Insecticides

Even low-level exposure to a widely used group of pesticides can produce long-term damage to cognitive abilities, according to a study conducted by researchers from University College London and the Open University and published in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis on the data from 14 separate studies including more than 1,600 total participants on the association between neurological and cognitive function and low-level exposure to the group of pesticides known as organophosphates. "This is considered to be the method of choice in situations where research findings may be used to inform public policy," co-author Chris McManus said. "This is the first time anyone has analyzed the literature concerning the neurotoxicity of organophosphate pesticides, using the statistical technique of meta-analysis," lead author Sarah Mackenzie Ross said. "The analysis reveals that the majority of well-designed studies undertaken over the last 20 years find a significant association between low-level exposure to organophosphates and impaired cognitive function." The areas of cognitive function that suffered the greatest damage were information processing speed and memory. Other areas, such as language, suffered less.

Los pájaros y las abejas son algo que la mayoría de nosotros damos por sentado como parte de la naturaleza. La expresión “enseñanza de los pájaros y las abejas” para explicar el proceso de la reproducción humana a los jóvenes no es una expresión accidental. Las abejas y las aves contribuyen a la esencia de la vida en nuestro planeta. Un estudio realizado por el Departamento de Agricultura de EE.UU. estima que “… tal vez una tercera parte de nuestra dieta total depende, directa o indirectamente, de los insectos de polinización plantas” 1.
La abeja de miel, Apis mellifera, es el polinizador más importante de los cultivos agrícolas. Las abejas de miel polinizan más de 70 sobre 100 cultivos que, a su vez Lamentablemente el 90% de los alimentos del mundo. Ellos polinizan la mayoría de frutas y verduras, incluyendo manzanas, naranjas, fresas, cebollas y carrots.2 Pero mientras gestiona las poblaciones de abejas han aumentado en los últimos 50 años, las poblaciones de abejas de colonias han disminuido considerablemente en muchos países de Europa y las naciones de América del Norte. Al mismo tiempo, los cultivos que dependen de los insectos para la polinización han aumentado. El fenómeno ha recibido la designación curiosa de trastorno del colapso de colonias (CCD), lo que implica que podría ser causado por cualquier número de factores. Serios estudios científicos recientes, sin embargo apuntan a una causa mayor: el uso de nuevos plaguicidas sistémicos altamente tóxicos en la agricultura desde alrededor del 2004

De veiligheid van het wereldwijd meest gebruikte insecticide imidacloprid wordt sterk betwijfeld door een Brits parlementair onderzoek, en parlementsleden beschuldigen de toelatingsautoriteiten er van de ogen te hebben gesloten voor het risico van deze werkzame stof voor bijen. Het wetenschappelijk bewijs stapelt zich voor een verband tussen het wijdverbreide gebruik van neonicotinoïde bestrijdingsmiddelen op gewassen en de ernstige achteruitgang van de bijen en andere bestuivers, die van vitaal belang zijn bij de productie van een derde van ons voedsel. Het onderzoek heeft bewijs opgeleverd (zie bijlage), dat blijkbaar werd genegeerd door toelatingsautoriteiten, dat het giftige insecticide zich kan ophopen in de bodem tot een niveau dat vrijwel zeker dodelijk is voor de meeste insecten, met inbegrip van bijen die overwinteren in de bodem.

The safety of the world's most widely used insecticide has been questioned by a parliamentary inquiry, with MPs accusing regulators of "turning a blind eye" to the risk for bees. A growing body of scientific evidence has linked the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides on crops to a serious decline in the bees and other pollinators, which are vital in producing a third of all food. The inquiry has uncovered evidence, apparently ignored by regulators, that the toxic insecticide can build up in soil to levels likely to be lethal to most insects, including the bees that overwinter in soil. "European regulators seem to have turned a blind eye to data on the danger that one of the world's biggest selling pesticides could pose to bees and other pollinators," said Joan Walley MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC). "Evidence seen by the committee raises serious questions about the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of EU pesticides regulation. Data available in the regulators' own assessment report shows it could be 10 times more persistent in soils than the European safety limit."

Avermectine werden als Biozide, Pestizide und Tierarzneimittel angewendet. Sie dienen der Parasitenbekämpfung und zur Vorsorge gegen Milbenbefall z.B. in der Geflügelhaltung oder als Insektizide im Gemüse- und Zierpflanzenanbau. Der Tierarzt und Autor dieses Artikels Dr. med. vet. Becker warnt vor den katastrophalen Folgen des Einsatzes dieser Stoffe für Mensch und Tier. Er verweist auf ihr Anreicherungspotential und vertritt die Hypothese, dass Avermectine mit verantwortlich für die Entstehung von Prionkrankheiten wie BSE oder Formen der Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Krankheit sind.

Due to a major policy report released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Northern New England Poison Center (NNEPC) may be fielding a different type of call in the coming years — potential long-term pesticide poisonings due to exposures in back yards or school and municipal playgrounds. The AAP report said there is a growing body of evidence showing the relation between pesticides and negative health impacts to children. " The past decade has seen an expansion of the epidemiologic evidence base supporting adverse effects after acute and chronic pesticide exposure in children," according to the report, "Pesticide Exposure in Children." The report and policy recommendations were published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics. It said "prenatal and early childhood exposure to pesticides is associated with pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function and behavioral problems." The AAP report has moved closer to Canadian research efforts which, beginning more than a decade ago, found a scientific connection between pesticide use and early childhood diseases. These studies have prompted the ban of certain types of pesticides at certain locations in a number of municipalities and provinces in Canada.

Insgesamt 55 Kilogramm der Pflanzenschutzmittel Clopyralid und Thiamethoxam in gelöster Form werden im Korneuburger Grundwasser vermutet, sagt der Sachverständige Werner Wruss. Er leitet das unabhängige Expertenteam, das sich seit Anfang Oktober mit der Sanierung des Korneuburger Grundwassers befasst. Laut Wruss erstreckt sich die Verunreinigung auf eine Fläche von 3,5 Quadratkilometer, umgerechnet entspreche das etwa sieben Millionen Kubikmetern Grundwasser. Vorrangiges Ziel sei es, eine weitere Ausbreitung der Pflanzenschutzmittel zu verhindern, sagt Bezirkshauptfrau Waltraud Müllner-Toifl: „Wir haben bereits verschiedene Maßnahmen getroffen, ein Thema war die Einleitung in die Donau, um eine Ausbreitung des verunreinigten Grundwassers in Richtung Langenzersdorf zu verhindern.“ Die Kritik an der Einleitung des Grundwassers in die Donau weist der Sachverständige zurück: „Das Wasser in die Donau einzuleiten, stellt kein Problem dar, weil in der Donau eine Verdünnung stattfindet, durch die auch die strengsten Grenzwerte unterschritten werden“, so Wruss.

The American Bird Conservancy (ABC), in comments submitted to EPA, stated that preliminary results of a study it is conducting show that EPA is underestimating the aquatic toxicity to birds and other wildlife of the neonicotinoids based on preliminary research results conducted at Carleton U. by Pierre Mineau, an environmental toxicologist with Environment Canada and a Carleton U. adjunct faculty member in Ottawa, ON. ABC is preparing a comprehensive review of the neonicotinoids' effects on birds and including recommendations to EPA on how to better assess those chemicals’ risks. The review is expected to be completed by February. If adopted by EPA, the study's recommendations would serve as yet another change to the agency’s ecological risk assessments for the neonicotinoids.