Latest News...
- Tuesday, January 15, 2019
How did the US EPA and IARC reach opposite conclusions about glyphosate’s genotoxicity?
New analysis shows EPA relied on secret industry studies, which found ‘no effect’ from glyphosate, rather than published studies, which mostly found the chemical was genotoxic
How did the US EPA and IARC reach opposite conclusions about glyphosate’s genotoxicity? (from Charles Benbrook's article, GM Watch, 14 January 2019)
'The article shows that only by framing and constraining its genotoxicity assessment in a highly selective and biased way was the EPA able to conclude that glyphosate was not genotoxic. It also demonstrates that the EPA's cancer classification – as well as EFSA’s, which was based on the same data and was reached in a similar way – is scientifically baseless. Overall, the article shows that the way pesticides are assessed for risk is not fit for purpose and exposes people and the environment to unacceptable risks.'
'The paper is authored by Dr Charles Benbrook and is published in Environmental Sciences Europe. '- Sunday, January 13, 2019
Settlement Bans Some Bee-Toxic Pesticides, Requires Public Comment Period on Testing All Pesticide Product Ingredients and Regulating Pesticide-Treated Seeds
Settlement Bans Some Bee-Toxic Pesticides, Requires Public Comment Period on Testing All Pesticide Product Ingredients and Regulating Pesticide-Treated Seeds (Beyond Pesticides, January 4, 2019)
'The settlement sets in motion a number of actions and expectations, among which is the potential cancellation of the 59 pesticide registrations. The first public action was the posting in the Federal Register of two notices of EPA seeking public comment on petitions from CFS. One requests the revision of testing requirements for pesticides prior to their registration — including requiring “testing for whole pesticide formulations to account for the toxicological effects of inert and adjuvant ingredients and the testing of tank mixes to assess the interaction between pesticide ingredients. CFS believes this change is needed to meet the applicable safety standards of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).” The second requests that EPA “initiate a rulemaking or issue a formal Agency interpretation for planted seeds treated with systemic insecticides. CSF believes that the Agency EPA has improperly applied the treated article exemption in exempting these products from registration and labeling requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).” Comments on both, which are due on or before March 21, 2019, can be directed as described here.'
SNAP Comment: Wow! testing formulations and regulaing seeds tated with pesticides as pesticides rather than exemppting them. Anyonee knows w
- Sunday, January 13, 2019
Glyphosate is Genotoxic to Human White Blood Cells at Low Concentrations
Glyphosate is Genotoxic to Human White Blood Cells at Low Concentrations (By Henry Rowlands, GMO Evidence, October 24th, 2018) link to full paper.
'Human lymphocytes were exposed to five glyphosate concentrations: 0.500, 0.100, 0.050, 0.025, and 0.0125 μg/mL, where 0.500 μg/mL represents the established acceptable daily intake value, and the other concentrations were tested in order to establish the genotoxicity threshold for this compound. We observed that chromosomal aberration (CA) and micronuclei (MNi) frequencies significantly increased at all tested concentrations, with exception of 0.0125 μg/mL.'
filed under fact sheets/glyphosate
- Sunday, January 13, 2019
Is Your Yoga Mat or Gym Breeding Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria?
Is Your Yoga Mat or Gym Breeding Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria? (Beyond Pesticides, January 2, 2019)
'Every antibacterial chemical tested by researchers showed up in every facility investigated. Gyms, rooms with higher moisture levels, and those with carpeted flooring all had elevated levels of antibacterials compared to other facilities.'
'Most concerning is the finding that the number of microbes with antibiotic resistant genes was higher in facilities with elevated concentrations of triclosan and its chemical cousin triclocarban. And the type of resistance microbes display is not limited to triclosan—they exhibit a diverse range of resistance measures. “Those genes do not code for resistance to triclosan,” Dr. Hartmann clarifies. “They code for resistance to medically relevant antibiotic drugs.”'
filed under Resistance
- Sunday, January 13, 2019
Health Canada upholds decision to keep glyphosate weed killers on the market
Health Canada upholds decision to keep glyphosate weed killers on the market (Globe and Mail, 11 January 2019)
“How can we trust the science if we can’t be sure that it’s independent?” she said.
Muhannad Malas, the toxics program manager at Environmental Defence, said there is no reason to trust Health Canada if it assigns its own scientists to review the work of their peers.
SNAP Comment: I wonder if the PMRA will make their review document and decision public. It is important to understand WHO the 20 scientists were on the committee (to ensure they have no ties to industry), whether the studies considered in the review are industry produced or sponsored (most of them likely are), and which studies were eliminated from the assessment for whatever reason. It is also good to remember that neither the PMRA or the EPA have kept up with the science of low dose toxicity. The panel of studies to be conducted has not been updated since 1984 with the exception of one apparently already outdated type of endocrine disruption study for a few selected suspected pesticides by the EPA after they were taken to court to establish it.
- Monday, January 7, 2019
U.S. judge limits evidence in trial over Roundup cancer claims
U.S. judge limits evidence in trial over Roundup cancer claims (Reuters, by Tina Bellon, January 3, 2019)
Is this a ploy to make the guilty walk free?
There are always two kind of science:
1. the one industry paid for, which as been shown over and over again to be biased towards their products. For a long time this was the only 'science' available for glyphosate. Industry studies for regulatory purposes, made practically unavailable for analysis or comments by independent researchers.
2. The problems, as always, occurred when independent researchers started repeating these studies and found damning results. So the thousands of studies 'proving' safety have been shown to be nothing but unreviewed and often misinterpreted industry studies.It is also good to remember that if a study indicated a link to health problems it did not have to be submitted to regulators. A similar pesticide glyphosine was also one of the pesticides grandfathered into use (pending new studies which may or may not have been done) after the IBT scandal (1976-81) where this lab and many others were charged with fraud for manufacturing data.
- Saturday, January 5, 2019
Don’t want antibiotics sprayed on your citrus? Sorry – it’s about to expand, big-time
Don’t want antibiotics sprayed on your citrus? Sorry – it’s about to expand, big-time. (Florida Phoenix, by Julie Hauserman, January 2, 2019)
'Federal officials are allowing greatly expanded use of streptomycin and oxytetracycline – antibiotics often used on people — as a pesticide on commercially grown citrus. Agricultural operations plan to use the antibiotic sprays to combat the widespread disease called citrus greening, which has devastated the citrus industry. The antibiotics won’t cure the disease, and will have to be sprayed repeatedly over years just to keep the trees alive and producing fruit until they succumb to citrus greening.'
'Allowing so much antibiotic residue in Florida soils, runoff, and air is unprecedented. It’s unclear how much of the antibiotics – sprayed on leaves and taken up into the plant’s vascular system – will end up in fruit; it’s never been sprayed on this scale before. Test results the citrus industry provided to federal officials reported low antibiotic residues.'
'Scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expressed concern, but ultimately ruled that the economic benefits outweigh the agency’s concerns about antibiotic resistance and potential harm to the environment, people, and wildlife.'
- Sunday, December 30, 2018
New Developments in the Link Between Parkinson’s and Pesticides
New Developments in the Link Between Parkinson’s and Pesticides (Beyond Pesticides, December 20, 2018)
'Lectin, which is often found in healthy foods like raw vegetables, eggs, and dairy, combined with paraquat in the gut and triggered the formation of a misfolded protein called alpha-synuclein, a foreign agent that likely plays a role in the development of Parkinson’s. Alpha-synuclein travels from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve'
'Any herbicide implicated in the development of a disease, which is expected to double in diagnosis over the next 20 years, raises serious questions about compliance with safety standards. A large body of scientific studies strongly implicates this chemical in the development of Parkinson’s disease. Earlier this year, research published in the journal Cell Reports implicated paraquat for its ability to create senescent cells that cause inflammation in the brain.'
filed under nervous system effects/ Parkinson's
- Sunday, December 30, 2018
Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding
Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding (Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2019)
Adding blackberry leaf litter in stormwater catch basins creates an “ecological trap,” enticing mosquito females to lay eggs in sites unsuitable for larvae survival.
filed under mosquito control
- Sunday, December 23, 2018
WATCH – A Question of consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso
WATCH – A Question of consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. (Global Justice Ecology Project, December 20, 2018)
'The (15 minutes - a lot in French with English subtitles) film, “A Question of Consent: Exterminator Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso” documents conversations with residents of the areas where Target Malaria is conducting tests, as well as opposition from civil society groups in the region. This is not the first time Burkina Faso is experimenting with GMOs: Monsanto introduced genetically modified BT cotton into the country in 2008, which led to a drop in the quality of cotton.'
SNAP Comment: Large scale fogging with insecticides has been a failure over and over again for mosquito control and the gmo mosquito experiment on Grand Cayman Island was suspended. Detail: Several decades ago the Regina Public Library had a few scientific compendiums of research on the successes and faillures of pesticides in controlling pests. On a world scale study of malaria and other diseases control and with thousands of papers referenced), the efforts had been a failure. After plastering the world with DDT and other long lasting organochlorines and then moving on to other classes of insecticides like carbamates and organophosphates, the only place in the world where these efforts led to a disappearance of mosquitoes was on a tiny island in the Mediterranean. This only occurred for a few years until new mosquitoes found their way in and they were back to square one. What they found instead is that resistance appeared in only a few years and the quantity of insecticide used had to be increased constantly to keep ahead, until they tried a new product and the same thing quickly happened. There is a term for that: the pesticide treadmill. Of course there were no concurrent efforts to identify and manage the mosquito habitat or educate people on mosquito management. These gmo mosquitoes have also been released on Grand Cayman Island and the program is now being suspended with questions on its efficacy. However, now we think we can have better success on a huge continent??? Imagine how many species of mosquitoes there are, and that many species can often be carriers of the same disease and that you would need to bioengineer every species in an attempt to control it. If you only control one another species will likely become dominant and so on. As far as I am concerned, this type of intervention is madness and the money should be redirected.
filed under mosquito control