Insecticides

In der Debatte um den Schutz von Bienen hat Deutschland vor einem entscheidenden EU-Votum die Bereitschaft signalisiert, für ein Teilverbot bestimmter Pestizide zu stimmen. "Die Bundesregierung kann sich bei der Abstimmung am Montag in Brüssel eine Zustimmung zu dem Verbot vorstellen", sagte der Sprecher von Bundeslandwirtschaftsministerin Ilse Aigner (CSU). Voraussetzung dafür sei aber vor allem "eine Klarstellung der EU-Kommission, dass Deutschland in den Bereichen, die deutlich über den europäischen Schutzstandard hinausgehen, sein höheres Schutzniveau für Bienen behalten kann". Die EU-Kommission will den Einsatz von drei Pestiziden, zu deren Herstellern auch das deutsche Unternehmen Bayer gehört, für den Anbau von Mais, Sonnenblumen, Raps sowie Baumwolle für vorerst zwei Jahre verbieten, da diese Chemikalien im Verdacht stehen, Bienensterben zu verursachen. Vorerst erlaubt bleiben soll der Gebrauch der Pestizide für Wintergetreide und Pflanzen, die keine Bienen anlocken. Eine erste Abstimmung der EU-Staaten im März hatte ein Patt ergeben, auch weil Deutschland sich enthalten hatte. Im EU-Berufungsausschuss kommt es nun am Montag zum entscheidenden Votum.

Using the aquatic species Daphnia, commonly referred to as “water fleas,” scientists at North Carolina State University (NC State) determined that exposure to the insecticide pyriproxyfen impacted multiple generations, ultimately resulting in more male offspring, and causing reproductive problems in female offspring. Lead author Gerald LeBlanc, PhD, notes, “This work supports the hypothesis that exposure to some environmental chemicals during sensitive periods of development can cause significant health problems for those organisms later in life –and affect their offspring and, possibly, their offspring’s offspring.” The study, published in the journal PLoS One, provides the scientific community with new information on how organisms respond to the environmental signals resulting from pesticide exposure.

The goal of this study was to examine the association between urinary concentrations of dialkyl phosphate metabolites of organophosphates and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children 8 to 15 years of age. Cross sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2000–2004) were available for 1139 children, who were representative of the general US population. One hundred nineteen children met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Children with higher urinary dialkyl phosphate concentrations, especially dimethyl alkylphosphate (DMAP) concentrations, were more likely to be diagnosed as having ADHD. A 10-fold increase in DMAP concentration was associated with an odds ratio of 1.55 (95% confidence interval: 1.14–2.10), with adjustment for gender, age, race/ethnicity, poverty/income ratio, fasting duration, and urinary creatinine concentration. For the most-commonly detected DMAP metabolite, dimethyl thiophosphate, children with levels higher than the median of detectable concentrations had twice the odds of ADHD (adjusted odds ratio: 1.93 [95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.02]), compared with children with undetectable levels. These findings support the hypothesis that organophosphate exposure, at levels common among US children, may contribute to ADHD prevalence.

This video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaqPNmk1kZY&feature=share lasts 57.36 minutes. It shows the devastating effects of neonicotinoids in Japan, where they were introduced as foliar treatments on rice, fruit and vegetables in the 1990s to replace organophosphates. Because of the degree of permissiveness of Japan's Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) - compared to the EU and even to the USA (Cf. 38 minutes into the document) - high levels of exposure were inflicted on unsuspecting communities. As hives emptied or were surrounded with a thick carpet of dead honeybees, apiarists and bee scientists soon realised something very serious was amiss. The victims' stoicism, many of them in an advanced state of culture shock, is very moving. Every piece of testimony merits our attention. Of special interest (46 minutes into the document) are observations by neuroscientist Yoichiro Kuroda on the human blood-brain barrier in adults, foetuses and neonates.

Na het succes van vorig jaar organiseren Filmhuis De Keizer en Slow Food IJsselvallei op zondag 12 mei a.s. het 2e slow food film festival deventer. Met bijzondere films en tussendoor genieten van volop Lekker, Puur en Eerlijk eten en drinken. De films brachten heel verschillende kanten van ons ‘food’ in beeld: de achtergronden en bedreigingen van onze voedselvoorziening, de hartstocht voor voedingsproducten en het gastronomisch genieten. Van 17:15 - 17.45 werd de film More than Honey ingeleid door dr ir Henk Tennekes, toxicoloog en pleitbezorger voor een verbod op toepassing van insecticiden die bijenvolkeren en insecten in het algemeen bedreigen. De voordracht is bijgevoegd.

Der Europäische Berufsimkerverband (IPBA) hat die Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union aufgefordert, doch noch für ein Teilverbot bestimmter Pestizide zu stimmen. «Wir fordern seit Jahren ein generelles Verbot dieser Stoffe», sagte IPBA-Präsident Walter Haefeker am Donnerstag. Das von der EU-Kommission für Montag zur Abstimmung gestellte Teilverbot der für Bienen schädlichen Chemikalien sei aber ein «sehr großer Schritt in die richtige Richtung. Wir fordern die Mitgliedstaaten auf, das zu unterstützen - das gilt insbesondere für Deutschland.» Die EU-Kommission fordert ein Teilverbot von drei sogenannten Neonicotinoiden. Für einen solchen Schritt fand sich im März jedoch keine ausreichende Mehrheit unter den EU-Mitgliedstaaten, Deutschland enthielt sich. Am Montag kommt es in Brüssel zur entscheidenden Abstimmung im Berufungsausschuss. Haefeker fürchtet ebenso wie der Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND), dass der deutsche Vertreter dieses Mal gegen das Teilverbot der drei Stoffe stimmt, die von dem deutschen Unternehmen Bayer sowie der Firma Syngenta aus der Schweiz vertrieben werden.

Henk Tennekes, tossicologo olandese, ha studiato con un approccio olistico gli effetti della diffusione di neonicotinoidi nell'ambiente e i loro effetti su insetti e altri animali non bersaglio. Tennekes dimostra come l’avvelenamento sistemico non colpisce solo api e insetti impollinatori ma contamina suoli, acque e colpisce per via indiretta molte altre indispensabili forme viventi, fra cui in particolare gli uccelli. Le sue tesi scientifiche sono state pubblicate, nel settembre 2010, in un libro dal titolo “Insetticidi sistemici: un disastro in atto”, e in numerosi articoli. L’Unaapi ha tradotto la presentazione fatta da Tennekes durante il Convengno dell’Associazione degli Apicoltori dell’Hampshire, nel novembre 2012.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate immunotoxic effects of imidacloprid in female BALB/c mice. Imidacloprid was administered orally daily at 10, 5, or 2.5 mg/kg over 28 days. Specific parameters of humoral and cellular immune response including hemagglutinating antibody (HA) titer to sheep red blood cells (SRBC; T-dependent antigen), delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to SRBC, and T-lymphocyte proliferation in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were evaluated. The results showed that imidacloprid at high dose, specifically suppressed cell-mediated immune response as was evident from decreased DTH response and decreased stimulation index of T-lymphocytes to PHA. At this dose, there were also prominent histopathological alterations in spleen and liver. Histopathological analysis of footpad sections of mice revealed dose-related suppression of DTH response. Imidacloprid at low dose of 2.5 mg/kg/day did not produce any significant alterations in cellular and humoral immune response and it seemed to be an appropriate dose for assessment of ‘no observable adverse effects level’ for immunotoxicity in BALB/c mice. The results also indicated that imidacloprid has immunosuppressive effects at doses >5 mg/kg, which could potentially be attributed to direct cytotoxic effects of IMD against T cells (particularly TH cells) and that long-term exposure could be detrimental to the immune system.