Pesticide Information

Glowing Evidence and more Glowing Evidence
An incredible photographic portfolio of the invasiveness of pesticides into our personal environment.

A Citizen's Guide to Pesticide Use and the Law in B.C.
Prepared by West Coast Environmental Law.
Review of federal, provincial and local government law and regulation with respect to pesticides, as well as opportunities for public participation and input with respect to pesticide use at each level. Some of the Guide’s highlights include:
- Overview of pesticides and their use
- Links to other organizations with detailed information about various aspects of pesticides
- A summary table of legal authorizations
- A checklist of Pesticide Management Plan (PMP) content
- An example of a model bylaw for communities

Chain of Contamination - The Food Link
From dairy products to meat and fish. Many of the compounds are found in a concentration range of 0.1 to 10 ng/g, with the exception of phthalates for which typical concentrations are two orders of magnitude higher. Brominated flame retardants have been found in 19 of 26 samples, with the highest concentrations in meat. Chain of Contamination: the food link. Published by World Wildlife Fund - UK

Pesticides in Produce
Findings based on 43,000 tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2004. A guide listing pesticide residue on 43 common fruits and vegetables.

Pesticide Action Network (PANNA) - huge site
Here's an excerpt from their publication Chemical Trespass (May 21, 2004): "None of us choose to have hazardous pesticides in our bodies," said Kristin Schafer, PAN program coordinator and lead author of the report. "Yet CDC found pesticides in 100% of the people who had both blood and urine tested. The average person in this group carried a toxic cocktail of 13 of the 23 pesticides we analyzed......Many of the pesticides found in the test subjects have been linked to serious short- and long-term health effects including infertility, birth defects, and childhood and adult cancers...... "While the government develops safety levels for each chemical separately, this study shows that in the real world we are exposed to multiple chemicals simultaneously," explained Margaret Reeves, Ph.D., senior scientist at PAN. "The synergistic effects of multiple exposures are unknown, but a growing body of research suggests that even at very low levels the combination of these chemicals can be harmful to our health."

Chemical Exposure in utero
A new chemical study of umbilical chord samples from the American Red Cross has found that babies have an average of 200 known toxic chemicals in their blood, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and a chemical used in the production of Teflon, even before being born. The tests found that hundreds of chemicals, pollutants and pesticides are stored in body fat over a lifetime and then pumped from mother to fetus through umbilical cord blood. Overall, chemical absorption can be reduced by eating organic foods, and by reducing exposure to toxins at home and at work.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that one of the main sources of pesticide exposure for U.S. children comes from the food they eat. According to the Food and Drug Administration, half of produce currently tested in grocery stores contains measurable residues of pesticides. Laboratory tests of eight industry-leader baby foods reveal the presence of 16 pesticides, including three carcinogens.According to EPA's "Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment," children receive 50% of their lifetime cancer risks in the first two years of life.In blood samples of children aged 2 to 4, concentrations of pesticide residues are six times higher in children eating conventionally farmed fruits and vegetables compared with those eating organic food.

Environmental Health Perspectives
Current research and news on environmental factors that affect human health

Health and environmental costs of garden chemicals

Ever wondered why we don't hear birds singing like they used to? Perhaps here is a clue: Pesticide leaves robins unable to carry a tune.

A very succinct explanation of the environmental "risk assessment" process in North America:
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?issue_ID=2471

Dangerous lawns
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticidefreelawns/

Bad blood? This recent World Wildlife Fund study reveals that Ministers from 13 European countries are contaminated with dozens of chemicals according to the results of blood tests.
http://worldwildlife.org/toxics/pubs/badblood.pdf

RATE: Pesticide facts

SPEC - Society Promoting Environmental Conservation
Excellent information and links, including information on alternatives

Atrazine as endocrine disruptor at extremely low doses

Greenpeace study of the effects of pesticides on the development of children

Heavy Use of Pesticides in Schools Threatens Washington Children
Reports call for schools to end use of hazardous pesticides

Global Recognition Campaign for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Chemical Injury
A personal website demonstrating the health effects of multiple chemical exposure

Glyphosate (Roundup) and Glufosinate (same type of compound)

1 – Literature review of impacts of glyphosate herbicide on amphibians: What risks can the silvicultural use of this herbicide pose for amphibians in B.C.?
Posted June 27, 2008
"Glyphosate herbicides are the most widely used non-selective broad-spectrum herbicides in the world. In Canada they are extensively used in forestry for site preparation and for conifer release. Recent studies have shown that amphibians are one of the most sensitive vertebrate groups to the toxicological effects of this herbicide (formulated product including surfactant). This report summarizes current literature on the non-target impacts of glyphosate herbicides on amphibians, combines reviews of published studies with a review of the application guidelines and the use patterns of this herbicide in silviculture in BC,and identifies knowledge gaps in the assessment of herbicide impacts on native amphibians in this province."
The complete report is available from: http://aardvark.gov.bc.ca/apps/eirs/viewDocumentDetail.do?fromStatic=true&repository=BDP&documentId=7884

Effects on amphibians
Roundup hurts babies
Recent papers on glyphosate (embryo damage / liver damage)
Roundup: Doom for Frogs
http://www.abcbirds.org/pesticides/Profiles/glyphosate.htm
http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry.asp?recid=998
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Roundup-Glyphosate-Factsheet-Cox.htm (1)
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Roundup-Glyphosate-Factsheet-Cox2.htm (2)
http://www.rag.org.au/modifiedfoods/roundup1.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/bayer120904.cfm
http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0202&L=sanet-mg&P=R15763&I=-3
http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0104&L=sanet-mg&P=R23206&I=-3
http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0102&L=sanet-mg&P=R26316&I=-3
http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0505&L=sanet-mg&T=0&F=&S=&P=7926

A great summary: Problems with Roundup Weed Control
1. Glyphosate can be persistent. In tests conducted by Monsanto, manufacturer of glyphosate-containing herbicides, up to 140 days were required for half of the applied glyphosate to break down or disappear from agricultural soils. At harvest, residues of glyphosate were found in lettuce, carrots, and barley planted one year after glyphosate treatment.

2. Glyphosate can drift. Test conducted by the University of California, Davis, found that glyphosate drifted up to 400 meters (1300 feet) durng ground applications and 800 meters 12600 feet) during aerial applications.

3. Glyphosate is acutely toxic to humans. Ingesting about 3/4 of a cup can be lethal. Symptoms include eye and skin irritation, lung congestion, and erosion of the intestinal tract. Between 1984 and 1990 in California, glyphosate was the third most frequently reported cause of illness related to agricultural pesticide use.

4. Glyphosate has shown a wide spectrum of chronic toxicity in laboratory tests. The National Toxicology Program found that chronic feeding of glyphosate caused salivary gland lesions, reduced sperm counts, and a lengthened estrous cycle (how often an individual comes into heat). Other chronic effects found in laboratory tests include an increase in the frequency of lethal mutations in fruit flies, an increase in frequency of pancreas and liver tumors in male rats along with an increase in the frequency of thyroid tumors in females, and cataracts. (one fruit fly study used Roundup; the other studies used glyphosate.)

5. Roundup contains toxic trade secret ingredients. These include polyethoxylated tallowamines, causing nausea and diarrhea, and isopropylamine, causing chemical pneumonia, laryngitis, headache, and burns.

6. Roundup kills beneficial insects. Tests conducted by The International Organization for Biological Control showed that Roundup caused mortality of live beneficial species: a Thrichgramma, a predatory mite, a lacewing, a ladybug, and a predatory beetle.

7. Glyphosate is hazardous to earthworms, Tests using New Zealand's most common earthworm showed that glyphosate, in amounts as low as 1/20 of standard application rates, reduced its growth and slowed its development.

8. Roundup inhibits mycorrhizal fungi. Canadian studies have shown that as little as 1 part per million of Roundup can reduce the growth or colonization of mycorrhizal fungi.

9. Glyphosate reduces nitrogen fixation. Amounts as small as 2 parts per million have had significant effects, and effects have been measured up to 120 days after treatment. Nitrogen- fixing bacteria shown to be impacted by glyphosate include a species found on soybeans and several species found on clover.

10. Roundup can increase the spread or severity of plant diseases. Treatment with roundup increased the severity of Rhizoctonia root rot in barley, increased the amount and growth of take-all fungus, a wheat disease), and reduced the ability of bean plants to defend themselves against anthracnose.

Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) insecticide information
http://www.mindfully.org/GE/Bacillus-thuringiensis-Bt.htm

Water Quality Issues

The Canadian Environmental Network

Cornell University - Pesticide Active Ingredient Information

Purdue University - Pesticides and wildlife

Purdue University - Pesticides and ecological risk assessment

Purdue University - Index of Pesticide Publications