Humans

Persistent respiratory health effects after a metam sodium pesticide spill

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To report the occurrence of persistent respiratory disorders, including irritant-induced asthma, among adults living and working near an environmental spill of the pesticide, metam sodium, after the derailment of a tank car. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical case series. SETTING: California communities situated within one-half mile of the Sacramento River, from Mt. Shasta City to Shasta Lake. PATIENTS: 197 adults referred to a university occupational/environmental health clinic or to a private occupational/environmental health practitioner for evaluation of health problems potentially related to the spill. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: History, physical examination, review of medical records, spirometry, and methacholine challenge testing revealed 20 cases of persistent irritant-induced asthma and 10 cases of persistent exacerbation of asthma. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported series of cases of persistent irritant-induced asthma involving both community residents and occupationally exposed individuals.

De GGD in Noord-Nederland maakt zich zorgen over het gebruik van landbouwgif en wil dat er een groot onderzoek komt

Mensen die bloot worden gesteld aan landbouwgif kunnen last krijgen van ernstige ademhalingsproblemen, prikkelende ogen en huiduitslag. Het gaat om Metam Natrium. Dat is een giftig grondontsmettingsmiddel, waarmee lelievelden worden bewerkt voordat er bollen worden geplant. Volgens milieuarts Frans Duijm van de GGD komen er niet heel veel klachten binnen, maar wil de GGD wel weten wat de precieze gevolgen voor de gezondheid zijn van de middelen. Op 21 november 2013 was er een uitzending van het onderzoeksprogramma Zembla van de Vara over landbouwgif. Daarin wordt ook een incident uit 2011 uit Veeningen genoemd waarbij iemand ziek is geworden. Tweede Kamerlid Esther Ouwehand (PvdD) heeft staatssecretaris Sharon Dijksma van Landbouw hierover naar het vragenuurtje van de Kamer op 26 november geroepen. Ouwehand vond dat Dijksma het middel onmiddellijk zou moeten verbieden. De staatssecretaris zei dat de Gezondheidsraad begin 2014 komt met de resultaten van een onderzoek naar het bestrijdingsmiddel. Op grond daarvan wilde Dijksma eventueel maatregelen nemen, want "het moet wel zorgvuldig gebeuren". In een reactie schrijft de toxicoloog Henk Tennekes dat de GGD zich terecht zorgen maakt over het landbouwgif metam-natrium omdat een mogelijk verband met ademhalingsproblemen al in 1994 in de wetenschappelijke literatuur werd beschreven en passen bij de symptomen die bij omwonenden van percelen waar het middel toegepast is werden vastgesteld (ademhalingsproblemen, prikkelende ogen en huiduitslag). Het middel is sinds 2010 door de Europese Unie verboden, maar mag in Nederland nog tot 31 december 2014 worden gebruikt. Het is onbegrijpelijk dat het College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden (Ctgb) het besluit van de EU niet integraal heeft overgenomen, aldus Tennekes.

Researchers link pesticides to infertility in women

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered two pesticides they believe cause an increased risk of endometriosis, a condition that can lead to infertility in women. Endometriosis occurs when the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of the organ and attaches to other structures or organs. The condition most often affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes and lining of the pelvic cavity. While it is not fatal, endometriosis can cause chronic pelvic pain, painful menstrual periods and infertility. The condition affects up to 10 percent of reproductive-age women.

Insecticides Could be to Blame for Behavioral Problems in Children

Millions of children in the U.S. are being exposed to insecticides that are currently used daily in homes around the country. According to a recent study published by Canadian researchers, the exposure to pyrethoid pesticides found in thousands of home products, including cockroach sprays and flea controls, was found to be associated with neurobehavioral deficits in children. In the most recent study, constructing data from children ages six to 11, the Canadian Health Measures Survey researchers analyzed the organophosphate and pyrethoid metabolites in their urine. The researchers used logistic regressions to estimate odd ratios for high scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which may indicate the presence of certain behavioral problems. During the study, each parent was asked a series of three questions regarding their use of indoor pesticides, pyrethoid pesticides and outdoor pesticides during that month. The results of the study showed a strong correlation between the use of pesticides and high scores on the questionnaire.

New York City residents have higher pesticide exposure than the U.S. average

New York City residents are more highly exposed to two types of widely used pesticides than the U.S. average, according to a new study. The findings “underscore the importance of considering pest and pesticide burdens in cities when formulating pesticide use regulations,” the researchers from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Organophosphate metabolites were measured in the urine of 882 New Yorkers, while 1,452 residents were tested for pyrethroid metabolites. Some organophosphates have been banned in the United States in recent years, although many are still heavily used in agriculture. Pyrethroids are used indoors and outdoors in sprays and bug bombs to kill fleas, mosquitoes and other pests. Among New Yorkers who were 20 to 59 years old in 2004, the highest exposed group had between two and six times more organophosphates in their urine than the highest exposed group in a national study. They also had between 1.7 and 2.4 times more pyrethroids than the nationwide group. In previous studies in New York City and in a California farm area, prenatal exposure to organophosphates has been associated with reduced mental skills in children.

Poisonous pesticides misappropriated by tyrannical governments

In the closing years of the nineteenth century German scientists sought for the ‘silver bullet’ – an elixir to relieve all aches and pains. Their discovery of an opium derivative appeared to be just that – a ‘heroic’ medicine. So they christen it ‘heroin.’ Half-a-century later Germany researchers were once again attempting to dscover a substitute for the nicotine insecticides then in short supply. In 1938 four scientists at IG Farben in Wuppertal-Elberfeld created just such a stronger pesticide. It was named in honour of its discoverers Schrader, Ambros, Rüdiger and Van der Linde: sarin. Sixty-five years later, sarin was used as a chemical weapon by the Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime to kill more than 1,400 people on 21 August, incurring the world’s wrath. Sarin is an organophosphate, a group of highly successful and widely used chemicals used for control of a broad spectrum of crop insect and arachnid pests. They include such popular preparations as malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos (Dursban®), dimethoate (Cygon®) and dichlorvos (Vapona®) all widely distributed for home use at least until recently. Most are still available for agricultural and forestry use, accompanied by an alarming number of other organophosphates, many of whose tongue-twisting names conceal their lethal nature.

In Argentinien leiden Menschen unter dem massiven und illegalen Einsatz von Pestiziden

Sie kommen mit körperlichen Defekten zur Welt oder erkranken überdurchschnittlich oft an Krebs: In Argentinien leiden Menschen unter dem massiven und illegalen Einsatz von Pestiziden. Das Gift trägt wesentlich zum wirtschaftlichen Erfolg des Landes durch Soja-Produktion bei. Mithilfe moderner Biotechnologie ist Argentinien zum weltweit drittgrößten Soja-Hersteller aufgestiegen. Der massive Einsatz chemischer Mittel hat an diesem Erfolg großen Anteil. Doch die giftigen Stoffe werden teilweise direkt neben Wohnhäusern und Schulen ausgebracht und kontaminieren das Trinkwasser. Wissenschaftler und Ärzte warnen vor der unkontrollierten Nutzung der Chemikalien: Sie glauben, dass aus diesem Grund immer mehr Menschen in Argentinien erkranken.

UNEP Year Book 2013: Many chemicals have biological effects at doses previously considered negligible

An increasing body of scientific evidence indicates that many chemicals have biological effects at doses previously considered negligible. It is increasingly evident that more subtle deleterious effects can occur due to longer-term exposure to relatively low doses of chemicals, individually or in mixtures. New concerns have recently been raised about the impact of pesticides on non-target organisms including insects, especially bees, and amphibians. Studies suggest that low doses of neonicotinoids, a group of neurotoxic chemicals widely used in many countries as insecticides, could have sublethal effects on honey bees and bumble bees with serious consequences for wild populations of these crucially important pollinators and therefore for agriculture and the environment. It has also been suggested that detailed investigation of the effect of neonicotinoids on mammalian brain function, especially brain development, is needed to protect human health, especially that of children.

What Americans Grow and Eat

Since the first genetically modified crops in the U.S. were approved in the mid-’90s, millions of acres have been planted with these crops. Most of the harvest goes to animal feed and other uses, but it’s estimated that about 70 percent of processed foods in the U.S. contain GMO ingredients. 90% of corn grown in the U.S. in 2013 is genetically modified. Most corn grown in the U.S. is used for animal feed and non-food products like ethanol, but it is also used in processed foods for humans — most often as high-fructose corn syrup. (This is different from the genetically modified sweet corn introduced by Monsanto in 2011.) How it may show up on labels: corn syrup, corn meal, dextrin. 93%of soybeans grown in the U.S. in 2013 are genetically modified. Like corn, much of the nation’s soy crop is used for animal feed and energy. A number of the top brands of soy milk, tofu and other obvious foods are organic and GMO-free. How it may show up on labels: soy protein, soy flour, lethicin. 90%of cotton grown in the U.S. in 2013 is genetically modified. Cotton is mostly used for textiles, but cottonseed oil is used as a cheaper substitute for olive or canola oil in foods like salad dressing and potato chips. How it may show up on labels: cottonseed oil. 90%of canola grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. Canola oil is used in food, while the seed meal is used in livestock feed. How it may show up on labels: canola oil. 95%of sugar beets grown in the U.S. are genetically modified. Monsanto introduced herbicide-resistant sugar beets in 2008, and it has been considered the fastest adoption of any genetically engineered crop. Opponents sought to block the crop in court, and it continues to be contentious. In June, thousands of plants were destroyed by vandals in southwest Oregon. How it may show up on labels: sugar, sucrose. 88% of alfalfa grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. Humans don’t eat alfalfa, but it’s a main source of feed for animals like dairy cows. Critics worry about contamination with organic feed.

Women in Northern California farm towns gave birth to smaller babies if they lived within three miles of strawberry fields and other crops treated with the pesticide methyl bromide, according to researchers

“There’s been very little research on residential exposure to methyl bromide. Our study is the first to look at methyl bromide and birth outcomes,” said Kim Harley, study author and associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley. The soil fumigant, which is injected into the soil before planting, can volatize into the air, exposing nearby neighborhoods. Use of methyl bromide has been declining over the past decade under an international treaty that phases out chemicals that deplete the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Strawberries and a few other crops are exempt under the ban because they are deemed “critical uses.”