MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERson Passive Chemical Exposure from Spray Drift & Overspray, and related issues
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2023 - Media Reports & Scientific Papers
'Farm chemical spray drift causing widespread tree deaths, claims community group'
By Hannah Jose and Amelia Bernasconi, ABC Western Plains, 28 February 2023
"Farmers, scientists and other community members across NSW have criticised the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for ignoring reports of damage to crops and vegetation from agricultural chemicals drifting on the wind.
...
"A group of scientists chaired by ANU adjunct professor Richard Thackway visited parts of the central west last year and determined that there was enough evidence to warrant investigation into the links between large-scale vegetation stress and agricultural chemicals."
‘Forever chemicals’ have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there’s no time to waste’
By Ravi Naidu, Laureate Professor, University of Newcastle, 15 Feb 2022
“The problem is, forever chemicals are now in biosolids. Even though the levels are low, authorities are expected to soon make a precautionary change to regulations which would prevent the use of biosolids, as we now understand crops can accumulate these chemicals and pass them on to us.”
Multi-and transgenerational synergistic effects of glyphosate and chlorpyrifos at environmentally relevant concentrations in the estuarine rotifer Proales similis
Uriel Arreguin-Rebolledo et al, Environmental Pollution Volume 318, 1 February 2023, 120708, Science Direct, Elsevier
‘Health Canada downplayed scientific concerns about risks of toxic pesticide that causes birth defects’
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, News, 23 January 2023
chlorpyrifos
“Canada's pesticide regulator repeatedly ignored red flags raised by its own scientists about the health risks posed by the pesticide chlorpyrifos, stalling a review of the pesticide for close to 20 years, documents obtained by the environmental group Ecojustice reveal.”
“Commonly used on crops like wheat, in greenhouses and to kill mosquitoes, chlorpyrifos harms the nervous system and can cause brain defects in children. People are typically exposed by consuming contaminated food residue or water. Canadian farmers used on average 360,000 kilograms of the pesticide each year between 2008 and 2016, and a 2017 federal Canadian health survey found traces of chlorpyrifos on 99 per cent of foods sampled.
…
“To build its legal case, Ecojustice obtained more than 10,000 pages of documents from the government. These records reveal that key health assessments of the chemical were stalled for over eight years in a bureaucratic morass while warnings from government scientists about the health risk of chlorpyrifos were ignored between 1999 and 2021.”
New report highlights pesticides’ overlooked climate connection
By Dana Drugmand, Nation of Change, 18 January 2023
"New assessment by Pesticides Action Network North America examines the “vicious cycle” linking these fossil fuel–derived chemicals and climate change." ...
According to the report, insecticide production on average generates between around 15 and 19 kilograms CO2-equivalent per kilogram of pesticide, while herbicide production results in between 18 and 27 kilograms of CO2-equivalent per kilogram on average — more than double the amount of emissions (in kilograms of CO2) from burning one gallon of auto gasoline. In terms of energy usage, manufacturing one kilogram of pesticide requires an average of 10 times more energy than producing one kilogram of nitrogen fertilizer, which is made from natural gas. Fossil fuels are therefore integral to the production of pesticides, both as an energy source and as chemical feedstock. Through their chemical divisions, major fossil fuel companies produce pesticides or their chemical precursors." ...
“Pesticides further contribute to climate emissions once they are applied to agricultural fields. Many pesticides release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a precursor to ground-level ozone that acts as a powerful greenhouse gas. In addition, they disrupt soil microbes, which play a critical role in the ability of soils to sequester carbon. By degrading soil health, agrochemicals limit the capacity of soils to store carbon. Furthermore, a form of gaseous pesticides called fumigants may generate emissions directly, as some like sulfuryl fluoride are themselves greenhouse gases, or indirectly by stimulating soils’ production of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas.“
“Federal environment department investigating allegations of unlawful Northern Territory land clearing
By Roxanne Fitzgerald, ABC Katherine, 15 January 2023
"The federal government is investigating potentially unlawful land clearing in the Northern Territory, where satellite images obtained by the ABC suggest swathes of unique savanna have been flattened to make way for a cotton industry."
"Keypoints:
Australia’s self-regulating pesticide monitoring regime picked up far fewer violations than government study
@annefdavies, The Guardian, 12 January 2023
"A pilot program by the agriculture department in 2013 detected chemicals not found by the wholesalers’ system
"Unpublished results of a 2013 pilot study for a national produce monitoring system (NPMS) by the federal agriculture department have been revealed under freedom of information laws.
"The study was shelved by the former Coalition government despite some disturbing findings.
"Testing of strawberries revealed samples with up to 90 times the maximum residue limit (MRL) set for dimethoate, while one apricot and nine peach samples contained levels of the now-withdrawn pesticide fenthion that were “unacceptable from an acute or short term dietary risk perspective”.
"The study also looked at the adequacy of the self-regulatory system run by the fruit and vegetable wholesalers, known as FreshTest.
The federal government runs a national residue survey that checks pesticides in exported meat and some fruits, but surveillance of food sold in Australia is left to the industry.
"Under FreshTest growers are tested once a year as part of their food certification. They know when they will be tested and provide the sample to FreshTest.
"In contrast, the department’s 2013 pilot on strawberries, peaches and apricots involved randomly buying growers’ produce at the wholesale markets in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, without notice.
"The department found many more violations of the MRL than FreshTest over the same period.
The department also detected agricultural chemicals that were not found at all by FreshTest."
Coalition scrapped pesticide monitoring program that found residues 90 times the limit on strawberries
@annefdavies, The Guardian, 11 January 2023
“The pilot program that ran in 2013 was cancelled by then agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce and the results never released
“A pilot program to monitor pesticides in Australian fruit and vegetables was halted by the Abbott government despite it revealing residues up to 90 times the permitted maximum levels in strawberries.
The research also found levels of pesticides in some peach and apricot samples were “unacceptable from an acute or short-term dietary risk perspective”, meaning eating affected fruit could pose a health risk.
“Unlike the US, Canada, New Zealand and Europe, there is no regular monitoring of agricultural chemicals in most food sold domestically in Australia.
“Meat and some fruit for export such as apples, pears and macadamias, are tested under the national residues survey, run by the department.
“But the only monitoring of pesticide residues in fruit sold domestically is by FreshTest, run by the industry body Fresh Markets Australia, which involves growers providing samples once a year.
“The pilot studied hundreds of samples of peaches, apricots and strawberries bought at fruit and vegetable markets around Australia.
“The documents revealed one sample of strawberries recorded nearly 90 times the maximum residue limit (MRL) for dimethoate, which at the time was set at 0.02mg/kg. Another strawberry sample contained 37 times the maximum residue limit of the same chemical.
“A spokesperson for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), which approves the use of pesticides and sets MRLs, said residue monitoring was not within its statutory remit.”
‘Turning a blind eye’
By Roxanne Fitzgerald and Hannah Meagher, ABC, 11 January 2023
Illegal land clearing - Northern Territory - cotton
Spray drift damages up to $100 million in cotton, prompting calls for more herbicide controls
By Elly Bradfield and Arlie Felton-Taylor, ABC News, 6 January 2023
" 'They [spray drift incidents] cause a lot of damage and a lot of grief and even depression and heartache for a lot of people,' he said.
" 'You spend a lot of money getting a crop going, and then someone who we can't name or find or anything … through inconsideration, damages people's crops.'
"Agronomist Matthew Holding said $500 worth of chemical could have caused the damage, which may total up to $100 million.
" 'It's almost beyond belief to think that a few hundred dollars' worth of product done incorrectly and illegally could cause tens of millions of dollars … of damage in 2022,' he said.
"Both Mr Holding and Mr Armitage want more controls put in place around the chemical's use to create transparency.
"They want 2,4-D listed as a controlled chemical that people would require certification to use."
'Hot water - Submission on the Northern Territory Draft Surface Water Take policy'
By Rod Campbell and Sumithri Venketasubramanian, The Australia Institute, January 2023
cotton - Northern Territory
“Government and industry claims that cotton expansion would create significant employment and tax payments are not supported by data. Census figures show that cotton is one of the least jobs- intensive sectors in the economy. According to the Australian Tax Office, major cotton companies make minimal tax payments. An NT cotton industry is unlikely to bring any significant economic benefit.”
Poisoned by pesticides: Health crisis deepens in Brazil’s Indigenous communities
Aimee Gabay, Conservation News, January 2023
“A recent report, published by the NGO Operação Amazônia Nativa (OPAN) in partnership with the Federal University of Mato Grosso’s institute of public health, reveals the harmful effects of these chemicals on Indigenous populations living in Mato Grosso, the region with the highest pesticide concentrations in the country.
“According to its findings, each inhabitant of Mato Grosso is estimated to have been exposed to 65.8 liters of pesticides—some of these substances banned—in 2018. The situation is worse for people living in the state’s rural cities where exposure is estimated to exceed 300 liters per inhabitant each year.
“Mato Grosso is a high-producing agricultural region in the country and the leading producer of cotton among all Brazilian states. Cotton is the crop that uses the most pesticides in the state and is the second-largest pesticide-using crop in the country.”
Chemical romance or toxic relationship: what you need to know about EDCs
By John Hanscombe, Canberra Times, 1 January 2023
#EndocrineDisruptingChemicals #EDCs
“The hatchery operator had taken her concerns to the Queensland government, suspecting pesticide spray drift had introduced chemicals into the water in which the fish were bred. An initial investigation found the neighbour had complied with the necessary regulations. …
[Matt Landos:] ‘Those larvae began developing their bodies and started bifurcating, so that they had two heads on the one body in a large number of the larvae that were developing.’ They died after 24 hours.
" ‘In the final report - the government-authored report - concluded that there was no definitive involvement of chemicals.’
“All these years later, he still takes issue with the report's findings, saying it was trying to provide a definitive answer, which he says science is unable to do. And given most of the report's recommendations related to the use of chemicals, it was clear from his perspective that chemicals were the culprit but the government just didn't want to say so.
" ‘The tension within the task force committee was such that they in fact stopped operating a proper committee process with minutes and actually broke it into meetings with individuals, which was very unusual for a committee.’ Landos says there was disagreement over whether there was in fact any spray drift onto the hatchery. But his investigation found there was.”
By Hannah Jose and Amelia Bernasconi, ABC Western Plains, 28 February 2023
"Farmers, scientists and other community members across NSW have criticised the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for ignoring reports of damage to crops and vegetation from agricultural chemicals drifting on the wind.
...
"A group of scientists chaired by ANU adjunct professor Richard Thackway visited parts of the central west last year and determined that there was enough evidence to warrant investigation into the links between large-scale vegetation stress and agricultural chemicals."
‘Forever chemicals’ have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there’s no time to waste’
By Ravi Naidu, Laureate Professor, University of Newcastle, 15 Feb 2022
“The problem is, forever chemicals are now in biosolids. Even though the levels are low, authorities are expected to soon make a precautionary change to regulations which would prevent the use of biosolids, as we now understand crops can accumulate these chemicals and pass them on to us.”
Multi-and transgenerational synergistic effects of glyphosate and chlorpyrifos at environmentally relevant concentrations in the estuarine rotifer Proales similis
Uriel Arreguin-Rebolledo et al, Environmental Pollution Volume 318, 1 February 2023, 120708, Science Direct, Elsevier
‘Health Canada downplayed scientific concerns about risks of toxic pesticide that causes birth defects’
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, News, 23 January 2023
chlorpyrifos
“Canada's pesticide regulator repeatedly ignored red flags raised by its own scientists about the health risks posed by the pesticide chlorpyrifos, stalling a review of the pesticide for close to 20 years, documents obtained by the environmental group Ecojustice reveal.”
“Commonly used on crops like wheat, in greenhouses and to kill mosquitoes, chlorpyrifos harms the nervous system and can cause brain defects in children. People are typically exposed by consuming contaminated food residue or water. Canadian farmers used on average 360,000 kilograms of the pesticide each year between 2008 and 2016, and a 2017 federal Canadian health survey found traces of chlorpyrifos on 99 per cent of foods sampled.
…
“To build its legal case, Ecojustice obtained more than 10,000 pages of documents from the government. These records reveal that key health assessments of the chemical were stalled for over eight years in a bureaucratic morass while warnings from government scientists about the health risk of chlorpyrifos were ignored between 1999 and 2021.”
New report highlights pesticides’ overlooked climate connection
By Dana Drugmand, Nation of Change, 18 January 2023
"New assessment by Pesticides Action Network North America examines the “vicious cycle” linking these fossil fuel–derived chemicals and climate change." ...
According to the report, insecticide production on average generates between around 15 and 19 kilograms CO2-equivalent per kilogram of pesticide, while herbicide production results in between 18 and 27 kilograms of CO2-equivalent per kilogram on average — more than double the amount of emissions (in kilograms of CO2) from burning one gallon of auto gasoline. In terms of energy usage, manufacturing one kilogram of pesticide requires an average of 10 times more energy than producing one kilogram of nitrogen fertilizer, which is made from natural gas. Fossil fuels are therefore integral to the production of pesticides, both as an energy source and as chemical feedstock. Through their chemical divisions, major fossil fuel companies produce pesticides or their chemical precursors." ...
“Pesticides further contribute to climate emissions once they are applied to agricultural fields. Many pesticides release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a precursor to ground-level ozone that acts as a powerful greenhouse gas. In addition, they disrupt soil microbes, which play a critical role in the ability of soils to sequester carbon. By degrading soil health, agrochemicals limit the capacity of soils to store carbon. Furthermore, a form of gaseous pesticides called fumigants may generate emissions directly, as some like sulfuryl fluoride are themselves greenhouse gases, or indirectly by stimulating soils’ production of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas.“
“Federal environment department investigating allegations of unlawful Northern Territory land clearing
By Roxanne Fitzgerald, ABC Katherine, 15 January 2023
"The federal government is investigating potentially unlawful land clearing in the Northern Territory, where satellite images obtained by the ABC suggest swathes of unique savanna have been flattened to make way for a cotton industry."
"Keypoints:
- Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says reports of extensive land clearing for cotton in the NT "are very concerning"
- A study has found cotton uses a lot of land, water and machinery but creates very few jobs
- The researcher says subsidising the industry with free water is bad economics and bad environmental policy"
Australia’s self-regulating pesticide monitoring regime picked up far fewer violations than government study
@annefdavies, The Guardian, 12 January 2023
"A pilot program by the agriculture department in 2013 detected chemicals not found by the wholesalers’ system
"Unpublished results of a 2013 pilot study for a national produce monitoring system (NPMS) by the federal agriculture department have been revealed under freedom of information laws.
"The study was shelved by the former Coalition government despite some disturbing findings.
"Testing of strawberries revealed samples with up to 90 times the maximum residue limit (MRL) set for dimethoate, while one apricot and nine peach samples contained levels of the now-withdrawn pesticide fenthion that were “unacceptable from an acute or short term dietary risk perspective”.
"The study also looked at the adequacy of the self-regulatory system run by the fruit and vegetable wholesalers, known as FreshTest.
The federal government runs a national residue survey that checks pesticides in exported meat and some fruits, but surveillance of food sold in Australia is left to the industry.
"Under FreshTest growers are tested once a year as part of their food certification. They know when they will be tested and provide the sample to FreshTest.
"In contrast, the department’s 2013 pilot on strawberries, peaches and apricots involved randomly buying growers’ produce at the wholesale markets in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, without notice.
"The department found many more violations of the MRL than FreshTest over the same period.
The department also detected agricultural chemicals that were not found at all by FreshTest."
Coalition scrapped pesticide monitoring program that found residues 90 times the limit on strawberries
@annefdavies, The Guardian, 11 January 2023
“The pilot program that ran in 2013 was cancelled by then agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce and the results never released
“A pilot program to monitor pesticides in Australian fruit and vegetables was halted by the Abbott government despite it revealing residues up to 90 times the permitted maximum levels in strawberries.
The research also found levels of pesticides in some peach and apricot samples were “unacceptable from an acute or short-term dietary risk perspective”, meaning eating affected fruit could pose a health risk.
“Unlike the US, Canada, New Zealand and Europe, there is no regular monitoring of agricultural chemicals in most food sold domestically in Australia.
“Meat and some fruit for export such as apples, pears and macadamias, are tested under the national residues survey, run by the department.
“But the only monitoring of pesticide residues in fruit sold domestically is by FreshTest, run by the industry body Fresh Markets Australia, which involves growers providing samples once a year.
“The pilot studied hundreds of samples of peaches, apricots and strawberries bought at fruit and vegetable markets around Australia.
“The documents revealed one sample of strawberries recorded nearly 90 times the maximum residue limit (MRL) for dimethoate, which at the time was set at 0.02mg/kg. Another strawberry sample contained 37 times the maximum residue limit of the same chemical.
“A spokesperson for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), which approves the use of pesticides and sets MRLs, said residue monitoring was not within its statutory remit.”
‘Turning a blind eye’
By Roxanne Fitzgerald and Hannah Meagher, ABC, 11 January 2023
Illegal land clearing - Northern Territory - cotton
Spray drift damages up to $100 million in cotton, prompting calls for more herbicide controls
By Elly Bradfield and Arlie Felton-Taylor, ABC News, 6 January 2023
- "Up to $100 million worth of cotton has been damaged by spray drift on the eastern Darling Downs
- Agronomists and farmers are calling for more controls around the use of the herbicide 2,4-D
- Weeds, such as fleabane, have exploded due to wet conditions"
" 'They [spray drift incidents] cause a lot of damage and a lot of grief and even depression and heartache for a lot of people,' he said.
" 'You spend a lot of money getting a crop going, and then someone who we can't name or find or anything … through inconsideration, damages people's crops.'
"Agronomist Matthew Holding said $500 worth of chemical could have caused the damage, which may total up to $100 million.
" 'It's almost beyond belief to think that a few hundred dollars' worth of product done incorrectly and illegally could cause tens of millions of dollars … of damage in 2022,' he said.
"Both Mr Holding and Mr Armitage want more controls put in place around the chemical's use to create transparency.
"They want 2,4-D listed as a controlled chemical that people would require certification to use."
'Hot water - Submission on the Northern Territory Draft Surface Water Take policy'
By Rod Campbell and Sumithri Venketasubramanian, The Australia Institute, January 2023
cotton - Northern Territory
“Government and industry claims that cotton expansion would create significant employment and tax payments are not supported by data. Census figures show that cotton is one of the least jobs- intensive sectors in the economy. According to the Australian Tax Office, major cotton companies make minimal tax payments. An NT cotton industry is unlikely to bring any significant economic benefit.”
Poisoned by pesticides: Health crisis deepens in Brazil’s Indigenous communities
Aimee Gabay, Conservation News, January 2023
“A recent report, published by the NGO Operação Amazônia Nativa (OPAN) in partnership with the Federal University of Mato Grosso’s institute of public health, reveals the harmful effects of these chemicals on Indigenous populations living in Mato Grosso, the region with the highest pesticide concentrations in the country.
“According to its findings, each inhabitant of Mato Grosso is estimated to have been exposed to 65.8 liters of pesticides—some of these substances banned—in 2018. The situation is worse for people living in the state’s rural cities where exposure is estimated to exceed 300 liters per inhabitant each year.
“Mato Grosso is a high-producing agricultural region in the country and the leading producer of cotton among all Brazilian states. Cotton is the crop that uses the most pesticides in the state and is the second-largest pesticide-using crop in the country.”
Chemical romance or toxic relationship: what you need to know about EDCs
By John Hanscombe, Canberra Times, 1 January 2023
#EndocrineDisruptingChemicals #EDCs
“The hatchery operator had taken her concerns to the Queensland government, suspecting pesticide spray drift had introduced chemicals into the water in which the fish were bred. An initial investigation found the neighbour had complied with the necessary regulations. …
[Matt Landos:] ‘Those larvae began developing their bodies and started bifurcating, so that they had two heads on the one body in a large number of the larvae that were developing.’ They died after 24 hours.
" ‘In the final report - the government-authored report - concluded that there was no definitive involvement of chemicals.’
“All these years later, he still takes issue with the report's findings, saying it was trying to provide a definitive answer, which he says science is unable to do. And given most of the report's recommendations related to the use of chemicals, it was clear from his perspective that chemicals were the culprit but the government just didn't want to say so.
" ‘The tension within the task force committee was such that they in fact stopped operating a proper committee process with minutes and actually broke it into meetings with individuals, which was very unusual for a committee.’ Landos says there was disagreement over whether there was in fact any spray drift onto the hatchery. But his investigation found there was.”
2022 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
Insecticides contaminated with Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) need to be urgently addressed
22 December 2022, Pesticide Action Network Europe
#PFAS #ForeverChemicals in #Pesticides
“Co-formulants: Many pesticides contain PFAS
“Further research on PFAS showed that pesticides can contain high levels of substances of PFAS. It would seem that 10 of the tested insecticides would contain PFAS (2)
“PFAS are thus used as co-formulants. In other words, they are part of the mixtures contained in pesticides or other products. They enhance the product’s efficiency and usability.
…
“PFAS presence in pesticides would thus mean that they are spread on the soil and crop. This contamination could lead to the previously mentioned health concerns. Therefore we have urged the need for sampling and analysis of PFAS residues in addition to a solid risk assessment of their impact on human health and the environment. Ultimately for the complete ban of PFAS.“
3M sets 2025 deadline to stop making ‘forever chemicals’
Reuters, 21 December 2022
"Company’s current net sales of manufactured PFAS, which are linked to cancer and heart problems, are about $1.3bn
“US industrial conglomerate 3M on Tuesday set a deadline of 2025 to stop making PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, that are used in everything from cellphones to semiconductors and have been linked to illnesses ranging from cancer, heart problems to low birth weights.”
'Environmental toxicants and male fertility'
Rodprasert W, Toppari J, Virtanen HE. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2023 Feb; 86:102298. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2022.102298. Epub 2022 Dec 17. PMID: 36623980.
endocrine disrupting chemicals
"Semen quality has declined especially among Western men. Experimental and epidemiological studies have shown potential links between exposure to environmental toxicants and poor male fertility."
Farmer calls for spray drift to be investigated after thousands of marron die at his property
By Eric Tlozek, ABC News, 15 December 2022
“South Australia's primary industries department is investigating the deaths of thousands of bees and freshwater crayfish at a farm south of Adelaide.
“It is the second time thousands of animals have died at the site, …
“Farmer John Luckens first contacted PIRSA on December 2, when he noticed thousands of bees seemed to be dropping dead on his property near Kuitpo, south of Adelaide. ‘Literally bees were falling out of the sky and the driveway was covered in dead and dying bees,’ he said.
“Mr Luckens wants the government to investigate whether chemicals from spraying of nearby vineyards may have drifted into his ponds.”
Cop15: what are the key targets for the biodiversity agreement?
Countries are negotiating a framework that will cover issues from pesticides to plastic, from soil to human-wildlife contactPatrick Greenfield in Montreal, @pgreenfielduk, The Guardian, 10 December 2022
"Pesticides – From Germany to Puerto Rico, insect populations are in freefall. Heavy use of pesticides that are designed to kill insect life – which are essential to healthy ecosystems everywhere – has been blamed by scientists. A target to reduce pesticide use by at least two-thirds is on the table at Cop15. The EU has said it will aim for a 50% reduction by the end of the decade but a global target is likely to face significant pushback from agricultural producers. The Soil Association says any agreement that does not include pesticides will not be enough. The organisation’s head of farming, Gareth Morgan, said: “The UN biodiversity summit will be a cop-out if world leaders fail to end the pesticide treadmill. The catastrophic crash in wildlife populations cannot be reversed in a world that is not committed to phasing out these toxic chemicals.”
Merchants of Poison: A case study in pesticide industry science denial on glyphosate (an excerpt)
Stacy Malkan, US Right to Know, 5 December 2022
“We report on five tactics the Monsanto-led product-defense campaign used to defend glyphosate, and why this matters for public health. In this first tactic, we discuss what the documents reveal about scientific misconduct that occurred over decades.”
… “The pesticide industry relies on similar tactics — and some of the same groups — to create a false narrative of certainty about the safety and necessity of their products. The industry is not just following the science-denial playbook of Big Tobacco and Big Oil, pesticide companies helped invent it. Internal corporate documents discovered in the litigation related to pesticides have provided evidence of how companies denied, manipulated, and covered up evidence of harm to keep their products on the market.[6]”
“Presence of pesticides in the environment, transition into organic food, and implications for quality assurance along the European organic food chain – A review”
Mirjam Schleiffer, Bernhard Speiser, Environmental Pollution, Volume 313, 15 November 2022, 120116
“The use of synthetic pesticides is not allowed in organic production, but traces of synthetic pesticides are regularly detected in organic food. To safeguard the integrity of organic production, organic certifiers are obliged to investigate the causes for pesticide residues on organic food, entailing high costs to the organic sector. Such residues can have various origins, including both fraud and unintentional contamination from the environment.”
‘At least two pesticides in half of bread sold in UK, data shows’
Helena Horton, Environment reporter, The Guardian, 2 November 2022
"Pesticide Action Network calls for urgent action after analysis shows 50% increase in pesticide cocktails"
'Greens raise central west environmental issues in NSW upper house'
By Sharon Bonthuys, Narromine, Star, 22 October 2022
"... Greens member Sue Higginson MLC called for documents from several Government departments, agencies and ministers pertaining to chemical overspraying and chemical drift.
...
" 'There is a reason-based concern that the NSW Government is not undertaking its regulatory role as it should.' "
'Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease'
By Carey Gillam and Aliya Uteuova, The Guardian, 20 October 2022
#Paraquat #Parkinsons #Syngenta
“For decades, the Swiss chemical giant Syngenta has manufactured and marketed a widely used weedkilling chemical called paraquat, and for much of that time the company has been dealing with external concerns that long-term exposure to the chemical may be a cause of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease.
…
“When Syngenta’s own internal research showed adverse effects of paraquat on brain tissue, the company withheld that information from regulators while downplaying the validity of similar findings being reported by independent scientists.
…
“A Syngenta “regulatory strategy” document from 2003 refers to paraquat as a “‘blockbuster’ product” that must be “vigorously” defended to protect more than $400m in projected annual global sales. Ensuring what Syngenta called its “freedom to sell” paraquat was a top priority, the internal records show.”
‘Pesticide use around world almost doubles since 1990, report finds’
Arthur Neslen, The Guardian, 19 October 2022
#pesticides #biodiversity #poisoning
“But pesticides are also responsible for an estimated 11,000 human fatalities and the poisoning of 385 million people every year, the report finds.
“Their use has hit biodiversity, driving falls of around 30% in populations of field birds and grassland butterflies since 1990.”
’60 years on since Silent Spring, David Pocock enters the debate on food and pesticides’@gabriellechan, The Guardian, 15 October 2022
#SilentSpring #glyphosate
“Pocock has an abiding interest in farming and agriculture’s relationship to the environment. He grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe and has a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture. That makes him a vital voice to watch in the Senate as the Albanese government seeks to negotiate on legislation concerning climate change, biodiversity credits and the end of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
“Pocock says there is a growing awareness that chemicals are having an effect on humans and the environment. He compares arguments in favour of the herbicide glyphosate to those used to support the use of DDT.
“ ‘It’s 60 years since Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, and you hear a lot of the same arguments, you know – DDT – you see videos of them spraying schoolchildren and they say, that’s fine.
“You hear a lot of those same arguments. People who say that glyphosate has no effect, it’s totally fine.’ “
“World’s Most Common Pesticide Diminishes Bumblebees’ Color Vision”
"Even small disturbances in colour vision can be catastrophic".
@eleanor_higgs, Creative Services Assistant, IFL Science, 15 October 2022
#bees #pesticides #glyphosate #vision
“This suggests that while exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides …, it does affect their fine-color discrimination and long-term memory. This lack of fine-color vision is hugely damaging to foraging rates, individual fitness, and bumblebee colony survival.
“… Even small disturbances in colour vision can be catastrophic in terms of foraging and nesting success," said Docent Olli Loukola from the University of Oulu.
‘Ecosystem consequences of herbicides: the role of microbiome’
Suvi Ruuskanen et al, 13 October 2022, Trends in Ecology & Evolution
“Microbes have driven ecoevolutionary adaptations since the origin of life and maintain the welfare of ecosystems today.
Global contamination with herbicides, initially considered safe for non-target taxa, is shown to influence soil, plant, and animal microbiomes.
Changes in microbiomes can have unforeseen effects on organismal and ecosystem functioning and have evolutionary consequences."
‘WHAT’S IN THE WATER? PART ONE’
Rob Gell AM FRGS, The Royal Society of Victoria, 10 October 2022
#chemicals #pesticides #pharmaceuticals #pharmaceuticalpollution #pollution
“Unfortunately, Australia still uses dozens of chemicals[1], like the ones Rachel Carson warned us of sixty years ago, that are banned in other countries including the UK and USA. These chemicals are banned because they’re toxic to humans, animals or the myriad other plants and animals that inhabit our planet with us.
“Chemicals like Atrazine, Paraquat, Malathion, Dichlorvos, and of course the neonicotinoids that are threatening bees globally. Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease; Atrazine, which interferes with reproduction, may cause cancer.
“Then there’s the pharmaceuticals: pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers is far more extensive than previously thought – so much so that it now poses a global threat to environmental and human health. Add to that the drugs for human and veterinary use, including antibiotics, natural and synthetic hormones, detergents, plasticizers, insecticides, and fire retardants.…
“[Endocrine disruptors] accumulate in human fat tissue and can have effects on obesity, diabetes, reproduction, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, thyroid problems, and problems with the prostate. Endocrine disruptors may be associated with the development of learning disabilities, severe attention deficit disorder, cognitive and brain development problems, and deformations of the body.”
‘How big pesticide reaches into every element of rural life in Australia’
Anne Davies, The Guardian, 7 October 2022
“Agronomists used to be with the Department of Agriculture,” said Charles Massy, an author, academic and merino sheep farmer on the Monaro, who is a leading advocate for pesticide-free regenerative farming. “That is all gone so there is no neutrality [on pesticide use]. Now the companies fund the people advising farmers.
"A captured regulator? "Several reviews have raised concerns about whether Australia’s pesticide regulator is overly close to the agvet industry and not sufficiently cognisant of consumer and environmental perspectives. In 2020-21 the APVMA received more than 89% – $38.9m – of its budget from fees, charges and levies paid by the pesticide industry for approving new products under a user-pays model of regulation."
'Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds'
Tom Perkins, The Guardian, 7 October 2022
#PFAS
“Toxic PFAS chemicals have been detected in seven out of 10 insecticides tested in the US, according to new research. Six contained what the study’s lead author characterized as “screamingly high” levels of PFOS, one of the most dangerous PFAS compounds.
“The [US] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has known about the findings for more than 18 months but appears to have not yet investigated the products or taken any action against the manufacturer.”
'The age group most at risk of having weedkiller in their system'
Stuart Layt, Brisbane Times, 3 October 2022
#glyphosate #AustralianClassAction #Monsanto
“One-in-12 Australians have a common weedkiller in their system, research has discovered, but who is most at risk is not evenly spread across the population.
…
"The question [of safe levels of glyphosate] is the subject of legal action, including an Australian class action against chemical giant Monsanto, scheduled for hearing in 2023.
...
“We assume that 20 per cent of [glyphosate] you ingest is excreted, but recent studies suggest it could be as low as 1 per cent, which means we’re under-estimating how much people are exposed.”
“Department admits it has ‘little information’ on pesticide residue in Australian food”
Anne Davies, @annefdavies, The Guardian, 30 September 2022
#pesticides #environment #agriculture
“In a tender advertisement published in May this year, the agriculture department said it did not have enough data on the environmental and health effects of pesticides”
“The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry called for tenders in May this year for a study to identify the gaps in Australia’s data collection on pesticides.
“The advertisement, published on Austender in May, says: “There is little data currently available to the department regarding human health or environmental fate of [agricultural and veterinary] chemicals in Australia in ‘field’ conditions.”
“The advertisement goes on: ‘Similarly, the department has little information about the presence of agvet chemicals in treated produce sold domestically within Australia.’
…
“Environmental groups expressed alarm that Australia permits the use of 70 agricultural chemicals banned or withdrawn from use in Europe because of concerns about their impact on health or the environment. Many have been banned for years.”
'Why I started making films about pesticide suicide'
Heshani Sothiraj Eddleston, Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, 26 September 2022
#pesticides #pesticidesuicide
“The situation was so bad that the then president of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga, banned local journalists from reporting suicides, fearing that people would get ideas about how to harm themselves or mimic these acts.”
NSW Country Hour - Extract
26 September 2022, ABC
Interviewees: Prof Richard Thackway, ANU, and Harry Barclay
Prof Thackway talks about negative health impacts on vegetation from spray drift from intensive cropping in NSW Central West (Dubbo and Narromine) and beyond. Vegetation health is impacted severely. A greater investment into appropriate monitoring equipment is required. Existing monitoring by EPA NSW not appropriate.
Harry Barclay is a resident directly impacted by spray drift. Peppercorn and Karrajong trees are dropping their leaves each year.
22 December 2022, Pesticide Action Network Europe
#PFAS #ForeverChemicals in #Pesticides
“Co-formulants: Many pesticides contain PFAS
“Further research on PFAS showed that pesticides can contain high levels of substances of PFAS. It would seem that 10 of the tested insecticides would contain PFAS (2)
“PFAS are thus used as co-formulants. In other words, they are part of the mixtures contained in pesticides or other products. They enhance the product’s efficiency and usability.
…
“PFAS presence in pesticides would thus mean that they are spread on the soil and crop. This contamination could lead to the previously mentioned health concerns. Therefore we have urged the need for sampling and analysis of PFAS residues in addition to a solid risk assessment of their impact on human health and the environment. Ultimately for the complete ban of PFAS.“
3M sets 2025 deadline to stop making ‘forever chemicals’
Reuters, 21 December 2022
"Company’s current net sales of manufactured PFAS, which are linked to cancer and heart problems, are about $1.3bn
“US industrial conglomerate 3M on Tuesday set a deadline of 2025 to stop making PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, that are used in everything from cellphones to semiconductors and have been linked to illnesses ranging from cancer, heart problems to low birth weights.”
'Environmental toxicants and male fertility'
Rodprasert W, Toppari J, Virtanen HE. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2023 Feb; 86:102298. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2022.102298. Epub 2022 Dec 17. PMID: 36623980.
endocrine disrupting chemicals
"Semen quality has declined especially among Western men. Experimental and epidemiological studies have shown potential links between exposure to environmental toxicants and poor male fertility."
Farmer calls for spray drift to be investigated after thousands of marron die at his property
By Eric Tlozek, ABC News, 15 December 2022
“South Australia's primary industries department is investigating the deaths of thousands of bees and freshwater crayfish at a farm south of Adelaide.
“It is the second time thousands of animals have died at the site, …
“Farmer John Luckens first contacted PIRSA on December 2, when he noticed thousands of bees seemed to be dropping dead on his property near Kuitpo, south of Adelaide. ‘Literally bees were falling out of the sky and the driveway was covered in dead and dying bees,’ he said.
“Mr Luckens wants the government to investigate whether chemicals from spraying of nearby vineyards may have drifted into his ponds.”
Cop15: what are the key targets for the biodiversity agreement?
Countries are negotiating a framework that will cover issues from pesticides to plastic, from soil to human-wildlife contactPatrick Greenfield in Montreal, @pgreenfielduk, The Guardian, 10 December 2022
"Pesticides – From Germany to Puerto Rico, insect populations are in freefall. Heavy use of pesticides that are designed to kill insect life – which are essential to healthy ecosystems everywhere – has been blamed by scientists. A target to reduce pesticide use by at least two-thirds is on the table at Cop15. The EU has said it will aim for a 50% reduction by the end of the decade but a global target is likely to face significant pushback from agricultural producers. The Soil Association says any agreement that does not include pesticides will not be enough. The organisation’s head of farming, Gareth Morgan, said: “The UN biodiversity summit will be a cop-out if world leaders fail to end the pesticide treadmill. The catastrophic crash in wildlife populations cannot be reversed in a world that is not committed to phasing out these toxic chemicals.”
Merchants of Poison: A case study in pesticide industry science denial on glyphosate (an excerpt)
Stacy Malkan, US Right to Know, 5 December 2022
“We report on five tactics the Monsanto-led product-defense campaign used to defend glyphosate, and why this matters for public health. In this first tactic, we discuss what the documents reveal about scientific misconduct that occurred over decades.”
… “The pesticide industry relies on similar tactics — and some of the same groups — to create a false narrative of certainty about the safety and necessity of their products. The industry is not just following the science-denial playbook of Big Tobacco and Big Oil, pesticide companies helped invent it. Internal corporate documents discovered in the litigation related to pesticides have provided evidence of how companies denied, manipulated, and covered up evidence of harm to keep their products on the market.[6]”
“Presence of pesticides in the environment, transition into organic food, and implications for quality assurance along the European organic food chain – A review”
Mirjam Schleiffer, Bernhard Speiser, Environmental Pollution, Volume 313, 15 November 2022, 120116
“The use of synthetic pesticides is not allowed in organic production, but traces of synthetic pesticides are regularly detected in organic food. To safeguard the integrity of organic production, organic certifiers are obliged to investigate the causes for pesticide residues on organic food, entailing high costs to the organic sector. Such residues can have various origins, including both fraud and unintentional contamination from the environment.”
‘At least two pesticides in half of bread sold in UK, data shows’
Helena Horton, Environment reporter, The Guardian, 2 November 2022
"Pesticide Action Network calls for urgent action after analysis shows 50% increase in pesticide cocktails"
'Greens raise central west environmental issues in NSW upper house'
By Sharon Bonthuys, Narromine, Star, 22 October 2022
"... Greens member Sue Higginson MLC called for documents from several Government departments, agencies and ministers pertaining to chemical overspraying and chemical drift.
...
" 'There is a reason-based concern that the NSW Government is not undertaking its regulatory role as it should.' "
'Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease'
By Carey Gillam and Aliya Uteuova, The Guardian, 20 October 2022
#Paraquat #Parkinsons #Syngenta
“For decades, the Swiss chemical giant Syngenta has manufactured and marketed a widely used weedkilling chemical called paraquat, and for much of that time the company has been dealing with external concerns that long-term exposure to the chemical may be a cause of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease.
…
“When Syngenta’s own internal research showed adverse effects of paraquat on brain tissue, the company withheld that information from regulators while downplaying the validity of similar findings being reported by independent scientists.
…
“A Syngenta “regulatory strategy” document from 2003 refers to paraquat as a “‘blockbuster’ product” that must be “vigorously” defended to protect more than $400m in projected annual global sales. Ensuring what Syngenta called its “freedom to sell” paraquat was a top priority, the internal records show.”
‘Pesticide use around world almost doubles since 1990, report finds’
Arthur Neslen, The Guardian, 19 October 2022
#pesticides #biodiversity #poisoning
“But pesticides are also responsible for an estimated 11,000 human fatalities and the poisoning of 385 million people every year, the report finds.
“Their use has hit biodiversity, driving falls of around 30% in populations of field birds and grassland butterflies since 1990.”
’60 years on since Silent Spring, David Pocock enters the debate on food and pesticides’@gabriellechan, The Guardian, 15 October 2022
#SilentSpring #glyphosate
“Pocock has an abiding interest in farming and agriculture’s relationship to the environment. He grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe and has a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture. That makes him a vital voice to watch in the Senate as the Albanese government seeks to negotiate on legislation concerning climate change, biodiversity credits and the end of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
“Pocock says there is a growing awareness that chemicals are having an effect on humans and the environment. He compares arguments in favour of the herbicide glyphosate to those used to support the use of DDT.
“ ‘It’s 60 years since Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, and you hear a lot of the same arguments, you know – DDT – you see videos of them spraying schoolchildren and they say, that’s fine.
“You hear a lot of those same arguments. People who say that glyphosate has no effect, it’s totally fine.’ “
“World’s Most Common Pesticide Diminishes Bumblebees’ Color Vision”
"Even small disturbances in colour vision can be catastrophic".
@eleanor_higgs, Creative Services Assistant, IFL Science, 15 October 2022
#bees #pesticides #glyphosate #vision
“This suggests that while exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides …, it does affect their fine-color discrimination and long-term memory. This lack of fine-color vision is hugely damaging to foraging rates, individual fitness, and bumblebee colony survival.
“… Even small disturbances in colour vision can be catastrophic in terms of foraging and nesting success," said Docent Olli Loukola from the University of Oulu.
‘Ecosystem consequences of herbicides: the role of microbiome’
Suvi Ruuskanen et al, 13 October 2022, Trends in Ecology & Evolution
“Microbes have driven ecoevolutionary adaptations since the origin of life and maintain the welfare of ecosystems today.
Global contamination with herbicides, initially considered safe for non-target taxa, is shown to influence soil, plant, and animal microbiomes.
Changes in microbiomes can have unforeseen effects on organismal and ecosystem functioning and have evolutionary consequences."
‘WHAT’S IN THE WATER? PART ONE’
Rob Gell AM FRGS, The Royal Society of Victoria, 10 October 2022
#chemicals #pesticides #pharmaceuticals #pharmaceuticalpollution #pollution
“Unfortunately, Australia still uses dozens of chemicals[1], like the ones Rachel Carson warned us of sixty years ago, that are banned in other countries including the UK and USA. These chemicals are banned because they’re toxic to humans, animals or the myriad other plants and animals that inhabit our planet with us.
“Chemicals like Atrazine, Paraquat, Malathion, Dichlorvos, and of course the neonicotinoids that are threatening bees globally. Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease; Atrazine, which interferes with reproduction, may cause cancer.
“Then there’s the pharmaceuticals: pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers is far more extensive than previously thought – so much so that it now poses a global threat to environmental and human health. Add to that the drugs for human and veterinary use, including antibiotics, natural and synthetic hormones, detergents, plasticizers, insecticides, and fire retardants.…
“[Endocrine disruptors] accumulate in human fat tissue and can have effects on obesity, diabetes, reproduction, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, thyroid problems, and problems with the prostate. Endocrine disruptors may be associated with the development of learning disabilities, severe attention deficit disorder, cognitive and brain development problems, and deformations of the body.”
‘How big pesticide reaches into every element of rural life in Australia’
Anne Davies, The Guardian, 7 October 2022
“Agronomists used to be with the Department of Agriculture,” said Charles Massy, an author, academic and merino sheep farmer on the Monaro, who is a leading advocate for pesticide-free regenerative farming. “That is all gone so there is no neutrality [on pesticide use]. Now the companies fund the people advising farmers.
"A captured regulator? "Several reviews have raised concerns about whether Australia’s pesticide regulator is overly close to the agvet industry and not sufficiently cognisant of consumer and environmental perspectives. In 2020-21 the APVMA received more than 89% – $38.9m – of its budget from fees, charges and levies paid by the pesticide industry for approving new products under a user-pays model of regulation."
'Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds'
Tom Perkins, The Guardian, 7 October 2022
#PFAS
“Toxic PFAS chemicals have been detected in seven out of 10 insecticides tested in the US, according to new research. Six contained what the study’s lead author characterized as “screamingly high” levels of PFOS, one of the most dangerous PFAS compounds.
“The [US] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has known about the findings for more than 18 months but appears to have not yet investigated the products or taken any action against the manufacturer.”
'The age group most at risk of having weedkiller in their system'
Stuart Layt, Brisbane Times, 3 October 2022
#glyphosate #AustralianClassAction #Monsanto
“One-in-12 Australians have a common weedkiller in their system, research has discovered, but who is most at risk is not evenly spread across the population.
…
"The question [of safe levels of glyphosate] is the subject of legal action, including an Australian class action against chemical giant Monsanto, scheduled for hearing in 2023.
...
“We assume that 20 per cent of [glyphosate] you ingest is excreted, but recent studies suggest it could be as low as 1 per cent, which means we’re under-estimating how much people are exposed.”
“Department admits it has ‘little information’ on pesticide residue in Australian food”
Anne Davies, @annefdavies, The Guardian, 30 September 2022
#pesticides #environment #agriculture
“In a tender advertisement published in May this year, the agriculture department said it did not have enough data on the environmental and health effects of pesticides”
“The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry called for tenders in May this year for a study to identify the gaps in Australia’s data collection on pesticides.
“The advertisement, published on Austender in May, says: “There is little data currently available to the department regarding human health or environmental fate of [agricultural and veterinary] chemicals in Australia in ‘field’ conditions.”
“The advertisement goes on: ‘Similarly, the department has little information about the presence of agvet chemicals in treated produce sold domestically within Australia.’
…
“Environmental groups expressed alarm that Australia permits the use of 70 agricultural chemicals banned or withdrawn from use in Europe because of concerns about their impact on health or the environment. Many have been banned for years.”
'Why I started making films about pesticide suicide'
Heshani Sothiraj Eddleston, Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, 26 September 2022
#pesticides #pesticidesuicide
“The situation was so bad that the then president of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga, banned local journalists from reporting suicides, fearing that people would get ideas about how to harm themselves or mimic these acts.”
NSW Country Hour - Extract
26 September 2022, ABC
Interviewees: Prof Richard Thackway, ANU, and Harry Barclay
Prof Thackway talks about negative health impacts on vegetation from spray drift from intensive cropping in NSW Central West (Dubbo and Narromine) and beyond. Vegetation health is impacted severely. A greater investment into appropriate monitoring equipment is required. Existing monitoring by EPA NSW not appropriate.
Harry Barclay is a resident directly impacted by spray drift. Peppercorn and Karrajong trees are dropping their leaves each year.
Landcare award winner calls for investigation into agricultural spray impacts
Sean Murphy, Landline, ABC Rural
25 September 2022
“Australia's newest Landcare champion is blowing the whistle on agricultural chemical spray drift, which he claims is poisoning trees and natural vegetation across the nation.
“Bruce Maynard won the prestigious Bob Hawke Landcare award last month for his innovative farming near Narromine in New South Wales and for educating farm workers on stress-free stockmanship.
“He's been campaigning against spray drift in the central west for years but now wants the issue of passive chemical exposure on the national agenda.
“ ‘It is real, and it is recurring, and it is getting worse,’ Mr Maynard said.” ...
This month, five concerned scientists issued a statement of support calling for an investigation into the impacts of chemical spray drift on the environment.
" 'We are convinced, both individually and as a group, that there is enough evidence to investigate the links between the status of vegetation health and the chemicals used to support these agronomic enterprises,' the statement reads.
"Committee chaired Richard Thackway, who is an adjunct professor of environmental sciences at the Australian National University, said the group wanted a broad based inquiry involving government, industry representatives, universities and local communities.
" 'What we're seeing is the slow death and decline associated with agricultural lands nearby intensive cropping,' Mr Thackway said.
... "We shouldn't be seeing broad loss, low level damage, which Bruce is really concerned about and our committee is very concerned about," Mr Thackway said.
‘How birds of prey are exposing a toxic time bomb’
Ida Emilie Steinmark, The Guardian, 15 September 2022
#birds #pesticides #PFAS #DDT #pharmaceuticals #fragrances #poison
“For example, a study this year found an overwhelming 85 contaminants in 30 white-tailed eagles from northern Germany, including pharmaceuticals, musk fragrances, pesticides and PFASs. While some were long-banned chemicals such as DDT, still frequently found in wild animals after over 40 years of restrictions, many were ECs."
‘Agricultural management and pesticide use reduce the functioning of beneficial plant symbionts’
Anna Edlinger et al, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7 July 2022
#fungicides #pollution #reducedfunction
“The use of fungicides and subsequent decline in AMF richness in croplands reduced 33P uptake by 43%. Our results suggest that land-use intensity and fungicide use are major deterrents to the functioning and natural nutrient uptake capacity of AMF in agroecosystems.”
‘ ‘Into the Weeds’ Review: An Agrochemical Cancer Scandal That’s Big Tobacco Redux’
By Dennis Harvey, Variety, 15 May 2022
#pesticides #roundup #cancer
“Though few members of the public were still denying a link between smoking and cancer at the time, it was still nonetheless rather startling when the extent of the tobacco industry’s deliberate disinformation campaign on that subject got exposed about a quarter-century ago. The déjà vu runs thick watching Jennifer Baichwal’s new documentary, “Into the Weeds,” which provides another illustration of coldblooded corporate denialism in the face of widespread harm.”
Watch the trailer of ‘Into the Weeds’ here: https://www.showtimes.com/movie-trailers/into-the-weeds-trailer-24334/
‘ ‘Forever chemicals': How toxic are the levels of PFAS found in French tap water and breast milk?’
By Natalie Huet, Euronews, updated 13 May 2022
#PFAS
“ ‘Forever chemicals’, substances known for their incredible persistence in the environment, are being found virtually everywhere - in our clothes, our furniture, our air.
“But for some 200,000 people living near chemical plants outside the French city of Lyon, potentially toxic levels of the compounds are showing up in vegetable gardens, drinking water, and even the milk of breastfeeding mothers.”
‘How microplastics in the air are polluting the most remote places on Earth’
By University of East Anglia, 10 May 2022
#microplastics #pollution #wind
“Microplastics are being transported to some of the most remote places on Earth by the wind, according to new research involving the University of East Anglia. A new study published today in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment shows how wind transports these particles great distances, and much faster than water can.”
‘ ‘Forever chemicals’ may have polluted 20m acres of US cropland, study says’
By Tom Perkins, The Guardian, 8 May 2022
#PFAS #foreverchemicals #fertilizer #cancer #birthdefects #immunosuppression
“About 20m acres of cropland in the United States may be contaminated from PFAS-tainted sewage sludge that has been used as fertilizer, a new report estimates.
“PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 9,000 compounds used to make products heat-, water- or stain-resistant. Known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t naturally break down, they have been linked to cancer, thyroid disruption, liver problems, birth defects, immunosuppression and more."
‘EU’s ‘great detox’ could see up to 12,000 potentially dangerous chemicals banned’
By Rosie Frost, Green News, Updated 4 May 2022
#toxins #cosmetics #toys
“Thousands of potentially toxic or harmful chemicals still used in cosmetics, toys and even baby products could soon be banned in Europe under new regulations.
"Industry groups say that up to 12,000 different chemicals present in 74 per cent of consumer or professional products could fall under these restrictions. It will be the “largest ever ban” on toxic chemicals, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).”
‘ ‘A WORLDWIDE PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT’: ROB BILOTT ON HIS 20-YEAR FIGHT AGAINST FOREVER CHEMICALS’Carey Gillam, @careygillam,The Guardian, 1 May 2022
#PFAS #ForeverChemicals #PublicHealth
“Last month, an Ohio court certified a class action lawsuit brought by lawyer Rob Bilott that would cover 7 million people – and at some point possibly everyone living in the United States – who have been exposed to certain hazardous “forever chemicals” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.
“The chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, kidney disease and a range of other human health problems. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, persisting indefinitely in the environment.”
'Pesticides: An Expensive Business' - video
27 April 2022, Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung
#pesticides #cost #society
“In 2017, pesticides cost society in the European Union 2.3 billion Euros… The industry’s profits in the same year were 900 million.”
‘FERTILITY CRISIS: IS MODERN LIFE MAKING MEN INFERTILE? - BBC REEL’
Video by Izabela Cardoso & Fernando Teixeira, Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh, BBC, March 2022
#chemicals #fertility #bbc #bbcnewsreel
"We all know man-made chemicals are damaging ecosystems across the planet. But could certain chemicals also be negatively affecting human fertility?
“Dr Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and the author of Count Down, predicts that current trends could not continue much longer without threatening human survival.”
...
“A man today has only about half the sperm his grandfather had.” - https://youtu.be/5jQsaKJf3ic
‘MAJOR PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER SPRAY HAZARD WARNING SYSTEM’
GroundCover, Grains Research and Development Corporation, 2022
#spraydrift #temperatureinversion #inversion
"Hazardous surface temperature inversions occur when air temperature increases with height from the ground surface, leaving a layer of cool air trapped below warm air. In this situation droplets can remain suspended in the inversion layer in concentrated form and be carried significant distances from the target area."
“GRDC Chair John Woods says the warning system would improve on-farm decision making by accurately identifying and forecasting hazardous spray conditions. ‘Until recently, there has been no reliable and accurate method to determine when inversion conditions are hazardous for agricultural spraying using real time data,’ Mr Woods says. ‘These hazardous inversion conditions exist most nights of the year for undefined periods, so we need to have the ability to know exactly when they are occurring and stop spraying. The warning system will provide this.’ …
“[CRDC’s Executive Director Dr Ian Taylor:] ‘A study conducted by AgEcon found that the warning system could help reduce the impact of spray drift onto sensitive crops, while also increasing chemical efficacy and improving labour and machinery productivity on farm. In cotton alone, the warning system could help the industry avoid $40 million in losses and costs associated with spray drift over five years.”
' 'I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'LL SURVIVE': THE FARMERS FACING RUIN IN MAINE'S 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' CRISIS'
by Tom Perkins with photographs by Tristan Spinski, The Guardian, 22 March 2022
#PFAS #foreverchemicals #pesticides
“Maine faces a crisis from PFAS-contaminated produce, which is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoods…
“But disaster struck in December. The couple learned the farm’s previous owner had decades earlier used PFAS-tainted sewage sludge, or “biosolids”, as fertilizer on Songbird’s fields. Testing revealed their soil, drinking water, irrigation water, crops, chickens and blood were contaminated with high levels of the toxic chemicals…
Additionally, PFAS can spread. Ironwood Farm, about six miles from Songbird, tested its water and found high levels suspected to have migrated from a neighbors’ sludge-packed field. The small produce farm pulled its products, halted operations and is nervously awaiting more test results.”
[emphasis added]
‘AIR POLLUTION REDUCES ABILITY OF BUTTERFLIES AND BEES TO POLLINATE FLOWERS AND CROPS, STUDY FINDS’
By environment reporter Nick Kilvert, ABC Science, 20 Jan 2022
#pollution #bees #butterflies #crops
“In a controlled field trial, the abundance of bees, flies, moths and butterflies and how often they visited flowers was far lower in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ozone (03), compared to plots where those pollutants were absent.
Nitrogen oxides mostly come from agricultural emissions but are also produced when fossil fuels are burnt. Combined with sunlight and volatile organic compounds, they can form ground-level ozone (O3).”
‘BEES WILL DIE AS MINISTERS APPROVE TOXIC PANNED PESTICIDE FOR SECOND TIME, WARN EXPERTS - Government defies own scientific advisers in effort to protect sugar harvest'
Jane Dalton, Independent,19 January 2022
#pesticides #bees #beedeath #neonicotinoid #thiamethoxam
“Ministers have given the go-ahead for farmers to use a banned bee-harming pesticide in England for the second year running.
“The government went against the advice of its own scientific advisers, who said they did not see the justification for applying the neonicotinoid to sugar beet this year.
“A single teaspoon of thiamethoxam is toxic enough to kill 1.25 billion bees, according to biology professor and insect expert Dave Goulson, and wildlife chiefs warned the decision could devastate already-struggling bee populations.”
‘BODIES UNITE ON MESSAGE FOR SAFE SUMMER SPRAYING’
Grain Central, 19 January 2022
#spraydrift #overspray
"THE National Farmers Federation (NFF), Cotton Australia, Grain Growers Limited, and the Ricegrowers Association of Australia have united to send a message to all farmers about adhering to best practice during the summer spraying season.
'This isn’t about one sector or industry, it’s about an entire farming community coming together to take action to prevent potential losses which can be devastating for farming families,' National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar said.
…
"Grain Growers CEO Dave McKeon reminded all agricultural stakeholders that laws as well as best practice ensure compliance.
'There is no question that growers need to comply with the laws around chemical spraying, and we support authorities in bringing to justice anyone who knowingly breaks the law.'
However, Mr McKeon said cooperation between all growers and respect for what they produce should drive the best outcomes for all.
…
"Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said cotton was particularly sensitive to spray drift from Group I herbicides (phenoxy herbicides including 2,4-D) and the sector had suffered many millions of dollars in production losses due to off-target damage.
'Suffering spray drift damage is frustrating and has a detrimental financial impact on our growers, which is why Cotton Australia has continued to invest considerable time and money into tackling the issue.' "
‘CHEMICAL POLLUTION HAS PASSED SAFE LIMIT FOR HUMANITY, SAY SCIENTISTS’
By Damian Carrington, @dpcarrington, Environment editor, The Guardian, 18 Jan 2022
…“Chemical pollution threatens Earth’s systems by damaging the biological and physical processes that underpin all life. For example, pesticides wipe out many non-target insects, which are fundamental to all ecosystems and, therefore, to the provision of clean air, water and food.
“ ‘There has been a fiftyfold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950 and this is projected to triple again by 2050,’ said Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez, a PhD candidate and research assistant at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) who was part of the study team. ‘The pace that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals into the environment is not consistent with staying within a safe operating space for humanity.’ …
“Boyd, a former UK government chief scientific adviser, warned in 2017 that assumption by regulators around the world that it was safe to use pesticides at industrial scales across landscapes was false.”
‘GREEN GROUPS TARGET POISONINGS FROM RISING PESTICIDES SALES’
"More and more pesticides are being sprayed worldwide with deadly consequences for humans and nature, a report finds."
By Gero Rueter, DW, 12 Jan 2022
#pesticides #cancer #asthma #Parkinsons #allergies #obesity #endocrineglanddisorders #miscarriages #deformities
“The rising use of pesticides is at the heart of environmental damage across the world, according to a new report from environmental groups in Germany.
" ‘You encounter the issue everywhere when you deal with agriculture, health, species loss and water pollution,’ said agricultural engineer Susan Haffmans from Pesticide Action Network Germany, who played a leading role in developing the Pesticide Atlas report. ‘It is a major cross-cutting issue.’
“Together with the green-affiliated Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German branch of environmental group Friends of the Earth and the international monthly newspaper LE MONDE diplomatique, the report was presented and published Wednesday in Berlin. Its 50 pages outline harmful effects of the billion-dollar pesticide business.
…
“According to a recent study published in the journal Public Health, 385 million people in agriculture fall ill with acute pesticide poisoning every year. After poisoning, farm workers and farmers report symptoms that range from feeling weak and having headaches to vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, nervous system disorders and fainting. In severe cases, the heart, lungs or kidneys fail. About 11,000 people in agriculture die from acute poisoning every year, according to the study, which did not count deaths by suicide related to pesticides.
…
“Pesticides can be spread by the wind hundreds of kilometers and are found in rivers and groundwater. They can kill insects, birds and aquatic animals, and their residue is often found in food.
“The weed killer glyphosate, which is the most widely used pesticide, is among the most infamous. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as ‘probably carcinogenic’. A 2019 scientific meta-study by the University of Washington also identified an increased risk of malignant lymph node tumors from glyphosate, known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
“Pesticides have also been linked to asthma, allergies, obesity and endocrine gland disorders, as well as miscarriages and deformities in particularly polluted regions.
" 'Studies also show a connection with Parkinson's disease, Type II diabetes or certain types of cancer,' said Haffmans.”
Pesticide Atlas, Facts and figures about toxic chemicals in agriculture, 2022
Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth Germany, Pesticide Action Network Europe
Sean Murphy, Landline, ABC Rural
25 September 2022
“Australia's newest Landcare champion is blowing the whistle on agricultural chemical spray drift, which he claims is poisoning trees and natural vegetation across the nation.
“Bruce Maynard won the prestigious Bob Hawke Landcare award last month for his innovative farming near Narromine in New South Wales and for educating farm workers on stress-free stockmanship.
“He's been campaigning against spray drift in the central west for years but now wants the issue of passive chemical exposure on the national agenda.
“ ‘It is real, and it is recurring, and it is getting worse,’ Mr Maynard said.” ...
This month, five concerned scientists issued a statement of support calling for an investigation into the impacts of chemical spray drift on the environment.
" 'We are convinced, both individually and as a group, that there is enough evidence to investigate the links between the status of vegetation health and the chemicals used to support these agronomic enterprises,' the statement reads.
"Committee chaired Richard Thackway, who is an adjunct professor of environmental sciences at the Australian National University, said the group wanted a broad based inquiry involving government, industry representatives, universities and local communities.
" 'What we're seeing is the slow death and decline associated with agricultural lands nearby intensive cropping,' Mr Thackway said.
... "We shouldn't be seeing broad loss, low level damage, which Bruce is really concerned about and our committee is very concerned about," Mr Thackway said.
‘How birds of prey are exposing a toxic time bomb’
Ida Emilie Steinmark, The Guardian, 15 September 2022
#birds #pesticides #PFAS #DDT #pharmaceuticals #fragrances #poison
“For example, a study this year found an overwhelming 85 contaminants in 30 white-tailed eagles from northern Germany, including pharmaceuticals, musk fragrances, pesticides and PFASs. While some were long-banned chemicals such as DDT, still frequently found in wild animals after over 40 years of restrictions, many were ECs."
‘Agricultural management and pesticide use reduce the functioning of beneficial plant symbionts’
Anna Edlinger et al, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7 July 2022
#fungicides #pollution #reducedfunction
“The use of fungicides and subsequent decline in AMF richness in croplands reduced 33P uptake by 43%. Our results suggest that land-use intensity and fungicide use are major deterrents to the functioning and natural nutrient uptake capacity of AMF in agroecosystems.”
‘ ‘Into the Weeds’ Review: An Agrochemical Cancer Scandal That’s Big Tobacco Redux’
By Dennis Harvey, Variety, 15 May 2022
#pesticides #roundup #cancer
“Though few members of the public were still denying a link between smoking and cancer at the time, it was still nonetheless rather startling when the extent of the tobacco industry’s deliberate disinformation campaign on that subject got exposed about a quarter-century ago. The déjà vu runs thick watching Jennifer Baichwal’s new documentary, “Into the Weeds,” which provides another illustration of coldblooded corporate denialism in the face of widespread harm.”
Watch the trailer of ‘Into the Weeds’ here: https://www.showtimes.com/movie-trailers/into-the-weeds-trailer-24334/
‘ ‘Forever chemicals': How toxic are the levels of PFAS found in French tap water and breast milk?’
By Natalie Huet, Euronews, updated 13 May 2022
#PFAS
“ ‘Forever chemicals’, substances known for their incredible persistence in the environment, are being found virtually everywhere - in our clothes, our furniture, our air.
“But for some 200,000 people living near chemical plants outside the French city of Lyon, potentially toxic levels of the compounds are showing up in vegetable gardens, drinking water, and even the milk of breastfeeding mothers.”
‘How microplastics in the air are polluting the most remote places on Earth’
By University of East Anglia, 10 May 2022
#microplastics #pollution #wind
“Microplastics are being transported to some of the most remote places on Earth by the wind, according to new research involving the University of East Anglia. A new study published today in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment shows how wind transports these particles great distances, and much faster than water can.”
‘ ‘Forever chemicals’ may have polluted 20m acres of US cropland, study says’
By Tom Perkins, The Guardian, 8 May 2022
#PFAS #foreverchemicals #fertilizer #cancer #birthdefects #immunosuppression
“About 20m acres of cropland in the United States may be contaminated from PFAS-tainted sewage sludge that has been used as fertilizer, a new report estimates.
“PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of about 9,000 compounds used to make products heat-, water- or stain-resistant. Known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t naturally break down, they have been linked to cancer, thyroid disruption, liver problems, birth defects, immunosuppression and more."
‘EU’s ‘great detox’ could see up to 12,000 potentially dangerous chemicals banned’
By Rosie Frost, Green News, Updated 4 May 2022
#toxins #cosmetics #toys
“Thousands of potentially toxic or harmful chemicals still used in cosmetics, toys and even baby products could soon be banned in Europe under new regulations.
"Industry groups say that up to 12,000 different chemicals present in 74 per cent of consumer or professional products could fall under these restrictions. It will be the “largest ever ban” on toxic chemicals, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).”
‘ ‘A WORLDWIDE PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT’: ROB BILOTT ON HIS 20-YEAR FIGHT AGAINST FOREVER CHEMICALS’Carey Gillam, @careygillam,The Guardian, 1 May 2022
#PFAS #ForeverChemicals #PublicHealth
“Last month, an Ohio court certified a class action lawsuit brought by lawyer Rob Bilott that would cover 7 million people – and at some point possibly everyone living in the United States – who have been exposed to certain hazardous “forever chemicals” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.
“The chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, kidney disease and a range of other human health problems. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, persisting indefinitely in the environment.”
'Pesticides: An Expensive Business' - video
27 April 2022, Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung
#pesticides #cost #society
“In 2017, pesticides cost society in the European Union 2.3 billion Euros… The industry’s profits in the same year were 900 million.”
‘FERTILITY CRISIS: IS MODERN LIFE MAKING MEN INFERTILE? - BBC REEL’
Video by Izabela Cardoso & Fernando Teixeira, Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh, BBC, March 2022
#chemicals #fertility #bbc #bbcnewsreel
"We all know man-made chemicals are damaging ecosystems across the planet. But could certain chemicals also be negatively affecting human fertility?
“Dr Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and the author of Count Down, predicts that current trends could not continue much longer without threatening human survival.”
...
“A man today has only about half the sperm his grandfather had.” - https://youtu.be/5jQsaKJf3ic
‘MAJOR PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER SPRAY HAZARD WARNING SYSTEM’
GroundCover, Grains Research and Development Corporation, 2022
#spraydrift #temperatureinversion #inversion
"Hazardous surface temperature inversions occur when air temperature increases with height from the ground surface, leaving a layer of cool air trapped below warm air. In this situation droplets can remain suspended in the inversion layer in concentrated form and be carried significant distances from the target area."
“GRDC Chair John Woods says the warning system would improve on-farm decision making by accurately identifying and forecasting hazardous spray conditions. ‘Until recently, there has been no reliable and accurate method to determine when inversion conditions are hazardous for agricultural spraying using real time data,’ Mr Woods says. ‘These hazardous inversion conditions exist most nights of the year for undefined periods, so we need to have the ability to know exactly when they are occurring and stop spraying. The warning system will provide this.’ …
“[CRDC’s Executive Director Dr Ian Taylor:] ‘A study conducted by AgEcon found that the warning system could help reduce the impact of spray drift onto sensitive crops, while also increasing chemical efficacy and improving labour and machinery productivity on farm. In cotton alone, the warning system could help the industry avoid $40 million in losses and costs associated with spray drift over five years.”
' 'I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'LL SURVIVE': THE FARMERS FACING RUIN IN MAINE'S 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' CRISIS'
by Tom Perkins with photographs by Tristan Spinski, The Guardian, 22 March 2022
#PFAS #foreverchemicals #pesticides
“Maine faces a crisis from PFAS-contaminated produce, which is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoods…
“But disaster struck in December. The couple learned the farm’s previous owner had decades earlier used PFAS-tainted sewage sludge, or “biosolids”, as fertilizer on Songbird’s fields. Testing revealed their soil, drinking water, irrigation water, crops, chickens and blood were contaminated with high levels of the toxic chemicals…
Additionally, PFAS can spread. Ironwood Farm, about six miles from Songbird, tested its water and found high levels suspected to have migrated from a neighbors’ sludge-packed field. The small produce farm pulled its products, halted operations and is nervously awaiting more test results.”
[emphasis added]
‘AIR POLLUTION REDUCES ABILITY OF BUTTERFLIES AND BEES TO POLLINATE FLOWERS AND CROPS, STUDY FINDS’
By environment reporter Nick Kilvert, ABC Science, 20 Jan 2022
#pollution #bees #butterflies #crops
“In a controlled field trial, the abundance of bees, flies, moths and butterflies and how often they visited flowers was far lower in the presence of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ozone (03), compared to plots where those pollutants were absent.
Nitrogen oxides mostly come from agricultural emissions but are also produced when fossil fuels are burnt. Combined with sunlight and volatile organic compounds, they can form ground-level ozone (O3).”
‘BEES WILL DIE AS MINISTERS APPROVE TOXIC PANNED PESTICIDE FOR SECOND TIME, WARN EXPERTS - Government defies own scientific advisers in effort to protect sugar harvest'
Jane Dalton, Independent,19 January 2022
#pesticides #bees #beedeath #neonicotinoid #thiamethoxam
“Ministers have given the go-ahead for farmers to use a banned bee-harming pesticide in England for the second year running.
“The government went against the advice of its own scientific advisers, who said they did not see the justification for applying the neonicotinoid to sugar beet this year.
“A single teaspoon of thiamethoxam is toxic enough to kill 1.25 billion bees, according to biology professor and insect expert Dave Goulson, and wildlife chiefs warned the decision could devastate already-struggling bee populations.”
‘BODIES UNITE ON MESSAGE FOR SAFE SUMMER SPRAYING’
Grain Central, 19 January 2022
#spraydrift #overspray
"THE National Farmers Federation (NFF), Cotton Australia, Grain Growers Limited, and the Ricegrowers Association of Australia have united to send a message to all farmers about adhering to best practice during the summer spraying season.
'This isn’t about one sector or industry, it’s about an entire farming community coming together to take action to prevent potential losses which can be devastating for farming families,' National Farmers Federation CEO Tony Mahar said.
…
"Grain Growers CEO Dave McKeon reminded all agricultural stakeholders that laws as well as best practice ensure compliance.
'There is no question that growers need to comply with the laws around chemical spraying, and we support authorities in bringing to justice anyone who knowingly breaks the law.'
However, Mr McKeon said cooperation between all growers and respect for what they produce should drive the best outcomes for all.
…
"Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said cotton was particularly sensitive to spray drift from Group I herbicides (phenoxy herbicides including 2,4-D) and the sector had suffered many millions of dollars in production losses due to off-target damage.
'Suffering spray drift damage is frustrating and has a detrimental financial impact on our growers, which is why Cotton Australia has continued to invest considerable time and money into tackling the issue.' "
‘CHEMICAL POLLUTION HAS PASSED SAFE LIMIT FOR HUMANITY, SAY SCIENTISTS’
By Damian Carrington, @dpcarrington, Environment editor, The Guardian, 18 Jan 2022
…“Chemical pollution threatens Earth’s systems by damaging the biological and physical processes that underpin all life. For example, pesticides wipe out many non-target insects, which are fundamental to all ecosystems and, therefore, to the provision of clean air, water and food.
“ ‘There has been a fiftyfold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950 and this is projected to triple again by 2050,’ said Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez, a PhD candidate and research assistant at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) who was part of the study team. ‘The pace that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals into the environment is not consistent with staying within a safe operating space for humanity.’ …
“Boyd, a former UK government chief scientific adviser, warned in 2017 that assumption by regulators around the world that it was safe to use pesticides at industrial scales across landscapes was false.”
‘GREEN GROUPS TARGET POISONINGS FROM RISING PESTICIDES SALES’
"More and more pesticides are being sprayed worldwide with deadly consequences for humans and nature, a report finds."
By Gero Rueter, DW, 12 Jan 2022
#pesticides #cancer #asthma #Parkinsons #allergies #obesity #endocrineglanddisorders #miscarriages #deformities
“The rising use of pesticides is at the heart of environmental damage across the world, according to a new report from environmental groups in Germany.
" ‘You encounter the issue everywhere when you deal with agriculture, health, species loss and water pollution,’ said agricultural engineer Susan Haffmans from Pesticide Action Network Germany, who played a leading role in developing the Pesticide Atlas report. ‘It is a major cross-cutting issue.’
“Together with the green-affiliated Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German branch of environmental group Friends of the Earth and the international monthly newspaper LE MONDE diplomatique, the report was presented and published Wednesday in Berlin. Its 50 pages outline harmful effects of the billion-dollar pesticide business.
…
“According to a recent study published in the journal Public Health, 385 million people in agriculture fall ill with acute pesticide poisoning every year. After poisoning, farm workers and farmers report symptoms that range from feeling weak and having headaches to vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, nervous system disorders and fainting. In severe cases, the heart, lungs or kidneys fail. About 11,000 people in agriculture die from acute poisoning every year, according to the study, which did not count deaths by suicide related to pesticides.
…
“Pesticides can be spread by the wind hundreds of kilometers and are found in rivers and groundwater. They can kill insects, birds and aquatic animals, and their residue is often found in food.
“The weed killer glyphosate, which is the most widely used pesticide, is among the most infamous. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as ‘probably carcinogenic’. A 2019 scientific meta-study by the University of Washington also identified an increased risk of malignant lymph node tumors from glyphosate, known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
“Pesticides have also been linked to asthma, allergies, obesity and endocrine gland disorders, as well as miscarriages and deformities in particularly polluted regions.
" 'Studies also show a connection with Parkinson's disease, Type II diabetes or certain types of cancer,' said Haffmans.”
Pesticide Atlas, Facts and figures about toxic chemicals in agriculture, 2022
Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth Germany, Pesticide Action Network Europe
2021 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
'EPA REVIEWS BAYER HERBICIDE BLAMED FOR WIDESPREAD US CROP DAMAGE'
By Tom Polansek, Reuters, 22 December 2021
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is assessing whether the weed killer dicamba can be sprayed safely on soybean and cotton plants genetically engineered to resist the chemical, without the procedure posing "unreasonable risks" to other crops, an agency official said on Tuesday.
"Farmers and scientists for years have reported problems with dicamba drifting away from where it is sprayed on fields, causing damage to nearby plants not modified to resist the herbicide.
"The EPA said it received about 3,500 reports this year indicating that more than a million acres of non-dicamba-tolerant soybean crops were allegedly damaged when the chemical drifted from where it was applied. Trees and crops like rice and grapes also suffered damage, the agency said."
‘VIRGINIA’S BALD EAGLES THRIVING AT NEVER BEFORE SEEN LEVEL AFTER PESTICIDES BAN’
White Wolf Pack, Sunday, 19 December 2021
“A total of 1,070 occupied bald eagle nests were counted in this year's survey by the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. It's the first time more than 1,000 have been counted since the survey started 60 years ago.
“ 'This marks a remarkable comeback for the bird whose population had dropped to just 20 pairs in the state in 1970', said Bryan D. Watts, the center's director.
“The eagle's resurgence in Virginia is part of a nationwide recovery, hailed as a great conservation success story involving habitat preservation and the banning of certain pesticides.
“Once decimated by DDT and other pollutants, the national bird was one of the first species put on the Endangered Species List, in 1967. They were delisted in 2007, and there are now 10,000 nesting pairs nationwide, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. …”
‘ ‘REALLY SAD MOMENT’ BOGONG MOTH AMONG 124 AUSTRALIAN ADDITIONS TO ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST’
By Lisa Cox, The Guardian, Australia News, 10 Dec 2021
“Ecologists say numbers declined by about 99.5% three years ago, likely due to drought, pesticides and light pollution.
“Scientists have detected steady declines in numbers of bogong moths since the 1980s.
“But in 2017 and 2018 that crashed to numbers so low the species was described as “undetectable” in the alpine regions where it used to arrive in spring in numbers as high as 4.4 billion.
...
“Jess Abrahams, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s nature campaigner, said the collapse of bogong moth numbers was affecting other species that rely on the moths for food.
“ ‘The bogong moth’s population crash – and its cascading impact on other species – should concern every Australian, as we all depend on the interconnected web of nature, which gives us drinkable water, pollinated crops and clean air,’ he said.
'PESTICIDES 'COST DOUBLE THE AMOUNT THEY YIELD', STUDY FINDS'
By Wester Van Gaal, EU Observer, 30 November 2021
cost benefit
"According to a study published on Tuesday (30 November), the cost of pesticides may far outweigh the economic benefits.
"The Bureau for the Appraisal of Social Impacts for Citizen Information (BASIC), a Paris-based NGO, found pesticide producers cost the EU €2.3bn in subsidies.
...
"The study also mentions other costs to society that are used to benefit pesticide producers, including the big four - BASF, Bayer, ChemChina, Corteva - which represent 60 percent of global sales.
For example, the EU doles out €57.8bn in annual subsidies to maintain pesticide-reliant agricultural practices - or about half of the total EU budget.
A portion of this money ends up in the pockets of these companies."
RADIO INTERVIEW WITH PROF DAVID GOLDNEY ON HIS 'PRELIMINARY REPORT ON VEGETATION DIEBACK IN THE NARROMINE-TRANGIE AREA AND POSSIBLE CAUSAL LINKS TO COTTON SPRAY DRIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE AUTUNN COTTON HARVESTING PERIOD' "
ABC Radio, 18 Nov 2021
By Tom Polansek, Reuters, 22 December 2021
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is assessing whether the weed killer dicamba can be sprayed safely on soybean and cotton plants genetically engineered to resist the chemical, without the procedure posing "unreasonable risks" to other crops, an agency official said on Tuesday.
"Farmers and scientists for years have reported problems with dicamba drifting away from where it is sprayed on fields, causing damage to nearby plants not modified to resist the herbicide.
"The EPA said it received about 3,500 reports this year indicating that more than a million acres of non-dicamba-tolerant soybean crops were allegedly damaged when the chemical drifted from where it was applied. Trees and crops like rice and grapes also suffered damage, the agency said."
‘VIRGINIA’S BALD EAGLES THRIVING AT NEVER BEFORE SEEN LEVEL AFTER PESTICIDES BAN’
White Wolf Pack, Sunday, 19 December 2021
“A total of 1,070 occupied bald eagle nests were counted in this year's survey by the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. It's the first time more than 1,000 have been counted since the survey started 60 years ago.
“ 'This marks a remarkable comeback for the bird whose population had dropped to just 20 pairs in the state in 1970', said Bryan D. Watts, the center's director.
“The eagle's resurgence in Virginia is part of a nationwide recovery, hailed as a great conservation success story involving habitat preservation and the banning of certain pesticides.
“Once decimated by DDT and other pollutants, the national bird was one of the first species put on the Endangered Species List, in 1967. They were delisted in 2007, and there are now 10,000 nesting pairs nationwide, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. …”
‘ ‘REALLY SAD MOMENT’ BOGONG MOTH AMONG 124 AUSTRALIAN ADDITIONS TO ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST’
By Lisa Cox, The Guardian, Australia News, 10 Dec 2021
“Ecologists say numbers declined by about 99.5% three years ago, likely due to drought, pesticides and light pollution.
“Scientists have detected steady declines in numbers of bogong moths since the 1980s.
“But in 2017 and 2018 that crashed to numbers so low the species was described as “undetectable” in the alpine regions where it used to arrive in spring in numbers as high as 4.4 billion.
...
“Jess Abrahams, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s nature campaigner, said the collapse of bogong moth numbers was affecting other species that rely on the moths for food.
“ ‘The bogong moth’s population crash – and its cascading impact on other species – should concern every Australian, as we all depend on the interconnected web of nature, which gives us drinkable water, pollinated crops and clean air,’ he said.
'PESTICIDES 'COST DOUBLE THE AMOUNT THEY YIELD', STUDY FINDS'
By Wester Van Gaal, EU Observer, 30 November 2021
cost benefit
"According to a study published on Tuesday (30 November), the cost of pesticides may far outweigh the economic benefits.
"The Bureau for the Appraisal of Social Impacts for Citizen Information (BASIC), a Paris-based NGO, found pesticide producers cost the EU €2.3bn in subsidies.
...
"The study also mentions other costs to society that are used to benefit pesticide producers, including the big four - BASF, Bayer, ChemChina, Corteva - which represent 60 percent of global sales.
For example, the EU doles out €57.8bn in annual subsidies to maintain pesticide-reliant agricultural practices - or about half of the total EU budget.
A portion of this money ends up in the pockets of these companies."
RADIO INTERVIEW WITH PROF DAVID GOLDNEY ON HIS 'PRELIMINARY REPORT ON VEGETATION DIEBACK IN THE NARROMINE-TRANGIE AREA AND POSSIBLE CAUSAL LINKS TO COTTON SPRAY DRIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE AUTUNN COTTON HARVESTING PERIOD' "
ABC Radio, 18 Nov 2021
‘THE PESTICIDE BAN MOVEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM’
By Meg Wilcox, Environmental Health News, 16 Nov 2021
“Cities and counties are increasingly banning toxic pesticides — and some are taking aim at fertilizers. But industry attempts to buck local efforts remain a significant hurdle. …
“As the movement matures, some cities and counties — including Maui; Stamford, Connecticut; and South Portland — are not simply prohibiting certain pesticides, which often leads to waivers or substitution with another toxic chemical, they're requiring local governments to use products certified by the USDA National Organic Program. …
“Communities still face headwinds, however, from resistant public agencies that often lack training, staff, and resources, and are subject to the insidious influence of the pesticide industry and its proxies that seek to derail the movement. ..."
“WATER WOES”
By Phillip Adams, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National, 20 October 2021
"Wherever cotton expands, it starts a cascade of problems and none more pressing than in parts of Northern Australia where food production, tourism and rivers are impacted as discussed in this Late Night Live interview."
"COULD CHLORPYRIFOS BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC?"
By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, 15 October 2021
"It is widely known that the controversial pesticide chlorpyrifos harms children's brains, yet despite this, it was not banned on food in the U.S. until August of this year.
"A little more than a week later, new science published in Nature Communicationsrevealed the controversial pesticide could be contributing to another public health crisis.
" '[I]ts use may contribute to the obesity epidemic,' the study authors concluded."
“WHERE DOES PFAS POLLUTION COME FROM? NEW STUDY IDENTIFIES NEARLY 42,000 POTENTIAL SOURCES”
By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, 13 Oct 2021
#ForeverChemicals #PFAS #DrinkingWater
"Is your drinking water contaminated with toxic forever chemicals? A new study published in a special issue of the American Water Works Association Water Science journal Tuesday found that there were nearly 42,000 potential sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution that could contaminate surface water or drinking water in the U.S. ...
"PFAS are a class of chemicals often used in stain or water repellents, non-stick products and firefighting foam, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are known as forever chemicals because they do not break down over time and tend to persist and accumulate in the environment and the human body."
“THE ‘EVERYWHERE CHEMICAL’ LINKED TO 100,000 PREMATURE DEATHS EACH YEAR”
By A Pawlowski, NBC News, 13 October 2021
#phthalates #everywherechemical
“Phthalates have been called “the everywhere chemical” because they’re used in hundreds of products — from toys and vinyl flooring, to shampoo and food packaging.
“Adults and children absorb them into their bodies through their skin, and by inadvertently eating and inhaling them.”
A Global Fertility Crisis
Dr. Shanna Swan, After Skool, 13 October 2021
“Total sperm count among Western men fell 59.3% from 1973 to 2011, according to new research.”
See also Dr Swan’s book: “Count Down - How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race”
By Shanna Swan, PhD, with Stacey Colino, Scribner, February 2021 - https://www.shannaswan.com
"JOHN OLIVER ON PROTECTING AGAINST 'FOREVER CHEMICALS': 'IT SHOULDN'T JUST BE ON US AS INDIVIDUALS' "
5 October 2021, The Guardian
“These ‘forever chemicals’ are estimated to have lifetimes in the thousands of years, and exposure has been linked to fertility problems, changes in metabolism, and an increased risk [of] cancer…
…
“DuPont, once informed, tested children of employees in their Teflon division and found that two, of seven births, had eye defects – information the company did not make public."
Growing cotton in northern Australia | Landline - Sundays 12.30pm on ABC TV
ABC Rural, 1 October 2021
“Agriculture in northern Australia is dominated by big cattle-stations but cotton is the new kid on the block.”
"LEGAL BATTLE LOOMS OVER OVERWATCH HERBICIDE SOME FARMERS SAY HAS DAMAGED THEIR CROPS"
By Angus Verley, ABC Rural, 7 Sep 2021
#Overwatch #Bleaching #ClassAction
“Debate over a new farm chemical [Overwatch] appears headed for the law courts, with a Sydney law firm this week asking grain growers to join a class action against the herbicide's manufacturer.”
“BIOSECURITY QUEENSLAND INVESTIGATING TWO SPRAY DRIFT COMPLAINTS IN NEW OUTBACK CROPPING AREA”
By Eric Barker, ABC North West Qld
25 Aug 2021
"Biosecurity Queensland has confirmed it has launched criminal investigations into two chemical spray drift complaints in one of the state's newest cropping areas.
...
"Third-generation Julia Creek cattle-producer Ryan Hacon said he had not been directly impacted by the problem, but it had been going on in the district for the past two years.
...
"Mr Hacon said he had flown over areas where trees and pasture had been damaged by herbicides drifting across boundary fences. '[It has damaged] mainly white woods and cork woods and trees like that,' he said. 'It also damages pastures, especially all the broad-leaf herbages we get after the wet that really put the weight on our cattle.'
"Mr Hacon said he would like to see more enforcement of regulations if the industry is going to develop further. 'There needs to be some sort of policing or structure if there are issues with drift,' he said. 'If there is an issue or a problem it needs to be solved quickly, instead of no-one knowing what to do.'
"EVERYDAY CHEMICALS AND HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS 'TO BLAME FOR 450,000 EARLY DEATHS FROM POLLUTION A YEAR' "
By Kaya Burgess, Science Reporter, The Times, 27 July 2021
#PublicHealth #toxins
“Air pollution created by everyday items including cleaning fluids, grooming products, paints, glues, wood stoves and pesticides causes up to 450,000 premature deaths worldwide in cities including London, a study has found.
"The total death toll each year from a specific type of particle pollution known as manmade “secondary organic aerosols” (or ASOAs) is as high as 900,000, researchers have estimated, a figure ten times higher than previously thought.
"Around half of this pollution comes from vehicle exhausts, but an equally large amount comes from “everyday chemicals” in products we use in and around our homes, according to research led by scientists at the University of Colorado.
"It has prompted scientists to call for urgent action to identify the harm being caused to public health."
"MOISTURE BLAMED FOR OVERWATCH VOLATILITY"
By Shannon Beattie, The Land, 9 Jul 2021
Recent news from Western Australia and South Australia. Chemicals activating long after application times.
It will render the NSW EPA’s practice of only attending pollution notifications if they think the application has happened 2 days to 2 weeks prior to the noticed damage completely untenable.
How odd to blame 'moisture' when it's the pesticides that are causing the damage. Without moisture, no agriculture. Without trees, no agriculture.
“HOW PESTICIDES ARE HARMING SOIL ECOSYSTEMS”
By Meg Wilcox, Civil Eats, 4 June 2021
#pesticides #regenerativeagriculture
"Compiling data from nearly 400 laboratory and field studies, researchers at the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and the University of Maryland found that pesticides harmed beneficial soil invertebrates in 70.5 percent of cases reviewed. Studies conducted in the field alone, however, resulted in fewer significant negative impacts (about 50 percent of cases reviewed).
“ 'What this study really drives home is that pesticide use is incompatible with healthy ecosystems, across organisms, pesticide classes, and a whole set of different health outcomes, including death,' said Kendra Klein, senior scientist at Friends of the Earth
and co-author of the study. 'We have to be talking about pesticide reduction in
conversations about regenerative agriculture.'
“ ‘A MONSTROUS ISSUE’: WHAT IS KILLING THE TREES IN THE COTTON BELT?”
By Harriet Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 May 2021
#defoliation #herbicides #NSWEPA
"Several landowners in Narromine have reported defoliation and scorch marks on their trees, grasses and vegetables, which they believe is caused by herbicides that are applied by crop duster planes to defoliate cotton crops. It has stoked tensions between landowners and the aerial operator."
“VIDEO OF CROP DUSTING PLANE FLYING NEAR NEIGHBOURS”
Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 2021
‘WE CAN’T TALK ABOUT REGENERATIVE AG WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT PESTICIDES - Soil policies should be driven by science - not agrochemical companies’
Opinion piece by Kendra Klein and Anna Lappé, 17 May 2021, Sierra
“But just as the nation is waking up from its long slumber about the importance of soil, new research shows that the pesticides so commonly used in American agriculture are devastating the very organisms that ensure dirt becomes healthy soil and not just dust.
“As a set of chemical poisons, pesticides pose an undeniable hazard to the life of soil. This new study - from Friends of the Earth, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the University of Maryland - is the first comprehensive review of the impact of pesticides on soil organisms.”
…
“A recent study found that pesticides’ toxic impact on many invertebrates has nearly doubled in the past decade because of the increasing use of two specific classes of pesticides: neonicotinoids and pyrethroids. Some neonicotinoids are 1,000 times more toxic to bees than the infamous pesticide DDT, and they linger in the environment for months or years, creating a compounding toxicity in the environment.”
“Research shows that the very farmers who are not using hazardous pesticides are among the most successful at capturing carbon. Organic farmers - who are expressly prohibited from using over 900 agricultural pesticides and who have long championed regenerative approaches like cover cropping, crop diversification, and composting - can sequester up to 25 percent more carbon in soil and achieve deeper and more persistent carbon storage than farmers using chemical approaches.”
‘Soil Biodiversity Under Grave Threat from Pesticides – Most Comprehensive Review Ever’
Sustainable Pulse, 7 May 2021
"A new study published Tuesday by the academic journal Frontiers in Environmental Science finds that pesticides widely used in American agriculture pose a grave threat to organisms that are critical to healthy soil, biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration to fight climate change. Yet those harms are not considered by U.S. regulators."
“PESTICIDES THREATEN THE ‘FOUNDATIONS OF THE WEB OF LIFE’, NEW SOIL STUDY WARNS”
By Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams, 4 May 2021
#pesticides #monocultures
"Below the surface of fields covered with monoculture crops of corn and soybeans, pesticides are destroying the very foundations of the web of life," said study co-author Nathan Donley, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.
"Study after study indicates the unchecked use of pesticides across hundreds of millions of acres each year is poisoning the organisms critical to maintaining healthy soils," Donley added. "Yet our regulators have been ignoring the harm to these important ecosystems for decades."
‘Pesticides and Soil Invertebrates: A Hazard Assessment’
Tari Gunstone et al, Front. Environ. Sci., Sec. Soil Processes, Volume 9 - 2021, 04 May 2021
Chemical Pollution Causes Fish Declines
Escalating Chemical Production Threatens Aquatic Food Chain
Press Release IPEN AND TNT, 27 April 2021
“Pesticides. Many pesticides known to cause harm are still in widespread use and are present at harmful levels in aquatic environments. Some of these substances not only bio-accumulate in aquatic organisms, but they also destroy the habitat and food supplies aquatic organisms depend on for life, including insects. Pesticides enter aquatic and marine environments through direct sources such as run-off from agriculture, golf courses, sports fields, parks, and residential properties, as well as through indirect sources such as sewage treatment plants and spray drift.”
"PLAN TO RELAX AUSTRALIAN RULES FOR CHEMICALS AND PESTICIDES ATTACKED BY ENVIRONMENT GROUPS"
By Anne Davies, The Guardian, 4 April 2021
#Pesticides #APVMA #Paraquat #Parkinsons #Neonicotinoids #BeeDeaths
"Environment and health groups have fiercely criticised proposals to relax the regulation of chemicals and pesticides in Australia, saying they are “totally at odds” with public health and safety expectations. …
NTN coordinator Jo Immig wrote to Littleproud last month about her group’s concerns. '… The recommendations seek to place rapid access to Agvet chemicals above the protection of health and safety…’
For example most common neonicotinoids have been banned in the EU because of their impact on bee populations. They have recently been restricted in the US and Canada but are still permitted in Australia…
Paraquat, a herbicide used for weed control since 1961, has been banned in 30 countries and is on a restricted list in the US. In Australia it has been under review for 20 years by the authority and is still sold for commercial use.
One of the panel’s most controversial suggestions is to exempt consumer products from the new regulatory regime on the grounds that most are well tested around the world in agricultural settings before reaching supermarket shelves. …"
AQUATIC POLLUTANTS IN OCEANS AND FISHERIES
Matt Landos, BVSc (HonsI) MANZCVS (Aquatic Animal Health Chapter); Mariann Lloyd Smith, PhD, Senior Advisor, NTN Joanna Immig, B.App.SC NationalCoordinator,NTN, April 2021
"A THIRD OF GLOBAL FARMLAND AT ‘HIGH’ PESTICIDE POLLUTION RISK"
By Kelly MacNamara, Phys.org, 29 March 2021
#farms #pesticide #pollution
“Researchers in Australia modelled pollution risk across 168 countries with data on the usage of 92 active pesticide ingredients and found ‘widespread global pesticide pollution risk’. …
The study, published in Nature Geoscience, found that overall 64 percent of global agricultural land —approximately 24.5 million square kilometres (9.4 million sq miles)—was at risk of pesticide pollution from more than one active ingredient, and 31 percent is at high risk.
‘It is significant because the potential pollution is widespread and some regions at risk also bear high biodiversity and suffer from water scarcity,’ said lead author Fiona Tang, of the University of Sydney's School of Civil Engineering.”
“ ‘A SIP CAN KILL: DID A CHEMICAL COMPANY MISREPRESENT DATA TO AVOID MAKING A SAFER PRODUCT?”
By Carey Gillam, The Guardian, 25 March 2021
#Paraquat #poison #Syngenta #Parkinsons
“If you ingest just three drops of paraquat you’re going to die,” said the US farmer Cameron Peirce who uses the chemical sparingly in his fields of canola and mung beans in Kansas.
Switzerland, the home base of the paraquat maker Syngenta, has banned the chemical since 1989, and it has been banned for use in the EU since 2007, because of paraquat’s deadliness. …
Paraquat exposure is also believed by some scientists to cause Parkinson’s disease, and Syngenta is facing litigation on that issue – though it denies responsibility.
Still, many countries allow wide use of paraquat, and the toll from paraquat poisonings is estimated at well into the thousands. The low cost and high toxicity makes paraquat a popular poison for people trying to kill themselves. Syngenta says it is just one of 377 companies worldwide that have registered paraquat for sale.
But now, internal corporate documents, obtained by a US law firm and provided to the Guardian, detail how the need for a safer formulation of Syngenta’s popular Gramoxone paraquat-based product has been the subject of in-depth company discussions for decades. Years of analysis and debate over the issue are laid out in the records, as are arguments about the accuracy of data presented to regulators, and strategies to avoid regulatory bans.
The documents, which date back to 1968, show that Syngenta and its predecessor corporate entities rejected or resisted many different options for changes to the formulations of Gramoxone, due, at least in part, to a desire to protect profits. Financial concerns were cited repeatedly in the discussions about formulation changes as company officials pushed to keep Gramoxone on the market despite mounting concerns about fatalities. …
The first case to go to trial over the allegations against Syngenta over paraquat and Parkinson’s is scheduled for 12 April in Illinois. The trial is very likely to be delayed due to precautions related to the Covid-19 virus, however, according to a court spokesperson.
That Illinois case – Hoffman V Syngenta – is one of several pending against Syngenta alleging the company’s paraquat products cause Parkinson’s disease. Syngenta was acquired by China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) in 2015, giving an added international twist to the litigation. ..."
'WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR FARMERS TO GROW MORE ORGANIC COTTON?'
By Nicole Rasul, Civil Eats, 15 March 2021,
#organic #cotton #polycultures #biodiversity #ecosystemservices
“Organic farmers grow cotton in rotation with other crops while conventional producers are more likely to grow cotton in back-to-back seasons. Members of TOCMC also grow peanuts, wheat, corn, milo, forage sorghum, soybeans, black-eyed peas, and sesame.
These rotations mean more biodiversity, says Delate. As a result, organic farms contribute a range of ecosystem services to the regions where they are located. This approach has real and tangible impacts on soil, waterways, and human and animal health, the researcher said.”
'PESTICIDE IMIDACLOPRID THREATENS FUTURE FOR KEY POLLINATOR'
26 February 2021, University of Guelph
"Summary: An insecticide used to control pest infestations on squash and pumpkins significantly hinders the reproduction of ground-nesting bees -- valuable pollinators for many food crops, new research has revealed."
'HUNDREDS OF VICTORIAN HOME GARDENERS OUT OF POCKET AFTER USING TOXIC COMPOST FROM MAJOR RECYCLER SUEZ'
By Ben Knight and Richard Willingham, ABC News, 14 February 2021
#Chemicals #Damage #BroadleafHerbicides #Herbicides
“The toxic substance is probably a powerful broadleaf herbicide, according to Chris Williams, a lecturer in Urban Horticulture at Melbourne University. 'Anecdotally, this pops up all the time,' he said.
Dr Williams has seen it firsthand, when plants at the University's Burnley campus died the same way three years ago. He says he is often sent emails from former students asking him about why certain vegetables aren't growing, and says the symptoms are exactly the same. He believes the contamination at Burnley came from pea straw treated with horse manure. 'Livestock are eating pasture that's been treated with these chemicals, which goes straight through them to the manure, and doesn't break down,' he said.
Phenoxy acid herbicides are sold in variations like aminopyralid, clopyralid, picloram, and triclopyr. They are restricted to agricultural and commercial use, but can find their way into green waste used to make compost.”
By Meg Wilcox, Environmental Health News, 16 Nov 2021
“Cities and counties are increasingly banning toxic pesticides — and some are taking aim at fertilizers. But industry attempts to buck local efforts remain a significant hurdle. …
“As the movement matures, some cities and counties — including Maui; Stamford, Connecticut; and South Portland — are not simply prohibiting certain pesticides, which often leads to waivers or substitution with another toxic chemical, they're requiring local governments to use products certified by the USDA National Organic Program. …
“Communities still face headwinds, however, from resistant public agencies that often lack training, staff, and resources, and are subject to the insidious influence of the pesticide industry and its proxies that seek to derail the movement. ..."
“WATER WOES”
By Phillip Adams, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National, 20 October 2021
"Wherever cotton expands, it starts a cascade of problems and none more pressing than in parts of Northern Australia where food production, tourism and rivers are impacted as discussed in this Late Night Live interview."
"COULD CHLORPYRIFOS BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC?"
By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, 15 October 2021
"It is widely known that the controversial pesticide chlorpyrifos harms children's brains, yet despite this, it was not banned on food in the U.S. until August of this year.
"A little more than a week later, new science published in Nature Communicationsrevealed the controversial pesticide could be contributing to another public health crisis.
" '[I]ts use may contribute to the obesity epidemic,' the study authors concluded."
“WHERE DOES PFAS POLLUTION COME FROM? NEW STUDY IDENTIFIES NEARLY 42,000 POTENTIAL SOURCES”
By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, 13 Oct 2021
#ForeverChemicals #PFAS #DrinkingWater
"Is your drinking water contaminated with toxic forever chemicals? A new study published in a special issue of the American Water Works Association Water Science journal Tuesday found that there were nearly 42,000 potential sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution that could contaminate surface water or drinking water in the U.S. ...
"PFAS are a class of chemicals often used in stain or water repellents, non-stick products and firefighting foam, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are known as forever chemicals because they do not break down over time and tend to persist and accumulate in the environment and the human body."
“THE ‘EVERYWHERE CHEMICAL’ LINKED TO 100,000 PREMATURE DEATHS EACH YEAR”
By A Pawlowski, NBC News, 13 October 2021
#phthalates #everywherechemical
“Phthalates have been called “the everywhere chemical” because they’re used in hundreds of products — from toys and vinyl flooring, to shampoo and food packaging.
“Adults and children absorb them into their bodies through their skin, and by inadvertently eating and inhaling them.”
A Global Fertility Crisis
Dr. Shanna Swan, After Skool, 13 October 2021
“Total sperm count among Western men fell 59.3% from 1973 to 2011, according to new research.”
See also Dr Swan’s book: “Count Down - How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race”
By Shanna Swan, PhD, with Stacey Colino, Scribner, February 2021 - https://www.shannaswan.com
"JOHN OLIVER ON PROTECTING AGAINST 'FOREVER CHEMICALS': 'IT SHOULDN'T JUST BE ON US AS INDIVIDUALS' "
5 October 2021, The Guardian
“These ‘forever chemicals’ are estimated to have lifetimes in the thousands of years, and exposure has been linked to fertility problems, changes in metabolism, and an increased risk [of] cancer…
…
“DuPont, once informed, tested children of employees in their Teflon division and found that two, of seven births, had eye defects – information the company did not make public."
Growing cotton in northern Australia | Landline - Sundays 12.30pm on ABC TV
ABC Rural, 1 October 2021
“Agriculture in northern Australia is dominated by big cattle-stations but cotton is the new kid on the block.”
"LEGAL BATTLE LOOMS OVER OVERWATCH HERBICIDE SOME FARMERS SAY HAS DAMAGED THEIR CROPS"
By Angus Verley, ABC Rural, 7 Sep 2021
#Overwatch #Bleaching #ClassAction
“Debate over a new farm chemical [Overwatch] appears headed for the law courts, with a Sydney law firm this week asking grain growers to join a class action against the herbicide's manufacturer.”
“BIOSECURITY QUEENSLAND INVESTIGATING TWO SPRAY DRIFT COMPLAINTS IN NEW OUTBACK CROPPING AREA”
By Eric Barker, ABC North West Qld
25 Aug 2021
"Biosecurity Queensland has confirmed it has launched criminal investigations into two chemical spray drift complaints in one of the state's newest cropping areas.
...
"Third-generation Julia Creek cattle-producer Ryan Hacon said he had not been directly impacted by the problem, but it had been going on in the district for the past two years.
...
"Mr Hacon said he had flown over areas where trees and pasture had been damaged by herbicides drifting across boundary fences. '[It has damaged] mainly white woods and cork woods and trees like that,' he said. 'It also damages pastures, especially all the broad-leaf herbages we get after the wet that really put the weight on our cattle.'
"Mr Hacon said he would like to see more enforcement of regulations if the industry is going to develop further. 'There needs to be some sort of policing or structure if there are issues with drift,' he said. 'If there is an issue or a problem it needs to be solved quickly, instead of no-one knowing what to do.'
"EVERYDAY CHEMICALS AND HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS 'TO BLAME FOR 450,000 EARLY DEATHS FROM POLLUTION A YEAR' "
By Kaya Burgess, Science Reporter, The Times, 27 July 2021
#PublicHealth #toxins
“Air pollution created by everyday items including cleaning fluids, grooming products, paints, glues, wood stoves and pesticides causes up to 450,000 premature deaths worldwide in cities including London, a study has found.
"The total death toll each year from a specific type of particle pollution known as manmade “secondary organic aerosols” (or ASOAs) is as high as 900,000, researchers have estimated, a figure ten times higher than previously thought.
"Around half of this pollution comes from vehicle exhausts, but an equally large amount comes from “everyday chemicals” in products we use in and around our homes, according to research led by scientists at the University of Colorado.
"It has prompted scientists to call for urgent action to identify the harm being caused to public health."
"MOISTURE BLAMED FOR OVERWATCH VOLATILITY"
By Shannon Beattie, The Land, 9 Jul 2021
Recent news from Western Australia and South Australia. Chemicals activating long after application times.
It will render the NSW EPA’s practice of only attending pollution notifications if they think the application has happened 2 days to 2 weeks prior to the noticed damage completely untenable.
How odd to blame 'moisture' when it's the pesticides that are causing the damage. Without moisture, no agriculture. Without trees, no agriculture.
“HOW PESTICIDES ARE HARMING SOIL ECOSYSTEMS”
By Meg Wilcox, Civil Eats, 4 June 2021
#pesticides #regenerativeagriculture
"Compiling data from nearly 400 laboratory and field studies, researchers at the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and the University of Maryland found that pesticides harmed beneficial soil invertebrates in 70.5 percent of cases reviewed. Studies conducted in the field alone, however, resulted in fewer significant negative impacts (about 50 percent of cases reviewed).
“ 'What this study really drives home is that pesticide use is incompatible with healthy ecosystems, across organisms, pesticide classes, and a whole set of different health outcomes, including death,' said Kendra Klein, senior scientist at Friends of the Earth
and co-author of the study. 'We have to be talking about pesticide reduction in
conversations about regenerative agriculture.'
“ ‘A MONSTROUS ISSUE’: WHAT IS KILLING THE TREES IN THE COTTON BELT?”
By Harriet Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 May 2021
#defoliation #herbicides #NSWEPA
"Several landowners in Narromine have reported defoliation and scorch marks on their trees, grasses and vegetables, which they believe is caused by herbicides that are applied by crop duster planes to defoliate cotton crops. It has stoked tensions between landowners and the aerial operator."
“VIDEO OF CROP DUSTING PLANE FLYING NEAR NEIGHBOURS”
Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 2021
‘WE CAN’T TALK ABOUT REGENERATIVE AG WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT PESTICIDES - Soil policies should be driven by science - not agrochemical companies’
Opinion piece by Kendra Klein and Anna Lappé, 17 May 2021, Sierra
“But just as the nation is waking up from its long slumber about the importance of soil, new research shows that the pesticides so commonly used in American agriculture are devastating the very organisms that ensure dirt becomes healthy soil and not just dust.
“As a set of chemical poisons, pesticides pose an undeniable hazard to the life of soil. This new study - from Friends of the Earth, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the University of Maryland - is the first comprehensive review of the impact of pesticides on soil organisms.”
…
“A recent study found that pesticides’ toxic impact on many invertebrates has nearly doubled in the past decade because of the increasing use of two specific classes of pesticides: neonicotinoids and pyrethroids. Some neonicotinoids are 1,000 times more toxic to bees than the infamous pesticide DDT, and they linger in the environment for months or years, creating a compounding toxicity in the environment.”
“Research shows that the very farmers who are not using hazardous pesticides are among the most successful at capturing carbon. Organic farmers - who are expressly prohibited from using over 900 agricultural pesticides and who have long championed regenerative approaches like cover cropping, crop diversification, and composting - can sequester up to 25 percent more carbon in soil and achieve deeper and more persistent carbon storage than farmers using chemical approaches.”
‘Soil Biodiversity Under Grave Threat from Pesticides – Most Comprehensive Review Ever’
Sustainable Pulse, 7 May 2021
"A new study published Tuesday by the academic journal Frontiers in Environmental Science finds that pesticides widely used in American agriculture pose a grave threat to organisms that are critical to healthy soil, biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration to fight climate change. Yet those harms are not considered by U.S. regulators."
“PESTICIDES THREATEN THE ‘FOUNDATIONS OF THE WEB OF LIFE’, NEW SOIL STUDY WARNS”
By Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams, 4 May 2021
#pesticides #monocultures
"Below the surface of fields covered with monoculture crops of corn and soybeans, pesticides are destroying the very foundations of the web of life," said study co-author Nathan Donley, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.
"Study after study indicates the unchecked use of pesticides across hundreds of millions of acres each year is poisoning the organisms critical to maintaining healthy soils," Donley added. "Yet our regulators have been ignoring the harm to these important ecosystems for decades."
‘Pesticides and Soil Invertebrates: A Hazard Assessment’
Tari Gunstone et al, Front. Environ. Sci., Sec. Soil Processes, Volume 9 - 2021, 04 May 2021
Chemical Pollution Causes Fish Declines
Escalating Chemical Production Threatens Aquatic Food Chain
Press Release IPEN AND TNT, 27 April 2021
“Pesticides. Many pesticides known to cause harm are still in widespread use and are present at harmful levels in aquatic environments. Some of these substances not only bio-accumulate in aquatic organisms, but they also destroy the habitat and food supplies aquatic organisms depend on for life, including insects. Pesticides enter aquatic and marine environments through direct sources such as run-off from agriculture, golf courses, sports fields, parks, and residential properties, as well as through indirect sources such as sewage treatment plants and spray drift.”
"PLAN TO RELAX AUSTRALIAN RULES FOR CHEMICALS AND PESTICIDES ATTACKED BY ENVIRONMENT GROUPS"
By Anne Davies, The Guardian, 4 April 2021
#Pesticides #APVMA #Paraquat #Parkinsons #Neonicotinoids #BeeDeaths
"Environment and health groups have fiercely criticised proposals to relax the regulation of chemicals and pesticides in Australia, saying they are “totally at odds” with public health and safety expectations. …
NTN coordinator Jo Immig wrote to Littleproud last month about her group’s concerns. '… The recommendations seek to place rapid access to Agvet chemicals above the protection of health and safety…’
For example most common neonicotinoids have been banned in the EU because of their impact on bee populations. They have recently been restricted in the US and Canada but are still permitted in Australia…
Paraquat, a herbicide used for weed control since 1961, has been banned in 30 countries and is on a restricted list in the US. In Australia it has been under review for 20 years by the authority and is still sold for commercial use.
One of the panel’s most controversial suggestions is to exempt consumer products from the new regulatory regime on the grounds that most are well tested around the world in agricultural settings before reaching supermarket shelves. …"
AQUATIC POLLUTANTS IN OCEANS AND FISHERIES
Matt Landos, BVSc (HonsI) MANZCVS (Aquatic Animal Health Chapter); Mariann Lloyd Smith, PhD, Senior Advisor, NTN Joanna Immig, B.App.SC NationalCoordinator,NTN, April 2021
"A THIRD OF GLOBAL FARMLAND AT ‘HIGH’ PESTICIDE POLLUTION RISK"
By Kelly MacNamara, Phys.org, 29 March 2021
#farms #pesticide #pollution
“Researchers in Australia modelled pollution risk across 168 countries with data on the usage of 92 active pesticide ingredients and found ‘widespread global pesticide pollution risk’. …
The study, published in Nature Geoscience, found that overall 64 percent of global agricultural land —approximately 24.5 million square kilometres (9.4 million sq miles)—was at risk of pesticide pollution from more than one active ingredient, and 31 percent is at high risk.
‘It is significant because the potential pollution is widespread and some regions at risk also bear high biodiversity and suffer from water scarcity,’ said lead author Fiona Tang, of the University of Sydney's School of Civil Engineering.”
“ ‘A SIP CAN KILL: DID A CHEMICAL COMPANY MISREPRESENT DATA TO AVOID MAKING A SAFER PRODUCT?”
By Carey Gillam, The Guardian, 25 March 2021
#Paraquat #poison #Syngenta #Parkinsons
“If you ingest just three drops of paraquat you’re going to die,” said the US farmer Cameron Peirce who uses the chemical sparingly in his fields of canola and mung beans in Kansas.
Switzerland, the home base of the paraquat maker Syngenta, has banned the chemical since 1989, and it has been banned for use in the EU since 2007, because of paraquat’s deadliness. …
Paraquat exposure is also believed by some scientists to cause Parkinson’s disease, and Syngenta is facing litigation on that issue – though it denies responsibility.
Still, many countries allow wide use of paraquat, and the toll from paraquat poisonings is estimated at well into the thousands. The low cost and high toxicity makes paraquat a popular poison for people trying to kill themselves. Syngenta says it is just one of 377 companies worldwide that have registered paraquat for sale.
But now, internal corporate documents, obtained by a US law firm and provided to the Guardian, detail how the need for a safer formulation of Syngenta’s popular Gramoxone paraquat-based product has been the subject of in-depth company discussions for decades. Years of analysis and debate over the issue are laid out in the records, as are arguments about the accuracy of data presented to regulators, and strategies to avoid regulatory bans.
The documents, which date back to 1968, show that Syngenta and its predecessor corporate entities rejected or resisted many different options for changes to the formulations of Gramoxone, due, at least in part, to a desire to protect profits. Financial concerns were cited repeatedly in the discussions about formulation changes as company officials pushed to keep Gramoxone on the market despite mounting concerns about fatalities. …
The first case to go to trial over the allegations against Syngenta over paraquat and Parkinson’s is scheduled for 12 April in Illinois. The trial is very likely to be delayed due to precautions related to the Covid-19 virus, however, according to a court spokesperson.
That Illinois case – Hoffman V Syngenta – is one of several pending against Syngenta alleging the company’s paraquat products cause Parkinson’s disease. Syngenta was acquired by China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) in 2015, giving an added international twist to the litigation. ..."
'WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR FARMERS TO GROW MORE ORGANIC COTTON?'
By Nicole Rasul, Civil Eats, 15 March 2021,
#organic #cotton #polycultures #biodiversity #ecosystemservices
“Organic farmers grow cotton in rotation with other crops while conventional producers are more likely to grow cotton in back-to-back seasons. Members of TOCMC also grow peanuts, wheat, corn, milo, forage sorghum, soybeans, black-eyed peas, and sesame.
These rotations mean more biodiversity, says Delate. As a result, organic farms contribute a range of ecosystem services to the regions where they are located. This approach has real and tangible impacts on soil, waterways, and human and animal health, the researcher said.”
'PESTICIDE IMIDACLOPRID THREATENS FUTURE FOR KEY POLLINATOR'
26 February 2021, University of Guelph
"Summary: An insecticide used to control pest infestations on squash and pumpkins significantly hinders the reproduction of ground-nesting bees -- valuable pollinators for many food crops, new research has revealed."
'HUNDREDS OF VICTORIAN HOME GARDENERS OUT OF POCKET AFTER USING TOXIC COMPOST FROM MAJOR RECYCLER SUEZ'
By Ben Knight and Richard Willingham, ABC News, 14 February 2021
#Chemicals #Damage #BroadleafHerbicides #Herbicides
“The toxic substance is probably a powerful broadleaf herbicide, according to Chris Williams, a lecturer in Urban Horticulture at Melbourne University. 'Anecdotally, this pops up all the time,' he said.
Dr Williams has seen it firsthand, when plants at the University's Burnley campus died the same way three years ago. He says he is often sent emails from former students asking him about why certain vegetables aren't growing, and says the symptoms are exactly the same. He believes the contamination at Burnley came from pea straw treated with horse manure. 'Livestock are eating pasture that's been treated with these chemicals, which goes straight through them to the manure, and doesn't break down,' he said.
Phenoxy acid herbicides are sold in variations like aminopyralid, clopyralid, picloram, and triclopyr. They are restricted to agricultural and commercial use, but can find their way into green waste used to make compost.”
2020 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
‘5 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PESTICIDES ON FOOD - KEY FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CHEMICALS USED TO GROW THE PLANTS YOU EAT’
By Catherine Roberts, Consumer Reports, 17 Sep 2020
#pesticides #food #obesity #DDT #endocrinedisrupting
"More than a billion pounds of pesticides are used in the U.S. every year, according to the most recent data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Most of those chemicals are used in agriculture. As a result, we’re consuming them daily along with the fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plants we eat.
…
“For example, research by Michele La Merrill, PhD, an associate professor at U.C. Davis, suggests there is a link between early-life exposure to DDT, an insecticide that’s now banned in the U.S., and obesity in adulthood. DDT may reduce the function of the hormone insulin, which instructs the body to process the glucose in your blood after eating a meal.
“And although DDT is no longer used in the U.S., a wide variety of pesticides that have been associated with endocrine-disrupting effects are still employed in food production today.”
'THE CHEMICAL REPORT COTTON AUSTRALIA WON'T RELEASE'
By Harriett Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2020
#Chemicals #cotton #CottonAustralia #SprayDrift
“Cotton Australia did its own investigations around the same time in response to community concerns, commissioning a researcher from the University of New England to inspect. But it has declined to release the report, despite numerous requests from the Lower Macquarie Overspray Group, which represents concerned locals.
…
National Toxics Network co-ordinator Jo Immig said spray could drift up to 20 kilometres in inversion levels. The EPA should have obtained spray application records to find out what chemicals were being applied, she said.
‘The idea that pesticides can be applied safely to paddocks and not move ‘off target’ is perhaps one of the greatest cons perpetrated by the chemical industry and regulators on the Australian public and environment," Ms Immig said. "All ecological systems are inter-connected via the atmosphere, water and soil.’ “
'CHEMICALS THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF MYSTERY LEAF LOSS IN COTTON TOWNS, SECRET REPORT FINDS'
By Harriett Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2020
#Chemicals #cotton #TreeDamage #Peppercorns #SprayDrift
"Chemicals used in cotton farming are the most likely cause of trees losing their leaves in parts of central western NSW and may pose a threat to human health, according to a government report that has been blocked from the public since it was circulated internally two years ago."
'ANY COTTON INDUSTRY IN THE NT FACES A COMMUNITY BACKLASH, FARMERS HAVE BEEN WARNED'
By Chris McLennan, Katherine Times, 15 July 2020
#Cotton #Unsustainable #GovernmentSubsidies #FishKill #DarlingRiver
"But Mr Fowler said cotton and other large scale agriculture had devastated the Murray-Darling system already.
'An independent assessment by the prestigious Australian Academy of Science assessed that the horrific mass fish kills along the Darling River last year were caused by over-extraction of water by irrigation upstream, stripping water from the river which was already impacted by drought,' he said.
'This is an unsustainable industry that benefits very few and is not labour intensive.
'Big cotton companies have already outlined in reports to the government that they are looking for large subsidies.
'For these industries to survive, they need large crops and huge infrastructure...' "
'THOUSANDS OF TREES IN RESERVE THREATENED BY HERBICIDE DRIFT'
Friends of the Earth, 25 June 2020
#HerbicideDrift #SprayDrift
"Friends of the Earth has uncovered a disturbing incident in the Holey Plains State Reserve, in Central Gippsland, Victoria. FoE has found an area of several hundred hectares, in the Reserve which appears to have been impacted by spray drift from an adjacent pine plantation which was recently aerially sprayed. Thousands of trees appear to have been impacted. The trees were slowly recovering after being severely burnt by bushfires which ravaged Holey Plains in early 2019.
...
"Pine plantations of this size are usually aerially sprayed with herbicides including Glyphosate, Metsulfuron Methyl and Clopyralid. Another herbicide Glufosinate Ammonium is also sometimes used. After the pines have been established for a year or two, aerial application of pellitised Hexazinone then occurs. Hexazinone will then leach into the soil for a many months.
...
"Friends of the Earth believes that the likely culprit of the spray drift is Glyphosate. A similar incident occurred in the King Lake National Park about 10 years ago."
'BAYER PAYS OUT $15.9B TO SETTLE ROUNDUP CANCER CLAIMS'
By national regional and rural affairs reporters Lucy Barbour and Kath Sullivan, ABC Rural, 25 June 2020
#Pesticides #Roundup #PersonalInjury #Cancer #ClassAction #Australia
"Bayer will also pay $US800 million ($1.16b) to settle claims involving the highly carcinogenic substance polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have been found in US waterways and which Monsanto used to make.
Another $US400m ($582m) will go towards settling cases relating to damage caused to crops after the weedkiller Dicamba drifted onto nearby farms, killing plants not resistant to the herbicide.
...
The settlement will be of interest to claimants behind an Australian class action, which alleges Monsanto knew or should have known that Roundup was inherently unsafe and that the company failed to provide suitable directions for use.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has launched a class action against Monsanto on behalf of people diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Australia."
'COTTON SPRAY DRIFT ALLEGEDLY DEFOLIATING TREES NEAR NARROMINE'
By Jessie Davies, ABC Western Plains, 25 May 2020
#Cotton #Herbicides #SprayDrift #TreeDamage
"The Lower Macquarie Overspray Group believes the trees were damaged by herbicides applied by the region's cotton growers to defoliate their crop."
‘EU TO HALVE PESTICIDES BY 2030 TO PROTECT BEES, BIODIVERSITY: DRAFT’
By Kate Abnett and Marine Strauss, Reuters
#pesticides #bees #EU
“Beekeepers in western Europe have reported a fall in the number of bees and colony losses over the last 15 years, the European Food Safety Authority said.
“EU lawmakers say this trend endangers the 76% of food production in Europe that depends on pollination.
“Already EU regulators banned outdoor use of neonicotinoid insecticides in 2018, meaning they can only be used in closed greenhouses.”
By Catherine Roberts, Consumer Reports, 17 Sep 2020
#pesticides #food #obesity #DDT #endocrinedisrupting
"More than a billion pounds of pesticides are used in the U.S. every year, according to the most recent data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Most of those chemicals are used in agriculture. As a result, we’re consuming them daily along with the fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plants we eat.
…
“For example, research by Michele La Merrill, PhD, an associate professor at U.C. Davis, suggests there is a link between early-life exposure to DDT, an insecticide that’s now banned in the U.S., and obesity in adulthood. DDT may reduce the function of the hormone insulin, which instructs the body to process the glucose in your blood after eating a meal.
“And although DDT is no longer used in the U.S., a wide variety of pesticides that have been associated with endocrine-disrupting effects are still employed in food production today.”
'THE CHEMICAL REPORT COTTON AUSTRALIA WON'T RELEASE'
By Harriett Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2020
#Chemicals #cotton #CottonAustralia #SprayDrift
“Cotton Australia did its own investigations around the same time in response to community concerns, commissioning a researcher from the University of New England to inspect. But it has declined to release the report, despite numerous requests from the Lower Macquarie Overspray Group, which represents concerned locals.
…
National Toxics Network co-ordinator Jo Immig said spray could drift up to 20 kilometres in inversion levels. The EPA should have obtained spray application records to find out what chemicals were being applied, she said.
‘The idea that pesticides can be applied safely to paddocks and not move ‘off target’ is perhaps one of the greatest cons perpetrated by the chemical industry and regulators on the Australian public and environment," Ms Immig said. "All ecological systems are inter-connected via the atmosphere, water and soil.’ “
'CHEMICALS THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF MYSTERY LEAF LOSS IN COTTON TOWNS, SECRET REPORT FINDS'
By Harriett Alexander, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2020
#Chemicals #cotton #TreeDamage #Peppercorns #SprayDrift
"Chemicals used in cotton farming are the most likely cause of trees losing their leaves in parts of central western NSW and may pose a threat to human health, according to a government report that has been blocked from the public since it was circulated internally two years ago."
'ANY COTTON INDUSTRY IN THE NT FACES A COMMUNITY BACKLASH, FARMERS HAVE BEEN WARNED'
By Chris McLennan, Katherine Times, 15 July 2020
#Cotton #Unsustainable #GovernmentSubsidies #FishKill #DarlingRiver
"But Mr Fowler said cotton and other large scale agriculture had devastated the Murray-Darling system already.
'An independent assessment by the prestigious Australian Academy of Science assessed that the horrific mass fish kills along the Darling River last year were caused by over-extraction of water by irrigation upstream, stripping water from the river which was already impacted by drought,' he said.
'This is an unsustainable industry that benefits very few and is not labour intensive.
'Big cotton companies have already outlined in reports to the government that they are looking for large subsidies.
'For these industries to survive, they need large crops and huge infrastructure...' "
'THOUSANDS OF TREES IN RESERVE THREATENED BY HERBICIDE DRIFT'
Friends of the Earth, 25 June 2020
#HerbicideDrift #SprayDrift
"Friends of the Earth has uncovered a disturbing incident in the Holey Plains State Reserve, in Central Gippsland, Victoria. FoE has found an area of several hundred hectares, in the Reserve which appears to have been impacted by spray drift from an adjacent pine plantation which was recently aerially sprayed. Thousands of trees appear to have been impacted. The trees were slowly recovering after being severely burnt by bushfires which ravaged Holey Plains in early 2019.
...
"Pine plantations of this size are usually aerially sprayed with herbicides including Glyphosate, Metsulfuron Methyl and Clopyralid. Another herbicide Glufosinate Ammonium is also sometimes used. After the pines have been established for a year or two, aerial application of pellitised Hexazinone then occurs. Hexazinone will then leach into the soil for a many months.
...
"Friends of the Earth believes that the likely culprit of the spray drift is Glyphosate. A similar incident occurred in the King Lake National Park about 10 years ago."
'BAYER PAYS OUT $15.9B TO SETTLE ROUNDUP CANCER CLAIMS'
By national regional and rural affairs reporters Lucy Barbour and Kath Sullivan, ABC Rural, 25 June 2020
#Pesticides #Roundup #PersonalInjury #Cancer #ClassAction #Australia
"Bayer will also pay $US800 million ($1.16b) to settle claims involving the highly carcinogenic substance polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have been found in US waterways and which Monsanto used to make.
Another $US400m ($582m) will go towards settling cases relating to damage caused to crops after the weedkiller Dicamba drifted onto nearby farms, killing plants not resistant to the herbicide.
...
The settlement will be of interest to claimants behind an Australian class action, which alleges Monsanto knew or should have known that Roundup was inherently unsafe and that the company failed to provide suitable directions for use.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has launched a class action against Monsanto on behalf of people diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Australia."
'COTTON SPRAY DRIFT ALLEGEDLY DEFOLIATING TREES NEAR NARROMINE'
By Jessie Davies, ABC Western Plains, 25 May 2020
#Cotton #Herbicides #SprayDrift #TreeDamage
"The Lower Macquarie Overspray Group believes the trees were damaged by herbicides applied by the region's cotton growers to defoliate their crop."
‘EU TO HALVE PESTICIDES BY 2030 TO PROTECT BEES, BIODIVERSITY: DRAFT’
By Kate Abnett and Marine Strauss, Reuters
#pesticides #bees #EU
“Beekeepers in western Europe have reported a fall in the number of bees and colony losses over the last 15 years, the European Food Safety Authority said.
“EU lawmakers say this trend endangers the 76% of food production in Europe that depends on pollination.
“Already EU regulators banned outdoor use of neonicotinoid insecticides in 2018, meaning they can only be used in closed greenhouses.”
2019 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
‘FRANCE BECOMES THE FIRST COUNTRY TO BAN ALL FIVE PESTICIDES LINKED TO BEE DEATH’
24 January 2019, Return to Now
#bees #pesticides #beedeath #neonicotinoid
“The country banned all 5 of the neonicotinoid pesticides that researchers are blaming for collapsing bee populations.
“The move follows the European Union’s ban of the three worst offenders — clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam — in crop fields starting last month. France has banned these three along with thiacloprid and acetamiprid, not only outdoors but in greenhouses too.
“Studies have shown that neonicotinoids cut bees’ sperm count and scramble their memory and homing skills. The latest research suggests bees can develop a dangerous addiction to the insecticides, much like smokers for nicotine.”
'APIARIST CALLS FOR CHEMICAL FIPRONIL TO BE BANNED AFTER MILLIONS OF BEES DIE IN SOUTHERN NSW'
By Emily Doak and Rosie King, ABC Riverina, 18 June 2019
“In April, five apiarists, from near Griffith, lost the bees from 340 hives after they were poisoned by the pesticide Fipronil.
Ian Carter, a small-scale commercial apiarist providing pollination services to local farmers, said his business had been devastated by the loss of three quarters of his hives. ‘One drop of this poison from one bee that takes it back to the hive will then kill the whole hive,’ Mr Carter said.”
24 January 2019, Return to Now
#bees #pesticides #beedeath #neonicotinoid
“The country banned all 5 of the neonicotinoid pesticides that researchers are blaming for collapsing bee populations.
“The move follows the European Union’s ban of the three worst offenders — clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam — in crop fields starting last month. France has banned these three along with thiacloprid and acetamiprid, not only outdoors but in greenhouses too.
“Studies have shown that neonicotinoids cut bees’ sperm count and scramble their memory and homing skills. The latest research suggests bees can develop a dangerous addiction to the insecticides, much like smokers for nicotine.”
'APIARIST CALLS FOR CHEMICAL FIPRONIL TO BE BANNED AFTER MILLIONS OF BEES DIE IN SOUTHERN NSW'
By Emily Doak and Rosie King, ABC Riverina, 18 June 2019
“In April, five apiarists, from near Griffith, lost the bees from 340 hives after they were poisoned by the pesticide Fipronil.
Ian Carter, a small-scale commercial apiarist providing pollination services to local farmers, said his business had been devastated by the loss of three quarters of his hives. ‘One drop of this poison from one bee that takes it back to the hive will then kill the whole hive,’ Mr Carter said.”
2018 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
'A DRIFTING WEEDKILLER PUTS PRIZED TREES AT RISK'
#Dicamba #SprayDrift #TreeDamage
By Dan Charles, NPR News, 27 September 2018
"Last year, though, Hayes noticed that the trees didn't look right. Their needles were turning brown. Some were curling. 'Something was going on that never happened before,' he says.
Neighbors were talking about it. Everybody had a theory: disease; drought; insects. 'They thought of other things, but when it came down to it, it was a drifting chemical,' Hayes says.
The chemical is called dicamba. It's a weedkiller, and it blew in from nearby soybean and cotton fields."
“WHAT’S KILLING THE TREES?”
By Jeffrey King, The Land, 2 Jun 2018
“On our family property at Darlington Point pepper trees have thrived for more than 100 years. They are extremely hardy and drought tolerant. During recent autumns these trees, young and old, have suffered severe defoliation, sometimes to the point of apparent death. Miraculously most have recovered only to suffer the same fate the next year. Each year the trees become weaker and eventually die. We have now lost close to half of them.”
Endocrine disruption, environmental justice, and the ivory tower
Tyrone Hayes, 9 March 2018, TEDxBerkeley
"Dr. Tyrone Hayes has earnt worldwide fame for his work on the harmful effects of the pesticide atrazine. Arguing that “those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act,” Dr. Hayes details his decade-long feud with Syngenta, the manufacturer of atrazine… At the University of California, Berkeley, and in ponds around the world, professor Tyrone Hayes studies frogs and other amphibians. He's become an active critic of the farm chemical atrazine, which he's found to interfere with the development of amphibians' endocrine systems."
#Dicamba #SprayDrift #TreeDamage
By Dan Charles, NPR News, 27 September 2018
"Last year, though, Hayes noticed that the trees didn't look right. Their needles were turning brown. Some were curling. 'Something was going on that never happened before,' he says.
Neighbors were talking about it. Everybody had a theory: disease; drought; insects. 'They thought of other things, but when it came down to it, it was a drifting chemical,' Hayes says.
The chemical is called dicamba. It's a weedkiller, and it blew in from nearby soybean and cotton fields."
“WHAT’S KILLING THE TREES?”
By Jeffrey King, The Land, 2 Jun 2018
“On our family property at Darlington Point pepper trees have thrived for more than 100 years. They are extremely hardy and drought tolerant. During recent autumns these trees, young and old, have suffered severe defoliation, sometimes to the point of apparent death. Miraculously most have recovered only to suffer the same fate the next year. Each year the trees become weaker and eventually die. We have now lost close to half of them.”
Endocrine disruption, environmental justice, and the ivory tower
Tyrone Hayes, 9 March 2018, TEDxBerkeley
"Dr. Tyrone Hayes has earnt worldwide fame for his work on the harmful effects of the pesticide atrazine. Arguing that “those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act,” Dr. Hayes details his decade-long feud with Syngenta, the manufacturer of atrazine… At the University of California, Berkeley, and in ponds around the world, professor Tyrone Hayes studies frogs and other amphibians. He's become an active critic of the farm chemical atrazine, which he's found to interfere with the development of amphibians' endocrine systems."
2017 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
“ ‘DEVASTATING' BEEHIVE LOSSES DUE TO INSECTICIDE DRIFT FROM COTTON FARMS, KEEPER SAYS”,
By Sean Murphy, ABC Landline, 18 Feb 2017
#Cotton #Fipronil #Neonicotinoid #SprayDrift #Bees
"The largest commercial honey bee pollinator in one of Australia's key food bowls claims he can no longer base his 2,000 hive operation in the region because of chemical use by the emerging cotton industry.
Harold Saxvik's family has been keeping bees at Darlington Point in the New South Wales Riverina for more than 80 years.
In 2013, he lost 500 hives to insecticide spray drift which he believes came from nearby cotton farms.
...
The president of the New South Wales Apiarist's Association, Neil Bingley, said the cotton industry needed to do more.
'The cotton industry thinks that we're a small industry but when you take the pollination of all the other horticultural crops, we're a major player and Cotton Australia does not have the right to drive us out,' Mr Bingley said.
He believes some cotton growers along the Murrumbidgee are still spraying up to nine times a season.
'Our biggest concern is the Fipronil. It doesn't take much of that spray at all, a light drift will kill thousands of hives,' Mr Bingley said."
'COTTON SPRAYING LIMITING PRODUCTION AT NELSON'S HONEY BOGGABRI'
By Sam Woods, Namoi Valley Independent, 11 January 2017
“Marlene Nelson has operated Nelson’s Honey in Boggabri for 50 years but said pesticide spraying is crippling their business. ’They [cotton growers] are wiping out our industry,’ Mrs Nelson said. ‘We are hardly getting any honey.’ “
By Sean Murphy, ABC Landline, 18 Feb 2017
#Cotton #Fipronil #Neonicotinoid #SprayDrift #Bees
"The largest commercial honey bee pollinator in one of Australia's key food bowls claims he can no longer base his 2,000 hive operation in the region because of chemical use by the emerging cotton industry.
Harold Saxvik's family has been keeping bees at Darlington Point in the New South Wales Riverina for more than 80 years.
In 2013, he lost 500 hives to insecticide spray drift which he believes came from nearby cotton farms.
...
The president of the New South Wales Apiarist's Association, Neil Bingley, said the cotton industry needed to do more.
'The cotton industry thinks that we're a small industry but when you take the pollination of all the other horticultural crops, we're a major player and Cotton Australia does not have the right to drive us out,' Mr Bingley said.
He believes some cotton growers along the Murrumbidgee are still spraying up to nine times a season.
'Our biggest concern is the Fipronil. It doesn't take much of that spray at all, a light drift will kill thousands of hives,' Mr Bingley said."
'COTTON SPRAYING LIMITING PRODUCTION AT NELSON'S HONEY BOGGABRI'
By Sam Woods, Namoi Valley Independent, 11 January 2017
“Marlene Nelson has operated Nelson’s Honey in Boggabri for 50 years but said pesticide spraying is crippling their business. ’They [cotton growers] are wiping out our industry,’ Mrs Nelson said. ‘We are hardly getting any honey.’ “
2014 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
INTRODUCTION TO ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS (EDCs) - A GUIDE FOR PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS AND POLICY-MAKERS
Andrea C Gore et al, Endocrine Society and IPEN, December 2014
'NELSON'S HONEY OWNER CALLS FOR ACTION OVER BOGGABRI BEE DEATHS'
Namoi Valley Independent, 6 March 2014
“The owner of Nelson’s Honey Factory at Boggabri is demanding answers after losing thousands of bees that she believes may have died from a cotton insecticide. Marlene Nelson is devastated after finding the bees dead in front of their hives during a routine inspection several weeks ago. … Around the time of the deaths, Marlene said she had noticed cotton spraying in the area and contacted the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to investigate.”
Andrea C Gore et al, Endocrine Society and IPEN, December 2014
'NELSON'S HONEY OWNER CALLS FOR ACTION OVER BOGGABRI BEE DEATHS'
Namoi Valley Independent, 6 March 2014
“The owner of Nelson’s Honey Factory at Boggabri is demanding answers after losing thousands of bees that she believes may have died from a cotton insecticide. Marlene Nelson is devastated after finding the bees dead in front of their hives during a routine inspection several weeks ago. … Around the time of the deaths, Marlene said she had noticed cotton spraying in the area and contacted the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to investigate.”
2013 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
"PESTICIDE ACUTE TOXICITY IS A BETTER CORRELATE OF U.S. GRASSLAND BIRD DECLINES THAN AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION"
Mineau P, Whiteside M, PLoS ONE 8(2): e57457. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057457, 2013
The use of chemicals is a better indicator of bird life survival than the amount of agricultural intensity in an area. For Grasslands, which are some of the most threatened ecosystems, it means that chemicals are preventing refuges and parks from being anything like an effective tool for biodiversity protection.
Mineau P, Whiteside M, PLoS ONE 8(2): e57457. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057457, 2013
The use of chemicals is a better indicator of bird life survival than the amount of agricultural intensity in an area. For Grasslands, which are some of the most threatened ecosystems, it means that chemicals are preventing refuges and parks from being anything like an effective tool for biodiversity protection.
1996 - MEDIA REPORTS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
1996 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
#Cotton #SprayDrift #SilentSpring #ChronicDiseases #BirthDefects #Cancer #NeurologicalDiseases #Allergies #Asthma
“On Sunday January 21, the wind was blowing straight towards our place (and the town) while a nearby crop was being sprayed and our family have been quite ill, experiencing sore throats, headaches from the effects of the spray.
…
Studies have shown that towns close to areas of intense chemical use have higher rates of birth defects and serious illnesses such as cancer. It is time we stopped this now before Narromine becomes another statistic.
…
No one has the right to poison another person without their permission and aerial spraying is doing just that.”
~ Lyn Kammermann, 24 Jan 1996, Narromine
“As for water pollution, endosulphan was found in rainwater 10kms from the nearest cotton farm in Narromine. Please read ‘Impact of cotton spray drift on rainwater’ by Bob Madley."
~ Julie Head, 29 March 1996, Narromine
“15 per cent of Australians suffer from MSC (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity). It is a loss of brain function, lung disease, immune system deficiency, chronic fatigue, cancer and a range of common allergies. We are slowly killing ourselves. Greenpeace estimates that 25 million people are chemically poisoned with 220,000 dying each year.”
~ Julie Head, 3 April 1996
"1996 JANUARY: MOREE CATTLE CONTAMINATION. PESTICIDE DETECTED: CHLORFLUAZURON, ENDOSULFAN"; Australian Pesticides Map, Friends of the Earth
Quoting:
"Beef’s Image Takes A Hiding"
By David Passey, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 January 1996
#Cotton #SprayDrift #SilentSpring #ChronicDiseases #BirthDefects #Cancer #NeurologicalDiseases #Allergies #Asthma
“On Sunday January 21, the wind was blowing straight towards our place (and the town) while a nearby crop was being sprayed and our family have been quite ill, experiencing sore throats, headaches from the effects of the spray.
…
Studies have shown that towns close to areas of intense chemical use have higher rates of birth defects and serious illnesses such as cancer. It is time we stopped this now before Narromine becomes another statistic.
…
No one has the right to poison another person without their permission and aerial spraying is doing just that.”
~ Lyn Kammermann, 24 Jan 1996, Narromine
“As for water pollution, endosulphan was found in rainwater 10kms from the nearest cotton farm in Narromine. Please read ‘Impact of cotton spray drift on rainwater’ by Bob Madley."
~ Julie Head, 29 March 1996, Narromine
“15 per cent of Australians suffer from MSC (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity). It is a loss of brain function, lung disease, immune system deficiency, chronic fatigue, cancer and a range of common allergies. We are slowly killing ourselves. Greenpeace estimates that 25 million people are chemically poisoned with 220,000 dying each year.”
~ Julie Head, 3 April 1996
"1996 JANUARY: MOREE CATTLE CONTAMINATION. PESTICIDE DETECTED: CHLORFLUAZURON, ENDOSULFAN"; Australian Pesticides Map, Friends of the Earth
Quoting:
"Beef’s Image Takes A Hiding"
By David Passey, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 January 1996