• Driving Near Recently Sprayed Fields Exposes People to Pesticides
  • Weeds Can Be Managed Without Chemical Pesticides
  • Learn To Manage Weeds Without Chemical Pesticides
  • Learn About Colony Collapse Disorder and How to Protect Bees
  • SNAP Display at Event
  • Learn About Pesticides in Foods
  • Link to SK Organic Resources
  • SNAP Tour of Organic Vegetable Garden
  • LIving Near Fields Increases Pesticide Exposure
  • Learn to Keep Insects Out of your Crops

Monitoring Pesticides

also see wildlife/mammals 

Move to change how U.S. tracks pesticide use sparks protest
Scientists oppose U.S. Geological Survey plan to reduce scope and frequency of chemical database  (by Virginia Gewin, Science, 30 May 2023)    'The USGS data have played a role in more than 500 peer-reviewed studies, the letter notes, including highly cited works on the impact of pesticides on public health, water quality, and ecosystems. Instead of reducing the database’s scope and frequency, the critics say USGS should be expanding it in order better track the estimated 540 million kilograms of pesticides used annually in the United States.'       The USGS database, which dates to 1992, tracked the shifting use of more than 400 chemicals to control insects, fungi, weeds, and other pests. Now the only track 72 pesticides. Preliminary maps are released documenting pesticide use 2 years prior. Now they want to do it every 5 years.  'Some scientists also want USGS to restart efforts to track one of the fastest growing uses of pesticides: seed coatings that protect against, for example, plant diseases or nematodes.'   SNAP comment: As far as I know, we have no canadian maps. According to old stats, SK uses 33 to 36% of all pesticides sold in Canada and the PMRA annual reports don't disclose the amount and individual chemicals by province. This is apparently secret data. and that is only sales's data. As to use and location data, we are in total darkness. Is that any surprise that it's so hard to study correlations between pesticide use and illness or environmental harm in Canada?

PAN Drift Catcher has been developed to allow the public to monitor instances of pesticide drift. However, it only works for some types of pesticides. It is worth checking with PANNA to see if you could use it. 

Chemical Exposure Monitoring Documents Widespread Pesticide Exposure to People and Pets   (Beyond Pesticides, January 18, 2021) 'A study published in Environmental Science & Technology adds to the growing body of scientific research verifying the use of silicone devices as an effective tool for biomonitoring and disease prognosis, finding widespread exposure to people and pets... However, dogs develop comparable anthropomorphic (human-like) diseases (e.g., cancer, organ damage) from susceptibility to the same environmental contaminants, but at a much quicker pace. Therefore, this research highlights the significance of identifying chemicals associated with diseases that are common across multiple species over longer disease latency periods.  The results find over 70 percent of silicone samples detect the presence of multiple pesticides detectable, such as insecticides, including permethrinfipronil, and N, N diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) (a highly toxic insect repellent and synergist). Both DEET and fipronil are detectable in 100 percent of human and dog silicone devices, with DEET concentrations in silicone device samples associated with chemical levels in urine. Due to the use of fipronil as flea and tick treatment, participants reporting recent flea/tick treatments have higher levels of fipronil in both silicone and urine samples.'    SNAP Comment: A PMRA label search shows fipronil is not and has not been sold in Canada. There are 250 DEET products registered and 353 products containing permethrin.

New Test Will Help Researchers Understand Pesticide Threats to Wild Bat Populations   (Beyond Pesticides, December 10, 2020) 'A new test developed by a team of Mexican and Canadian scientists will help field researchers detect early warning signs of pesticide exposure in wild bat populations.  The test in question is referred to as a micronucleus test. Although it does not measure the level of pesticide contaminating a bat’s body, it can assess genotoxicity (the effect of pesticides and other chemical agents that damage genetic information in a cell). This is done by taking blood samples of bats, and testing for the presence of micronuclei formation, which are materials in blood that contain damaged chromosomes not incorporated into a cell after cell division. What little research that has been conducted on the harm pesticides cause to bats shows significant cause for concern. Agricultural pesticide use results in a large proportion of a bat’s insect diet being contaminated with highly toxic chemicals. Bats are particularly sensitive to pesticides that bioconcentrate in fat (lipophilic pesticides); they develop large stores to use while migrating or hibernating, and high concentrations of toxic pesticides in this fat can result in significant poisoning as the body burns it off.  Despite the unique ways in which pesticides harm bats, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not evaluate a pesticide’s effect on bats prior to registration.   Because bats are unusually long-lived for animals their size — lifespans range from 20 to 40 years — their bodies can accumulate pesticide residues over a long period, exacerbating adverse effects associated with those pesticides that can accumulate in fatty tissue.' A bat's 'consumption of large volumes of pesticide-contaminated insects can mean that these compounds may reach toxic levels in their brains — making them more susceptible to White Nose Syndrome.'.

Researchers Developing New Methods to Detect Pesticide Contamination in Bee Hives   (Beyond Pesticides, July 28, 2020) . 'This new product, APIStrip (Adsorb Pesticide In-hive Strip), can be placed into bee hives and act as a passive sampler for pesticide pollution. Honey bees are sentinel species for environmental pollutants, and this new technology could provide a helpful way not only for beekeepers to pinpoint problems with their colonies, but also track ambient levels of pesticide pollution in a community.' plus review of other monitoring tools.