PANUPS: Toxic Pesticides Above

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PANUPS: Toxic Pesticides Above

Tue, 11 May 2004 14:19:44 -0700

 

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P A N U P S

Pesticide Action Network Updates Service

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Toxic Pesticides Above " Safe " Levels in Many U.S. Residents

May 11, 2004

 

Many U.S. residents carry toxic pesticides in their bodies above government

assessed " acceptable " levels, according to Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our

Bodies and Corporate Accountability a report released today by Pesticide Action

Network North America (PANNA) and partner groups in more than 20 cities.

Analyzing pesticide-related data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) on levels of chemicals in 9,282 people nationwide,

the report reveals that government and industry have failed to safeguard public

health from pesticide exposures.

 

" None of us choose to have hazardous pesticides in our bodies, " said Kristin

Schafer of PANNA and lead author of the report. " Yet CDC found pesticides in

100% of the people who had both blood and urine tested. The average person in

this group carried a toxic cocktail of 13 of the 23 pesticides we analyzed. "

 

Many of the pesticides found in the test subjects have been linked to serious

short- and long-term health effects including infertility, birth defects and

childhood and adult cancers. " While the government develops safety levels for

each chemical separately, this study shows that in the real world we are exposed

to multiple chemicals simultaneously, " explained Margaret Reeves, of PANNA. " The

synergistic effects of multiple exposures are unknown, but a growing body of

research suggests that even at very low levels, the combination of these

chemicals can be harmful to our health. "

 

Chemical Trespass found that children, women and Mexican Americans shouldered

the heaviest " pesticide body burden. " For example, children -- the population

most vulnerable to pesticides -- are exposed to the highest levels of

nerve-damaging organophosphorous (OP) pesticides. The CDC data show that the

average 6 to11 year-old sampled is exposed to the OP pesticide chlorpyrifos at

four times the level U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) considers

" acceptable " for long-term exposure. Chlorpyrifos, produced principally by Dow

Chemical Corporation and found in numerous products such as Dursban™, is

designed to kill insects by disrupting the nervous system. Although U.S. EPA

restricted chlorpyrifos for most residential uses in 2000, it continues to be

used widely in agriculture and other settings. In humans, chlorpyrifos is also a

nerve poison, and has been shown to disrupt hormones and interfere with normal

development of the nervous system in laboratory animals.

 

The report also found that women have significantly higher levels of three of

the six organochlorine (OC) pesticides evaluated. These pesticides are known to

cross the placenta during pregnancy with multiple harmful effects including

disruption of brain development, which can lead to learning disabilities and

other neurobehavioral problems, as well as reduced infant birth weight. This

ability of organochlorine pesticides to pass from mother to child puts future

generations at serious risk.

 

PAN's analysis found that Mexican Americans carry dramatically higher body

burdens of five of the 17 evaluated pesticides in urine samples, including a

breakdown product of methyl parathion, a neurotoxic, endocrine-disrupting

insecticide. Mexican Americans also had significantly higher body burdens of the

breakdown products of the insecticides lindane and DDT than those found in other

ethnic groups.

 

Chemical Trespass argues that pesticide manufacturers are primarily responsible

for the problem of pesticide body burden. " The pesticides we carry in our bodies

are made and aggressively promoted by agrochemical companies, " stated Skip

Spitzer at PANNA. " These companies also spend millions on political influence to

block or undermine regulatory measures designed to protect public health and the

environment. " The report introduces the Pesticide Trespass Index (PTI), a new

tool for quantifying responsibility of individual pesticide manufacturers for

their " pesticide trespass. " Using the PTI, the report estimates that Dow

Chemical is responsible for at least 80% of the chlorpyrifos breakdown products

found in the bodies of those in the U.S.

 

Chemical Trespass offers a series of recommendations. The U.S. Congress should

investigate corporate responsibility and liability for pesticide body burdens

and develop financial mechanisms to shift health and environmental costs of

pesticides to the corporations that produce them. U.S. EPA should ban pesticides

known to be hazardous and pervasive in the environment and our bodies including

immediate phase outs of all uses of chlorpyrifos and lindane. U.S. EPA should

also require that manufacturers bear the burden of proof for demonstrating that

a pesticide does not harm human health before it can be registered. Working with

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. EPA should promote least-toxic pest

control methods. Individuals should pressure government officials and

corporations to implement these changes while seeking alternatives to pesticide

use and buying organic products whenever possible.

 

Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate Accountability is

available on the PANNA website at http://www.panna.org. The report's executive

summary is also available in Spanish and French.

 

Source: Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate

Accountability, Kristin S. Schafer, Margaret Reeves, Skip Spitzer, Susan Kegley,

Pesticide Action Network North America, May, 2004.

 

Contact: PANNA

 

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on

pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's

produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and

non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to

pesticides worldwide.

 

You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and all

contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visit

http://www.panna.org/donate.

 

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Email: panna

Web: http://www.panna.org

 

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