of any population group, with the possible exception of certain types of pesticide applicators. In 2004 a team of scientists measured the levels of urinary metabolites in 60 farmworker children ages 1 to 6 in North Carolina (Arcury et al., 2007). The testing […]
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