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Our Shared World

green dotWeighing Safety of Atrazine, EPA Relies on Industry-Backed Studies

Companies with a financial interest in a weed-killer sometimes found in drinking water paid for thousands of studies federal regulators are using to assess the herbicide’s health risks, records of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show. Many of these industry-funded studies, which largely support atrazine’s safety, have never been published or subjected to an independent scientific peer review.

Article link: EPA Says Company's Data 'Scientifically More Robust' than Independent Research
– Huffington Post Investigative Fund, Danielle Ivory, 07/08/10


green dotCondors: The next generation

...But what they didn't count on was that, along with nutrients and energy, condors would ingest harmful levels of marine contaminants. Now, preliminary reports suggest that these contaminants — including residues from the banned insecticide DDT — are affecting the already tenuous reproductive success of the flock.

Article link: Biologists suspect residual DDT for thinning egg shells in the Big Sur scavengers
– The Herald, Lily Dayton, 07/13/10


green dotCalifornia Poised to OK Supertoxic Pesticide

Farmers planting strawberries and other crops in California will soon have to contend with cancer-causing poison instead of bugs, worms and fungus if regulators get their wish.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has proposed registering methyl iodide as a pesticide in California to the dismay of scientists and environmental groups, who say it is so toxic that even chemists are reluctant to handle it.

Article link: Supertoxic Pesticide Methyl Iodide Approval Pending- Comment Period Ends June 29
– SF Chronicle, 06/02/10


green dotPesticides Linked to Attention Deficit Disorder

A team of scientists from the University of Montreal and Harvard University has discovered that exposure to organophosphate pesticides may be associated with increased risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

Article link: Pesticide Exposure May Contribute to ADHD
– Science Daily, 05/17/10


green dotGeraniums Vs Beetles

Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle, which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the Agricultural Research Service.

Article link: Geraniums Could Help Control Devastating Japanese Beetle
– Science Daily, 04/15/10


green dotHuge Legal Victory Over 'Toxic Sofas'

A number of High Street chains have agreed to pay up to £20m ($31m) to 2,000 people who received chemical burns from anti-fungal agents in sofas.

Article link: Shops agree to £20m pay-out over 'toxic sofas'
– BBC, 04/27/10


green dotNY Senate Bans Applying Pesticides to School Playing Fields

Syracuse, NY - The state Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to ban pesticides on school and day care playing fields, meaning grounds superintendents will have to begin using more organic ways to care for grass.

Many schools in the state use pesticides on athletic fields to kill bugs, pests and weeds. A number of scientific studies have shown that exposure to pesticides can increase children’s risk for cancer, exacerbate asthma and trigger seizures.

Article link: NY Senate Bans Applying Pesticides to School Playing Fields
– The Post-Standard, Delen Goldberg, 04/21/10


green dotBee-killing Pesticides in the News

Dave Hackenberg of Lewisburg in Union County is Pennsylvania's largest commercial beekeeper. Because of his concerns about the effect of pesticides on his bees, for the first time in 42 years, Hackenberg will not take his bees to Florida to pollinate oranges.

"I am not going to put my bees in orange groves. The chemicals they are using are doing something that is breaking down bees' immune systems," he said.

Article link: Judges Uphold Ban on Bayer Pesticide
– Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Rick Wills, 03/13/10


green dotCommunity Sues Atrazine Maker for Contaminating Drinking Water

The City of Creston, along with 15 other communities in six Midwestern states, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the maker of atrazine to force the company to pay for the chemical’s removal from local drinking water.

Article link: Community Sues Atrazine Maker for Contaminated Water
– The Iowa Independent, Jason Hancock, 03/09/10


green dotCourt Blocks Dispensary's Pesticide-Laced Pot

Lab tests for pesticide residues on medical marijuana sold in Los Angeles have found high levels of toxic chemicals, according to city and federal investigators. The LA City Attorney has prosecuted a clinic with the highest levels of one chemical, charging them under California's health-and-safety laws.

"In addition to maintaining that sales are illegal, [the City Attorney] has also argued that the state's food-and-drug safety law applies to medical marijuana. He reached that conclusion after samples of marijuana from dispensaries, including Hemp Factory V, were found to contain pesticides. In an Oct. 30 decision, [Judge] Chalfant ...ordered the dispensary not to distribute pesticide-tainted marijuana."

Article link: Judge proposes injunction on sales of pot at Eagle Rock dispensary
– Los Angeles Times, John Hoeffel, 12/2/09


green dot25 Years After: Under a Cloud in Bhopol

green dotLions Being Poisoned with Carbofuran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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