Recently in Pesticides Category

Chemical safety affects us all.  But how do laws support chemical safety?

Out of more than 62,000 synthetic chemicals that are part of our everyday lives, fewer than 200 have been tested for safety.

The Chemical Industry and Safety Best Practices

Thanks to effective lobbying by the chemical industry, laws are written so that every synthetic chemical is "innocent until proven guilty." The legal burden weighs on those seeking to prove the harm a substance can cause.

Find out more in "Toxic Ignorance is Not Bliss," by author and writer Dominique Browning.

Human Guinea Pigs

Browning reveals the shocking truth when it comes to potentially toxic chemicals -- you're basically on your own.

"We should be worried about what amounts to a huge, uncontrolled human testing experiment. Without agreeing to it, without understanding it, without even knowing it, we have become the chemical industry's guinea pigs."

Of highly visible concers of late is Bisphenol A (BPA), found in baby bottles, possibly the water bottle sitting by your desk and plastic dental sealants.

BPA is increasingly suspected of causing a variety of serious ills, yet factories continue to produce six billion pounds of it each year.

In the coming months, Congress may review the process by which we regulate toxic chemicals -- or, as Browning points out, mostly don't regulate them.

"Society needs to pay much more attention to this problem," says Dr. Richard Denison, Senior Scientist at EDF. "We've been complacent about it." Denison maintains an influential blog tracking the debate over chemical safety.

In 1976 Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Unfortunately, the 62,000 chemicals on the market at that time were given a free pass: no requirement they be tested or assessed for safety.

EPA's Role in Chemical Regulation

Although the Environmental Protection Agency has garnered some information about chemicals through voluntary submissions by industry in a program that EDF helped start, limited testing has been required on a mere 200 chemicals over the past three decades.

Worse, EPA has managed to restrict only five substances--and even that overstates the agency's efficacy.

The only group of chemicals entirely banned was PCBs, because Congress required it.

Even Cal Dooley, the president of the American Chemistry Council, commented on EPA's incapacity in this matter: "EPA cannot make a determination on whether or not a chemical is safe for its intended use."

Read more at: "Toxic Ignorance is Not Bliss,"

The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program is a voluntary program that forms partnerships with pesticide users to reduce the potential health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use and implement pollution prevention strategies. 

The program fosters an EPA partnership for reducing risks posed by pesticide use to human health and the environment in both agricultural and urban settings.  Established in 1994 with six charter members, PESP has grown to include almost 200 members.

More information about PESP: http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/pesp/pesp-excellence.html

A study of the magicians of the soil is an endless endeavor! Paul Stamets makes it a bit easier to learn about mushrooms with this TED talk. Mushrooms are both a citizen of the micro world of soil, but they are the manufacturers of the very soil in which they live. What a sentient approach to sustainability.

Surface water pollution from urban pesticide use is a known, widespread problem in the U.S.  This has been documented not only by USGS, but also by numerous scientific studies by academic researchers, data from municipal urban runoff programs, and surface water impairment designations under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (often these listings are for "toxicity" rather than a specific pesticide).  U.S. EPA's pesticides office is keenly aware of this problem.

Pesticide-related Toxicity in Surface Waters

In California, pesticide-related toxicity in surface waters receiving urban runoff is has been severe and widespread since the mid-1990s. Addressing this toxicity is a priority for Calfornia's water and pesticide regulators. With the phase-out of most urban uses of diazinon and chlorpyrifos, the toxicity has shifted--it is now occurring in both the water column (during storm events) and sediments (all the time) in urban creeks across California. 

The current toxicity is associated with the use of the currently most common class of urban insecticides--the pyrethroids (i.e. bifenthrin, cypermethrin, cyfluthrin, etc.).  Similar toxicity has also been documented in Texas urban areas.

Substituting Pesticides Also Causes Biodiversity Problems

Since some in this thread mentioned pesticide phase outs, it is important to recognize that the likely substitute for pyrethroids is fipronil, which is already seeing growing use in California--and is beginning to appear in surface water at levels close to those known to be toxic to sensitive aquatic organisms.  It is becoming clear that simply changing pesticides isn't going to solve these water quality problems.

Professional Insecticide Applicators Are the Link

Substantial effort is underway in California to identify the sources of pesticide-related urban surface water toxicity.  Available data show a direct link to outdoor, above-ground insecticide applications by professional applicators. 

Ants Are the Most Common Insect Problem in California

In California, ants are the most common insect problem and it is a common practice (particularly among commercial property owners and multi-family residential property managers) to retain a professional applicator to spray a band of insecticides around structures every 1-2 months.  Much of the treated area around structures is impervious surface, some of which is directly connected to storm drains (DCIA). 

Pre-construction termiticide and Post-construction Pyrethroids

Other possible sources include pre-construction termiticide ground surface treatments (if a rain event occurs before building foundations are poured), and both professional and non-professional applications in other outdoor locations (applications to lawns/landscaping have not been ruled out as potentially meaningful contributors to toxicity).

Underground injection of pyrethroids (i.e., for post-construction termite control) is unlikely to contribute to surface water toxicity.  Most California municipalities are served by separate storm drain systems comprised completely of hard surfaces (i.e., no vegetated channels)--thus pesticides in runoff are efficiently delivered to urban creeks.

Greatest Water Pollution Problem: Insecticides vs Herbicides

There is a long-time myth that homeowner lawn/garden applications of pesticides (particularly herbicides) are a big problem.  Maybe they are in some locations, but available scientific data strongly suggest that insecticides--not herbicides--are of greatest concern in urban areas and that (at least in California) professional pesticide applications--and intentional applications of pesticides to impervious surfaces--should be the priorities for stormwater quality management.

Urban Pesticides Pollution Prevention Project (UP3 Project)

With grant funding from the California State Water Resources Control Board, the Urban Pesticides Pollution Prevention Project (UP3 Project) is working with U.S. EPA, California EPA, municipalities, and other stakeholders to understand and prevent pesticide-related surface water pollution.  Pesticide regulators and pesticide manufacturers are aware of these problems and are working to change their systems to address them.  For more information (and reports that document the statements above), please see www.up3project.org.

Kelly Moran, Ph.D.
TDC Environmental
UP3 Project

P.S. Wastewater treatment plants are not immune to pesticide-related problems.  Discharges of certain pesticides (including biocides) to municipal wastewater treatment plants have been problematic, in some instances, for compliance with NPDES permit effluent limitations and operation of biological treatment processes.

The meaning of greening

The term green chemistry was first coined in 1998 by Yale professor Paul Anastas and John Warner of the Warner Babcock Institute in their book "Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice." They defined it as "the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products."

The green chemistry movement is beginning to take hold at UC Berkeley. An important recent step was a 2008 report commissioned by the California EPA entitled "Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California," which includes among the authors Drs. Michael Wilson and Megan Schwarzman, research scientists in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. The wide-ranging report outlines some of the major environmental, health, and economic impacts of California's current approach to regulating chemicals.

Over 100 synthetic chemicals and pollutants have been found in umbilical cord blood, breast milk, and adult tissues, and, according to the report, many of these chemicals are "known or probable human carcinogens, reproductive or neurological toxicants, or all three."

Thousands of new chemicals are introduced to the marketplace each year and global chemical production is doubling every 25 years.

The report highlights the need for comprehensive policy solutions to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of releasing these chemicals into the environment.

Read more at the Berkeley Science Review

SOURCE:
Green Chemistry
Chemists clean up their act (view PDF)
by Lee Bishop and Mitch Anstey

Children are regularly exposed to environmental toxins in and around schools and day care centers. These exposures generally come from cleaning products, pesticides and diesel exhaust from school buses while they are idling outside the school as well as in transit.

Grassroots Environmental Education provides a comprehensive ChildSafe School program designed to help parents, teachers and administrators reduce or eliminate  toxins in schools. 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Unlike homes, schools are cleaned every twenty-four hours, and as children sprawl on desks, cafeteria tables and floors, they come into direct contact with the products used to clean those surfaces. In schools with limited fresh air the cleaning process can also create indoor air quality problems. Many of the most commonly used cleaners and disinfectants contain chemicals that are known to cause both acute and long term health problems.

The Childsafe Guidelines are designed to help school administrators and facilities directors choose cleaning products which are healthy and safe for children. To view a list of products that meet these guidelines, click here.

PESTICIDES Most school districts employ some type of regular pest control, including the use of insecticides for indoor pest problems and turf care pesticides for playing fields. Although many schools nationwide are moving towards reducing their dependence on pesticides through Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the use of pesticides in and around schools is still one of the most significant health risks for children.

DIESEL EXHAUST New studies show that children are at risk from exposure to diesel exhaust on school buses, waiting to board while school buses are idling, and inside schools where the exhaust has entered through doors and windows. Diesel exhaust contains more than 40 chemicals listed as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, including chemicals that cause cancer, respiratory illnesses and birth defects. Recent studies confirmed that exposure to diesel exhaust is associated with an increase in the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. Nearly 4.8 million school children suffer from asthma.

RESOURCES

Environment and Human Health, Inc.  has an impressive report called Children's Exposure to Diesel Exhaust on School Buses and a flyer called Twelve Steps Toward a Healthier School a guide to the potential hazards in school environments. www.ehhi.org

Beyond Pesticides is a non-profit that publishes a  bulletin called the School Pesticide Monitor and offers a comprehensive step-by-step guide called Building Blocks for School IPM  www.beyondpesticides.org or www.toxicfreeschools.org

Grassroots Environmental Education
Port Washington, NY 11050 •
(p) 516-883-0887
http://www.grassrootsinfo.org