Pesticide Organizing Project
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Taken from the Summer 1998 issue of Synergy The Poisons Around Us More and more people are discovering that pesticide use causes some of the most potent and most frequent causes of chemical exposures, both in the United States and internationally. A pesticide is a product deigned to kill something - "cide" means to kill. Insecticides kill insects, herbicides kill weeds, avicides kill birds, fungicides kill fungi, etc. Pesticides are used both in agriculture and in parks, schools, homes, gardens, along right-of-ways, and in other public settings. Different pesticides affect people in different ways. Some cause cancer and are listed as "known", "probable" or "possible" carcinogens as identified by the US EPA or the State. Some are nerve toxins, that affect the enzyme responsible for the basic operation of the brain and nervous system. Many originate from W.W. II research on chemical weapons. These include organophosphate and carbamate insecticides such as chlorphrifos and diazinon. Acute (immediate) poisoning symptoms are flu-like - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness. These pesticides may also impair memory, learning ability, ability to focus, and even behavior. Reproductive and developmental toxins are those that impact the development of children. Exposure to these chemicals may jeopardize a child's mental or physical development. Pregnant women exposed to these chemicals may face increased risk of birth defects in their unborn child. Hormone Mimicking Toxins also known as Endocrine Disrupters can disrupt delicate hormonal processes in wildlife and humans. Hormones act as chemical messengers in the human body, triggering a wide array of biological processes. They can impact height and weight, gender differentiation, the development of reproductive organs, energy levels and others. Because hormones function at very low levels, these pesticides can have dramatic effects at low levels of exposure.
Myth #1: A pesticide is safe because it is registered by the US EPA and our state. At the heart of any discussion of pesticide safety is the status of what we know and do not know about the pesticide products in question. In a report by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences it states that complete health hazard assessments for pesticides and inert, or secret, ingredients of pesticides formulations is not possible for 90% of the registered pesticides. Knowledge of the possible effects of several pesticides used together, although a common occurrence, is practically non-existent. Add to these major data gaps the major loopholes in our laws and we end up knowing very little about what is sprayed on us and around us, sometimes without our knowledge. Consider these facts:
Myth #2: Pesticides are safe when used according to the product label instructions. EPA's position is very clear. "Pesticides are not "safe". "They are produced specifically because they are toxic to something.", US Environmental Protection Agency. Federal Law (FIFRA section 12(a)(1)(B) prohibits pesticide labels from bearing any statement, design, or graphic representation that is false or misleading. The following examples of health and safety claims deemed false and misleading:
EPA's labeling prohibitions are based on its repeatedly stated position "that no pesticide is 'safe' because pesticides are, by their very nature, designed to be biologically active and kill various kinds of organisms." Pesticide labels are still based on the lethal dose after brief exposure, and the degree of toxicity indicated on the label has no correlation with the risk of low-dose cumulative or unrepaired damage, such as nervous system injury, cancer, fetal injury or loss, and mutations which may not appear for generations. Myth #3: I use Roundup and we all know it's safe. Afterall, it's sold in the grocery store. There are two types of ingredients in Roundup and other pesticides - active and inert. The active ingredients are those designed to kill the target pest. The "inert" ingredient does not mean it's non-toxic or harmless. It is the secret ingredient added to the product to either preserve the active ingredients, make them easier to apply or improve their killing ability. For example, some inerts soften the skin of the pest, making it easier for the active ingredient to get into the pest and kill it. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, has been assumed to have low animal toxicity because the enzyme system which it inhibits is specific to plants. But studies now show that Glyphosate can cause acute symptoms including eye and skin irritation and nausea, conjunctivitis, vomiting and diarrhea. California statistics show that in 1994, glyphosate ranked eighth for most number of complaints filed with the state by people poisoned by the product. Glyphosate can also drift off-site during applications. Studies show that from 14-78% of it can as far as 1300 feet downwind. Once on the ground, it can persist in soils from 3 days to a year. Misleading advertising has led many applicators to consider glyphosate nearly non-toxic. In 1996, the New York State Attorney General won an injunction against the chemical's manufacturer, Monsanto, for falsely claiming that the pesticide is as safe as table salt. The inert ingredients in Roundup may pose more danger than it's active ingredient. Japanese emergency medicine professionals reported in Lancet, the American Medical Journal, that the "inert" ingredient in the herbicide formulation, Roundup, accounts for the acute toxicity they had found in patients poisoned (some fatally) by Roundup. Symptoms included vomiting and gastrointestinal pain, swelling of the lungs and pneumonia, reduction of blood pressure, clouding of consciousness, and red blood cell destruction. The "inert" ingredient they identified in Roundup was polyoxyethyleneamine (POEA) actually referring to a family of chemicals. It is added to Roundup to help evenly spread the active ingredient, glyphosate, on target plants. EPA reports that it is common for 1,4-dioxane to be present with POEA. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) consider 1,4-dioxane and animal carcinogen and EPA considers it to be a probable human carcinogen. We continue to not know what is in Roundup and other pesticides because the manufacturers are not required to list them on the labels and have claimed that inerts are "confidential business information that should not be available to the public." EPA allows more than 2,000 chemicals to be used as inerts - many cause toxic effects including cancer and at least 382 were themselves used as the pesticide active ingredient. In fact, hazardous waste have been allowed to be "recycled" into pesticides as inerts. You may be spraying chemicals like xylene, chloroform, methylene chloride, toluene and other toxic chemicals. As one misguided EPA official said, "it's a way of disposing of hazardous materials."
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