Pesticide in food: Apples, Celery top the list

Environmental Working Group has released the seventh edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce with updated information on 53 fruits and vegetables and their total pesticide loads. EWG highlights the worst offenders with its “Dirty Dozen” list and the cleanest conventional produce with its “Clean 15” list.

Analysts at EWG synthesized data collected from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2009. Produce is ranked based on a composite score, equally weighing six factors that reflect how many pesticides was found in testing of on each type of the produce and at what levels. Most samples are washed and peeled prior to being tested, so the rankings reflect the amounts of the chemicals likely present on the food when is it eaten.

Commonly used Atrazine herbicide adversely affects fish reproduction

Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world, has been shown to affect reproduction of fish, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study.

“Concentrations of atrazine commonly found in agricultural streams and rivers caused reduced reproduction and spawning, as well as tissue abnormalities in laboratory studies with fish,” said USGS scientist Donald Tillitt, the lead author of the study published in Aquatic Toxicology. Fathead minnows were exposed to atrazine at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center in Columbia, Mo., and observed for effects on egg production, tissue abnormalities and hormone levels.

Proteins in unroasted coffee beans may become next-generation insecticides

Unroasted coffee beans contain proteins that kill insects, a finding that may lead to new insecticides for protecting food crops.
Credit: Fernando Rebelo, Wikimedia CommonsScientists in Brazil are reporting for the first time that coffee beans contain proteins that can kill insects and might be developed into new insecticides for protecting food crops against destructive pests. Their study, which suggests a new use for one of the most important tropical crops in the world, appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

New chemicals recommended for listing under the Rotterdam Convention

United Nations chemical experts have recommended that two pesticides - endosulfan and azinphos methyl - be included in the Rotterdam Convention's "Prior Informed Consent" procedure.

The Convention's Chemical Review Committee based its recommendation on a review of national regulatory actions to ban these chemicals, due to unacceptable risks to human health and the environment.

Pesticide Atrazine can turn male frogs into females

An atrazine-induced female frog (a genetic male) is shown (bottom) copulating with an unexposed male sibling. This union produced viable eggs and larvae that survived to metamorphosis and adulthood. Yet, because both animals were genetic males, the offspring were all males. (Tyrone Hayes photo)Atrazine, one of the world's most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc with the sex lives of adult male frogs, emasculating three-quarters of them and turning one in 10 into females, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, biologists.

The 75 per cent that are chemically castrated are essentially "dead" because of their inability to reproduce in the wild, reports UC Berkeley's Tyrone B. Hayes, professor of integrative biology.

Storm runoff and sewage treatment outflow contaminated with household pesticides

The combined flow of Chicken Ranch and Strong Ranch Sloughs as they enter the American River (in background) in Sacramento, Calif. Water in the sloughs at the time of this photo contained 10 times the concentration of pyrethroids necessary to kill the test organism used for monitoring (Donald Weston/UC Berkeley)Pyrethroids, among the most widely-used home pesticides, are winding up in California rivers at levels toxic to some stream-dwellers, possibly endangering the food supply of fish and other aquatic animals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Southern Illinois University (SIU).

Pyrethroid insecticides, commonly used in California to kill ants and other insect pests around the home, have been found in street runoff and in the outflow from sewage treatment plants in the Sacramento area. The insecticide ended up in two urban creeks, the San Joaquin River and a 20-mile stretch of the American River, traditionally considered to be one of the cleanest rivers in the region.

Pesticides most important barrier for the recovery of biodiversity on farmland

Since the early nineties the EU has implemented policies to reduce the dramatic negative effects of the use of pesticides on farmland. Nevertheless, a Europe wide study showed that insecticides and fungicides still had major negative effects on wild plant and animal species on arable farms.

The Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group of Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR - together with eight other universities in West and Eastern Europe - investigated the effects of intensive farming on wild plant and animal species and the potential for biological pest control.

An inexpensive 'dipstick' test for pesticides in foods

Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify small amounts of pesticides that may exist in foods and beverages. Their paper-strip test is more practical than conventional pesticide tests, producing results in minutes rather than hours by means of an easy-to-read color-change, they say.

The study was published in ACS' Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal. John Brennan and colleagues note in the new study that conventional tests for detecting pesticides tend to use expensive and complex equipment and in some cases can take several hours to produce results. They cite a growing need for cheaper, more convenient, and more eco-friendly tests for pesticides, particularly in the food industry.

Pesticides may slow the recovery of wild salmon populations

Exposure to common pesticides may hinder the growth and survival of ESA-listed salmon

Biologists determined that short-term, seasonal exposure to pesticides in rivers and basins may limit the growth and size of wild salmon populations. In addition to the widespread deterioration of salmon habitats, these findings suggest that exposure to commonly used pesticides may further inhibit the recovery of threatened or endangered populations.

Strengthening oversight of pesticide impact on children and farm workers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks. EPA's proposal would include a more thorough assessment of risks to workers, including farm workers and farm children, as well as risks posed by pesticides that are not used on food. The agency is asking the public to comment on the new approach and how best to implement the improvements.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson has made it a top priority to ensure that the agency is working to protect Americans.

New pesticide labelling to control spray drift and protect human health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out proposed guidance for new pesticide labelling to reduce off-target spray and dust drift. The new instructions, when implemented, will improve the clarity and consistency of pesticide labels and help prevent harm from spray drift. The agency is also requesting comment on a petition to evaluate children’s exposure to pesticide drift.

“The new label statements will help reduce problems from pesticide drift,” said Steve Owens, the assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “The new labels will carry more uniform and specific directions on restricting spray drift while giving pesticide applicators clear and workable instructions.”

The new instructions will prohibit drift that could cause adverse health or environmental effects. Also, on a pesticide-by-pesticide basis, EPA will evaluate scientific information on risk and exposure based on individual product use patterns. These assessments will help the agency determine whether no-spray buffer zones or other measures – such as restrictions on droplet or particle size, nozzle height, or weather conditions – are needed to protect people, wildlife, water resources, schools and other sensitive sites from potential harm.

In addition to the draft notice on pesticide-drift labelling, EPA is also seeking comment on a draft pesticide drift labelling interpretation document that provides guidance to state and tribal enforcement officials. A second document provides background information on pesticide drift, a description of current and planned EPA actions, a reader’s guide explaining key terms and concepts, and specific questions on which EPA is seeking input.

In a second Federal Register notice, EPA is also requesting comment on a petition filed recently by environmental and farm worker organisations. The petitioners ask EPA to evaluate children’s exposure to pesticide drift and to adopt, on an interim basis, requirements for “no-spray” buffer zones near homes, schools, day-care centres, and parks. EPA will evaluate this new petition and take whatever action may be appropriate after the evaluation is complete.

Pesticide salesman to represent US agricultural interests

Obama administration's nomination of Islam Siddiqui, a former pesticide lobbyist, to be the chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the US Trade Representative has kicked up a controversy with sustainable agriculture advocates from around the US expressing deep disappointment with the decision.

An article in Politico [“Ag Nomination Steams Greens”] noted the controversy surrounding his nomination by environmental and family farm groups.

Siddiqui is currently a vice-president at Croplife America, an agrochemical industry trade group representing Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont and Dow Chemical, among others. Croplife America’s regional partner, Mid America CropLife Association, notoriously “shuddered” at Michelle Obama’s organic garden and launched a letter writing campaign in protest. Katherine Ozer, executive director for the National Family Farm Coalition, said, “We are still baffled by the White House nominating a pesticide lobbyist for this key position, severely undermining their credibility and rhetoric about the need for Americans to have access to local, healthy, sustainable food."

The White House issued a defense of Siddiqui that unravels under scruitiny, “During his time at USDA, Dr. Siddiqui led the first phase of development for national organic natural food standards in the US.” Organic Consumers Association was formed in the wake of this controversial first phase, and expressed surprise and shock that the White House would use this to bolster the case for Siddiqui.

Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director for OCA, said, “Our organisation was formed in 1998 due to the massive backlash consumers had against USDA’s initial controversial proposed regulations for organic food that would have outrageously allowed for toxic sludge, irradiated foods and genetically modified organisms to be labeled ‘organic.’ Only after an unprecedented 230,000 consumers wrote USDA to protest the rules were they strengthened. This only confirms to us why Siddiqui is the wrong choice for this position.”

Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist at Pesticide Action Network, noted the double standard of ostensibly advocating for more sustainable food at home while Siddiqui's appointment in fact advances an agenda that undermines developing countries’ capacity to feed themselves: “Putting a CropLife official and former paid lobbyist in charge of US agricultural trade policy sends the worst kind of message to the world. This appointment tells the world that the US will continue to value the interests of our massive chemical pesticide and biotech industry over any serious concern for public health, the environment or the well-being of farmworkers and communities around the world. We will be calling on the Senate Finance Committee to reject this nomination.”

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, added, “An Administration that nominates the top salesman of the pesticide/biotech industry to represent US agricultural interests overseas cannot be taken seriously as an advocate of sustainable agriculture. The US should promote organic and sustainable farming, not pesticides and GM crops.”

Farmworker groups fighting for years to regulate pesticide use were also disappointed by the White House’s defense of Siddiqui. The Farmworker Association of Florida, which represents 6,700 farm worker families working in the tomato and citrus industries, remains disturbed by the appointment.

“Siddiqui’s role at USTR will not be about promoting organic products, but eliminating trade barriers for developing countries to accept toxic chemicals and pesticides,” said Tirso Moreno, general coordinator for FWAF. “That is CropLife America’s agenda. They continue to try to stop any international attempts to help us regulate pesticide uses. Farmworkers have the highest rate of chemical-related illnesses of any occupational group. Our community suffers from nausea, liver damage, birth defects, and cancer as a result of exposure to these poisons. For the health of farmworkers around the world, we urge that his nomination be rejected.”

How common pesticide mixes may affect bee die-offs

Since reports of widespread bee die-offs began to surface in October 2006, researchers have investigated possible reasons ranging from hive-infecting mites to cell phone-tower radiation. They have yet to pinpoint the cause of colony collapse disorder – most likely, because there isn't just one, say University of Florida researchers.

The mysterious die-offs are likely a result of an accumulation of factors, which might include chemicals found in and around the hives, they say.

Led by UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences bee specialist Jamie Ellis, the researchers have finished a first round of testing on bee larvae exposed to the pesticides most commonly found in bee hives. The work gives crucial insight to how the larvae react to these pesticides, which are usually only tested on adult bees.

More importantly, the work sets the stage for the researchers to test how the bees react to combinations of these pesticides.

Just like mixing the wrong medications can have deadly and unpredictable results in humans, chemical mixes pose a quandary for the bee industry. Bees are commonly exposed to multiple pesticides that are either applied to or nearby their hives.

"Beeswax, honey and pollen can contain low mixtures of fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides. The larvae develop in the presence of and consume these mixtures," Ellis said. "Any one of these pesticides may not be that harmful to the developing larvae. However, it is possible that combinations of the pesticides can interact."

The U.S. bee industry is responsible for pollinating USD15 billion worth of crops each year. By some estimates, bee pollination is responsible for as much as a third of the food we eat.

The work, funded by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, would be among the first to look at such combinations of chemicals introduced at the larval stage. At an Oct. 22 meeting of NAPPC, Ellis presented the initial results, which examined the individual effects of two herbicides, two fungicides and five insecticides commonly found in bee hives.
To study these pesticides, the researchers transferred individual larvae to special containers where they were given a typical diet containing a dose of the pesticide.

Some of the pesticides yielded surprising results. For example, the bees seemed to show an erratic response to two pesticides commonly used to get rid of hive-infecting Varroa mites. This could mean that some bees have become resistant to the pesticide while others have not, said Mike Scharf, a UF entomologist and co-primary investigator on the project.

"There's a really complex and unpredictable interaction of chemicals and genetics at play," Scharf said.

Even more so, he said, when the bees are exposed at the larval stage. Pesticide exposure at this developmental stage could have significant effects on the adult bees.

Later research will reintroduce these adult bees into the hive to see how the pesticide-exposed bees react to common stressors such as Varroa mites and bacterial infections.

"It is going to be a lot of work to run through all these scenarios, but at the end of the day, it's the only way to really find out how all these factors come together," Ellis said. "It's worth the work. Bees are a fundamental part of our ecosystem and our food chain."

Pesticides exposure linked to suicidal thoughts

A new study in China has found that people with higher levels of pesticide exposure are more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

The study was carried out by Dr Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London together with scientists from Tongde Hospital Zhejiang Province.

The agricultural pesticides commonly used in China are organophosphates which are in wide use in many lower income countries but have been banned in many Western nations. It is well known that they are very dangerous if ingested as an overdose but there is also biological evidence that chronic low-grade exposure to these chemicals, which are very easily absorbed into the body through the skin and lungs, may have adverse effects on mental health. This study is the first epidemiological evidence to suggest possible effects on suicidal thoughts.

The study was carried out in central/coastal China, a relatively wealthy area with a rapidly developing economy. In a very large survey of mental health in rural community residents, participants were also asked about how they stored pesticides. The study found that people who stored pesticides at home, i.e. those with more exposure, were more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts. Supporting this, the survey also found suicidal thoughts to be associated with how easily accessible these pesticides were in the home and that the geographic areas with highest home storage of pesticides also had highest levels of suicidal thoughts in their populations.

Given the high level of pesticide exposure and the high suicide risk in rural China, clarification of the causal mechanisms underlying this association and the development of appropriate interventions should be priorities for public health and health policy.

Dr Robert Stewart comments, 'Organophosphate pesticides are widely used around the world although are banned in many countries because of their risk to health. They are particularly lethal chemicals when taken in overdose and are a cause of many suicides worldwide. Our research findings that suggest that higher exposure to these chemicals might actually increase the risk of suicidal thoughts provides further support for calls for tighter international restrictions on agricultural pesticide availability and use.'

Dr Jianmin Zhang, Associate Chief Psychiatrist, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and Vice Director, Zhejiang Office of Mental Health, China added, 'The findings of this study suggested potential causal links and might partially account for the much higher incidence of suicide in rural than urban areas of China. However, further studies particularly with more precisely defined and assessed exposure are critically needed, as awareness of safer access to pesticides is important both to policy-makers and pesticide users.'

India again tries to block global efforts to ban endosulfan

Pesticide moves closer to a worldwide ban

India tried to delay and block a decision to ban deadly pesticide endosulfan, during a meeting of Stockholm Convention POPs Review Committee. In the final moments, India refused to agree to a consensus decision and forced a vote to be taken.

India was the only country to vote against the proposal to proceed with the evaluation. Before the meeting Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and the International POPS Elimination Network (IPEN) expressed concern about allowing a country such as India with a clear conflict of interest to participate in decision making.

India is the world’s largest remaining manufacturer of endosulfan and the government itself owns a major endosulfan factory, Hindustan Insectide Ltd. In what is now regarded as one of the world’s worse pesticide incidents, the aerial spraying of endosulfan on cashew nut plantations in the Kasardgod district of Kerala, South India resulted in hundreds of deaths and chronic illnesses including birth defects of nearby villagers.

The country's repeated efforts to scuttle global bid to ban this deadly pesticide had angered the victims in Kasargod who have decided to move the court against the government.

Towards ban

However, an international expert scientific panel, after a heated debate, concluded that endosulfan requires global action to prevent further harms to human health and the environment. The decision by the Stockholm Convention POPs Review Committee (POPRC) sets the stage for a global ban of the chemical under the treaty.

“We’re thrilled endosulfan is one step closer to a global ban,” says Karl Tupper of Pesticide Action Network North America. “Alternatives for this chemical have been in use for years, and no one can deny the harm it’s causing around the world.”

The panel acknowledged that endosulfan is persistent in the environment, is transported through the air to the polar regions where it bioaccumulates in the food chain, and is of such high toxicity that it is a threat to humans and wildlife.

“Endosulfan is poisonous and indefensible. This decision puts the world on notice that production and use of endosulfan must stop, “said Dr Meriel Watts of Pesticide Action Network Asia-Pacific. “For the sake of protecting their own people and the health of the planet, China, India, Israel, and South Korea should cease manufacturing this poison.”

“Endosulfan not only kills people but contaminates our environment, our wildlife, human breast milk, women’s placentas, and even our newborns. It is clear that the time for this old, outmoded and dangerous pesticide is over,” said Dr Lloyd-Smith, Co-Chair, International POPs Elimination Network.

Endosulfan moves steadily to colder regions, contaminating the Arctic. “This decision is especially critical for the protection of the health of the Arctic Indigenous peoples who are exposed to endosulfan through their traditional foods such as fish, marine mammals and seabird eggs. Given that endosulfan levels are not diminishing in the Arctic and are likely to increase this decision is all the more necessary and urgent”, said Pam Miller, biologist and executive director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics.

Pesticide banned in 62 countries still used in India

Endosulfan, a deadly pesticide encouraged by India

Endosulfan is a pesticide belonging to the organochlorine group of pesticides, under the Cyclodiene subgroup. It has been introduced in the 1950’s and in India has become a leading chemical used against pests in agriculture. It is used as an insecticide and also to kill fishes in lakes and rivers. It is not recommended for household use as it is known as a potent poison that can cause harm upon contact, eating food contaminated by it, swallowing, and even inhaling the odour.

The chemical came into spotlight in India when at Kasargad in Kerala it was sprayed aerially and the local population of many villages was exposed to it. What followed was very shocking. It led to physical and mental defects in poor farmers and their families. Studies have shown endosulfan to accumulate in a mother's breast milk and it has been linked to appalling birth deformities, the like of which are still being observed at Kasargad, “Kerala’s Bhopal”.

Such events have occurred across the Globe and 62 countries all over the world have either banned it or restricted its use. Unfortunately India has done nothing to stem the use of this endocrine disruptor which can cause changes at the genetic level. Only in the state of Kerala where the endosulfan tragedy occurred that activists, scientists and doctors have been able to enforce a ban.

The U S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies endosulfan as Category Ib – Highly Hazardous and so does the European Union. Though it is a very great health hazard the WHO calls it only moderately hazardous.

In which crops are endosulfan sprayed? The list is long. It is used in vegetables, fruits, paddy, cotton, cashew, tea, coffee, and tobacco and also timber crops. In the Bolangir district of Orissa this poison is sprayed twice on paddy. It is also being used by farmers in Rayagada. Being a Persistent Organic Pollutant and also a Persistent Toxic Substance it is not easy to remove this poison from the body or from the food crop upon which it is sprayed. The spraying of this pesticide on food crops, particularly paddy, is unpardonable.

Unfortunately India refuses to ban this pesticide and continues to say that it is safe. "The Indian government, a major producer, vigorously opposes any international ban, stymieing efforts by other nations to safeguard human health", writes a report released by the Environmental Justice Foundation in September. India the largest producer of this chemical does not want to disturb the profit it earns by producing and exporting this deadly poison to 70 countries.

Living Farms in Orissa which is opposed against the use of chemical pesticides, calls for an immediate ban on this deadly pesticide. Very recently Pandit Ravishankar has urged, “have some value for life & stop this madness.”. Activists, scientists and doctors round the world areurging the pesticide industry in India to take a decisive role and end the production and use of endosulfan in India, a move which will have global significance.

Panel to scrutinise new strawberry pesticide

Strawberry field workers harvesting at Salinas, California. Photo: HolgerhubbsPotent carcinogen could be registered for large-scale use on strawberry fields by early 2010

A Scientific Review Panel of America’s leading experts will convene on September 24-25 at Sacramento, California to review whether a new fumigant pesticide, known to cause fetal deaths and used to induce cancer in laboratory cell cultures, should be applied to thousands of acres of fields in California for strawberries and other crops. The pesticide, methyl iodide, has raised concerns from scientists across the country, including five Nobel Laureates, who were “astonished” that a chemical posing such high risks to human health would be considered for use in agriculture.

The pesticide is currently listed on California’s Proposition 65 list of “chemicals known to cause cancer”.

Methyl iodide poses the most direct risks to farm workers and neighboring communities because of the volume that could be applied to fields and its tendency to drift off site. The chemical could be applied to California’s strawberry fields at rates up to 175 lbs per acre, millions of pounds total, on the over 38,000 acres in strawberry production. Like all fumigants (pesticides that readily become gases), methyl iodide volatilises after application and drifts from its intended target, despite any efforts to contain it.

“Methyl iodide is toxic in so many ways,” said Dr. Susan Kegley, a scientist with Pesticide Action Network North America. “The effect of greatest concern is the pesticide’s ability to cause fetal deaths late in pregnancy. It is also a carcinogen, a nervous system poison, and a thyroid toxicant. You just can’t get a worse combination of effects. This chemical should never be released into the environment in any substantial amount, particularly not close to where people live, work or go to school.”

Following action by New York earlier this year, California could be the second state to reject the use of methyl iodide. Under the Bush Administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency registered the chemical for use, and a number of states without the capacity to conduct independent scientific review have simply accepted EPA’s approval of methyl iodide.

In contrast, California has its own review process for all new pesticides. At the hearing in Sacramento, the Scientific Review Panel, convened by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and led by Professor Richard Froines at the University of California, Los Angeles, will review the Department’s risk assessment and will examine the full range of potential adverse impacts posed by the chemical.

Concern over the potential registration of methyl iodide isn’t limited to scientists. In August, Senator Mark Leno (San Francisco) and Assemblymember Bill Monning (Carmel) co-authored a letter signed by 33 state legislators in opposition to the proposed use of this new fumigant in California.

New limits on pesticide uses will protect salmon

EPA has announced plans to place additional limitations on the use of three organophosphate pesticides - chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion - to protect endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Anticipated changes to product labels include the addition of pesticide buffer zones; application limitations based on wind speed, soil moisture and weather conditions; and fish mortality incident reporting requirements. New, enforceable labels could be available as early as the 2010 spring growing season.

“These limitations, developed as a result of the Endangered Species Act formal consultation process, will protect Pacific salmon and steelhead while providing for appropriate pesticide use,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.

“These new limits are especially significant because they mark the first time that EPA and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have completed the consultation process under the Endangered Species Act in more than 20 years. This is a major step forward for both EPA and NMFS in meeting the requirements of the law. This process has been broken for too long.”

The limitations will apply to surface waters encompassing each of 28 salmon and steelhead species in the four states. EPA plans to work with NMFS to design a monitoring study assessing the effectiveness of these protections. The agency also will seek to require manufacturers to fund and carry out the monitoring study.

Chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion – whose primary manufacturers are Dow Chemical Company, Cheminova, and Makhteshim Agan of North America, respectively – are currently registered for use on a number of agricultural and non-agricultural sites.

EPA is requesting the manufacturers to voluntarily adopt the new limitations on labelling for these pesticides. If the manufacturers decline this request, EPA will pursue regulatory action to impose the limitations.

The Endangered Species Act requires EPA to ensure that a pesticide is not likely to jeopardise endangered or threatened species, or to adversely affect the species’ habitat. If EPA determines that a pesticide may affect listed species or critical habitat, the agency must consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The new use limitations are the result of consultations that EPA initiated with the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2002, 2003, and 2004, and will replace interim limitations put in place by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in 2004. Under the Obama Administration, EPA and NMFS are currently in discussions about ways to accelerate the consultation process and make it more efficient.

Detecting pesticides in rivers

Researchers of the UFZ have developed a tool that can estimate the harmful effect of pesticides. Photo: André Künzelmann/UFZThe long-term effects of pesticides on living organisms in rivers and on water quality can now be assessed more easily. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have developed a tool that can estimate the harmful effect of pesticides, such as those flushed into rivers and streams from agricultural land, within minutes.

"It used to be very difficult to detect which chronic effects occur," explains Dr Matthias Liess, head of the UFZ's System Ecotoxicology Department. In their new approach, the Helmholtz researchers exploit the fact that pesticides cause characteristic changes to the composition of the life community that is affected.

"You just need to find out which living creatures, e.g. insects and crabs, are found at a certain point along the river and in what numbers," Liess explains.

The authorities responsible for water management usually have such data available, he adds. Liess and his colleagues have now set up a Web application where this data can be entered and evaluated to show immediately how high the level of pollution in the rivers under investigation actually is. Users can download an Excel table from the http://www.systemecology.eu/SPEAR/Start.html website and then enter the numbers of each kind of organism found at each sampling site.

Once the table is complete it is fed into the 'SPEAR calculator' and the user enters the region in which the samples were taken. The calculator immediately shows what the water quality in the area in question is like. Regional data is currently available for Germany, France, Finland and Western Siberia, but the system has also been tested in the UK and in Australia. There is no charge for using the service.

Liess believes the authorities can use the calculation results to take suitable steps to reduce pesticide pollution of rivers. "But our tool can do more than just identify problem areas," the Helmholtz scientist stresses. It also indicates where unpolluted stretches of river are compensating for the effect of the pollution. This is extremely important because it can show when conservation methods have been successful. Another advantage of the new tool is that in many cases, complex, expensive chemical analyses will no longer be necessary.

Pesticide residues in food shows need for organics

Photo: Atelier JolyPesticide residues in the New Zealand diet are being downplayed by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), according to two advocacy groups. The comments of the Soil & Health Association of NZ and of Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand (PAN) follow analysis of two food study results released by the NZFSA.

"The method of reporting of pesticide residues detected in the Total Diet Study (TDS) hides the fact that most composite regional food samples contained pesticide residues, with several having significant multiple residues. It is time for food without pesticide residues - this means organics," said Soil & Health spokesperson Steffan Browning.

"Analysis of the Food Residue Surveillance Programme results for celery and spinach, showed 100 percent of the celery samples, and 75 per cent of the spinach samples contained pesticide residues, with many samples containing multiple residues."

"The celery and spinach were mostly contaminated with chlorothalinol (Bravo) or dithiocarbomates respectively, and sometimes with both. Other toxic pesticides were also found, this showing the need for to boost organic agriculture."

"Of the celery samples, one had 6 different pesticide residues, one had 3 and three had 2. Fourteen spinach samples had at least 2 pesticide residues. These chemical cocktails are increasingly being shown to be dangerous."

"The Total Diet Survey, far from giving our produce a clean bill of health has highlighted two persistent problems" said Dr Meriel Watts of Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand.

"Tucked away at the back of the document are tables showing that almost all products made with grains such as wheat contains residues of the neurotoxic organophosphate insecticide pirimphos-methyl; and the majority of fruit and vegetables contain dithiocarbmate insecticides."

"Pirimphos-methyl is used to fumigate grain silos, and there is no chance of removing it from the grain. Organic grain is not treated with this chemical"
"The dithiocarbamate insecticides which turned up in 16 out of 26 of the fruit and vegetables tested, is a perennial problem."

"It has become very clear that New Zealand simply has to stop using these particular pesticides if we are very going to stop the residue problem," said Dr Watts.
Dithiocarbamate fungicides and chlorothalonil are on the Pesticide Action Network International list of Highly Hazardous Pesticides for global phase out.

Dithiocarbomate fungicides (eg mancozeb, maneb, thiram) are severe central nervous system toxicant, carcinogen, and endocrine disruptors; they also cause sterility and birth defects, also affecting liver, kidney and respiratory and cardiac, systems. Chlorothalonil is carcinogenic, mutagenic and an environmental toxin and it is thought responsible for aggravating the health effects of other pesticides.

A study of cancer patients by Massey University's Centre for Public Health Research found an elevated leukaemia risk among horticulture workers, with risks to market gardeners and nursery growers, especially women, being higher than those to the general public.

In a separate study released by US government health staff in a recent issue of the American Society of Hematology journal, Blood, it was found that exposure to certain pesticides, including dieldrin and chlorothalonil (Bravo) increased the risks 5.6 fold and 2.4 fold respectively, of a blood disorder that can lead to multiple myeloma.

"Considering that dieldrin was banned in agriculture in New Zealand in 1968, and from other uses in 1989, the commonly used fungicide Bravo (chlorothalonil) as found in most non-organic celery, may be a significant culprit in New Zealand cancers. Soil & Health urgently wants studies to focus on Bravo," said Browning.