Pesticides Information Update, No.14

1.     Resistance is Rampant
2.     Does Organic Food Cost the Earth?
3.     Denmarks ambitious pesticide reduction plan
4.     Government commends Green Flag Park Awards
5.     PSDs review of OP and carbamate compounds
6.     Pesticides News No. 46, December 1999 - Three new articles available online:
        The Bhopal Aftermath - generations of women affected
        Endocrine disrupting pesticides
        Rodents - least toxic control
7.     Organophosphate pesticides: the health hazard: A Joint Conference of the OP Information Network and PEXAction on Pesticide Exposure (Pesticides Trust), Saturday, 29 January 2000.
8.     Latest Pesticides Trust Vacancy: Project Officer - UK Pesticides
9.     Campaign to ban lindane: update

[ MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS ]

Subject:    Pesticides Information Update, No.14
Date:        Sat, 22 Jan 2000 12:20:12 -0500
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
          State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
          Integrated Pest Management

Dear Lyndon, I though you might like to read what David Allen wrote: Happy New Year from all at the Pesticides Trust
-Subject: Pesticides Information Update, No.14, (19/01/2000) - Contents

1.     Resistance is Rampant
2.     Does Organic Food Cost the Earth?
3.     Denmarks ambitious pesticide reduction plan
4.     Government commends Green Flag Park Awards
5.     PSDs review of OP and carbamate compounds
6.     Pesticides News No. 46, December 1999 - Three new articles available online:
        The Bhopal Aftermath - generations of women affected
        Endocrine disrupting pesticides
        Rodents - least toxic control
7.     Organophosphate pesticides: the health hazard: A Joint Conference of the OP Information Network and PEXAction on Pesticide Exposure (Pesticides Trust), Saturday, 29 January 2000.
8.     Latest Pesticides Trust Vacancy: Project Officer - UK Pesticides
9.     Campaign to ban lindane: update

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1. Resistance is Rampant
A recent headline to catch the eye was Resistance to herbicides now rampant IACR. IACR is the prestigious Institute for Arable Crop Research, Rothamsted. Dr Stephen Moss of IACR was cited as saying that herbicide resistance is now so widespread in grassweeds that no grower in the UK should assume their farm is resistance free. The message is that resistance is very widespread and with black-grass we have largely  stopped counting.said Dr Moss.

This was followed very shortly afterwards by another piece headed Strob resistance is here. Strobilurins are the very latest generation of fungicides, aimed at a wide spectrum of fungal diseases of cereals, grapevines, rice and turf. They were introduced recently but already resistant wheat mildew strains have been found in the UK and most of Europe, according to the industry Fungicide Resistance Action Committee. Resistant barley mildew strains have been found in Germany and there are concerns that other cereal diseases could develop strob resistance.

Pesticides Trust has always highlighted the short lived benefits of pesticides eventually they cause resistance in pest populations, and either lose their efficacy or lead to the development of secondary pest problems. So are these exaggerated fears of resistance fanned by environmental campaigners anxious to publicise problems for pesticides?  On the contrary, they come from the respected agricultural journal Farmers Weekly (26 Nov 99 and 10 Dec 99 respectively).

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2. Does Organic Food Cost the Earth?
A recent BBC Radio Four programme in the Costing the Earth series (2 January 2000) attempted to put organic food in perspective. Among the interviewees was Prof Ames of the University of California who made the point that organic food contains large amounts of naturally produced pesticides, which he regards as being just as potentially carcinogenic as synthetic pesticides although he also says I don't think any of them are terribly harmful.

The Pesticides Trusts concerns about the potential carcinogenic impact of pesticides is based not only on the dietary exposure of consumers, but also the occupational exposure of those who work with or use pesticides, which will be much greater. There is no dispute that some cancer-causing chemicals occur naturally, but equally there are no  natural analogues to most of the synthetic chemical pesticides that are in use. Their long-term effects at low doses are not known.

Overall the concerns about organic pesticides are minimal compared to the direct and indirect costs of synthetic products. About one-third of our food contains detectable residues of pesticides. Two concerns about the residues of synthetic pesticides in food have recently come to the fore. These include the possible additive impacts of pesticides with the same mode of action, such as organophosphates or endocrine disrupting pesticides; and the issue of residue variability, with the recognition that the amounts of pesticide found on neighboring fruit or vegetables, even though they have been sprayed the same, may vary greatly.

Organic farmers use pesticides, but our concerns about organic pesticide residues are of a much lower order than our concerns about the residues of synthetic pesticides in conventional produce. Organic farmers use copper compounds, but so also do conventional farmers. Organic farmers only use synthetic pyrethroids for treatment of ectoparasites on livestock, but there are no natural pyrethroids used on field crops, contrary to what the programme stated. In general, organic pesticide products break down quickly and are unlikely to be found as residues. Of course it may be that organic food products run the risk of contamination by aflatoxins or ergot; but so also does  conventionally produced food even when synthetic pesticides are used.  (Lyndon, there are even better, safer and far more effective alternatives than what these "organi" farmers use.)

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3. Denmarks ambitious pesticide reduction plan
The Danish Environment Protection Agency announced its new pesticide reduction programme on 14 December 1999. Denmark has been one of the most determined of European Community member states to reduce its pesticide use: the new plan links this with a plan to triple organic farming at the same time.

The three strands of the plan are:
To reduce the treatment index the average number of times per year that land is sprayed from 2.45 to 2 by the end of the year 2002; To create 10 metre buffer zones round most water sources including any pond or lake larger than 100 sq metres. This represents about about 1% of farmed land, according to the EPA; To more than triple the area of organic farmland by increasing the current 60,000 ha to 230,000 ha. This would reduce by 7% the area of land currently farmed with pesticides and increase Danish organic  agricultural area to 10% in comparison with conventional. Information can be found at the ENDS Daily News website: http://www.ends.co.uk/ and at the Danish EPA home page:  http://www.mst.dk

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4. Government commends Green Flag Park Awards
Last November, the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee published its report on Town & Country Parks. The Government has been quick to respond and published its response on 14 January. While both documents make a number of recommendations, of particular interest to us at the Pesticides Trust it is the fact that both the Select Committee and now the Government agreed that the Green Flag Park Award scheme deserved to be specifically mentioned and acknowledged. This scheme was created by the Pesticides Trust in conjunction with partner organisations ILAM (The Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management), English Nature and CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management). We are therefore particularly pleased that it has been recognised by the Select Committee and the  Government. This is a small extract from the following document published on 14  January, 2000.

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions: The Government's Response to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee's Report Town and Country Parks Green Flag Awards and 'Friends' schemes We believe that all involved in setting up and running the Green Flag scheme for parks are to be congratulated. Its functions should, in due course, be coordinated with the work of a national agency (paragraph 140).25. The Government agrees that those involved in the Green Flag scheme should be congratulated for the valuable incentive they provide to  encouraging good environmental practice and park management. The Committee's recommendation in respect of the setting up of a national agency is dealt with in a later section of this Response. The full Government response can be found  at:http://www.regeneration.detr.gov.uk/response/parks/index.htm
More details of the Green Flag Park Award Scheme:
http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/leaflet.htm

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5. PSDs review of OP and carbamate compounds
The UK Pesticides Safety Directorate has just announced the latest list of OP and carbamate active ingredients that are not being supported by industry in response, to the request for data from PSD. Approvals for products containing these actives are revoked with a two year period to use up stocks: Carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorfenvinphos, diazinon, disulfoton, ethiofencarb, etrimfos, fenitrothion, heptenophos, mephosfolan, methomyl, phosalone, propoxur, pyrazophos, quinalphos, thiometon, trichlorfon (Review of Anticholinesterase CompoundsUpdate: PSD letter 10 Jan 2000: ref AAHL/3/2000) (Lyndon, do you notice any of your "registered" POISONS on this list?)

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6. Pesticides News 46 articles
The Bhopal Aftermath - generations of women affected On the night of 2-3 December 1984 about 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate leaked from a pesticide factory owned by the US company Union Carbide, in Bhopal, India, exposing over half a million people to a highly toxic cloud. Satinath Sarangi reports on the health studies continuing in the  aftermath of the disaster-in particular, he calls for better treatment and care for women who have suffered reproductive ill-health.  http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/articles/pn46p4.htm

Endocrine disrupting pesticides
Many pesticides are now suspected of being endocrine disruptors - chemicals that can lead to an increase in birth defects, sexual abnormalities and reproductive failure. Gwynne Lyons examines the current evidence and potential for adverse effects to occur in both  wildlife and human populations.
http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/articles/pn46p16.htm

Rodents - least toxic control
Rodents can spread disease, cause structural damage and contaminate food. Their control is important and in this article David Allen describes their biology and habits so that control strategies can be put in place to reduce their numbers without the use of pesticides.

http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/articles/pn46p20.htm

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7. Organophosphate pesticides: the health hazard
A Joint Conference of the OP Information Network and PEXAction on Pesticide Exposure (Pesticides Trust) Saturday, 29 January 2000 Room 113, University of Sunderland Business School Programme Chair Peter Beaumont The Pesticides Trust

Speakers
Professor Malcolm Hooper - New findings in OPs and Gulf War Syndrome
Dr Paul Shattock - The role of OPs in autism, asthma and allergies
Dr Howard Mason, HSE - Latest findings in the biological monitoring of OP exposure
Nigel Wynn, herbalist - How herbalism can help OP exposure sufferers
David Mellon, nutritionist - Nutritional strategies for the OP exposure sufferer
Brian Anderson, OPIN - The campaign objectives of OPIN in Scotland
Elisabeth Charles, Solicitor - Gaining compensation as an OP exposure victim
Alison Craig, PEX - The PEX project: support, information, lobbying for change
A light buffet lunch and coffee will be served.
Contact Alison Craig for more details: alisoncraig@pan-uk.org

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8. Latest Vacancy: Project Officer - UK Pesticides
The Pesticides Trust is seeking to employ a new Project Officer with primary responsibility for management and development of the Trusts Local Authorities Project and work on non-agricultural pesticides, and also some involvement in work on UK agricultural pesticides. The post will be full time. Closing Date 04/02/2000  Job description and background information: http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/lapjob.htm

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9. Top Stores Ban Dangerous Pesticide - Government Urged to Outlaw  Lindane
Government advisors are under intense pressure to recommend a total ban on lindane, after a number of top companies promised to stop selling the dangerous insecticide in their stores.

Over the last few weeks Robert Dyas, Homebase, Wilkinson, B&Q and Boots all told the Ban Lindane Campaign - which includes Friends of the Earth, Green Network, the Pesticides Trust, the Soil Association, UNISON, Breast UK and the Women's Environmental Network- that they will stop selling lindane-based products.

The Advisory Committee on Pesticides [1] will consider the mounting evidence against lindane. The insecticide has been linked to breast cancer [2] and can disrupt hormone systems, damage the nervous and immune systems and cause birth defects. A call for a total ban on lindane in a European Union report [3] in 1998 has so far been largely  ignored by the Government. According to the report, lindane is a Class 3 carcinogenic [4] substance for which there is no safe exposure level.

Despite being outlawed in 18 countries - including Denmark, Germany, Holland, and Sweden - lindane is still widely used in the UK where it is regularly sprayed on fields [5] and is present in a number of household products including ant killer and flea treatment.

The Campaign to Ban Lindane is calling on:  the Government to impose an immediate ban on lindane and lindane-based products; all retailers to remove lindane-based products without waiting for a Government decision.

Jill Day of UNISON's Campaign to Ban Lindane said: "We are delighted that major retailers are taking responsible action to stop selling lindane-based products because of concerns about the health impact of this dangerous chemical. All retailers and  manufactures should follow their lead and stop stocking products containing lindane immediately"

Sandra Bell, Pesticide Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said: "Despite the fact that an EU report recommended a total ban on lindane because of fears over its impacts on health over one year ago, this product is still commonly used in the UK. It's about time the government gave the British public the same protection as consumers have in other countries by completely banning lindane now." (Lyndon, this still is one of your "registered" POISONS isn't it?)

NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] The Advisory Committee on Pesticides will meet consider information relating to the domestic use of products containing  lindane.  The Committee will then make a recommendation to the Government.
[2] Several studies have suggested a link between lindane and breast cancer - Lindane - A Pesticides Trust fact sheet:
http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/aifacts/lindane.htm
[3] Report for the EU by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, December 1998.  The report found that it was not possible to set a safe level of exposure for lindane and recommended a total ban. Faced with this information, the UK. Government decided to ban the use of lindane for seed treatment because of the dangers for workers, but  did not ban its use on crops in the UK or in domestic products. Leaked confidential EU report slams dangerous insecticide:  http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/press/lindane.htm & Pesticides
News summary: http://www.gn.apc.org/pesticidestrust/articles/pn43p3.htm
[4] Class 3 relates to chemicals that have been identified as possible human carcinogens, but for which there is currently insufficient data to identify a conclusive link.
[5] Lindane is used widely in UK farming, including on apples and in grain stores.  Calculations based on recent MAFF pesticide usage surveys show that over 41 tones of lindane have been applied to farm crops over a year.

Well Lyndon, it seems obvious to me and many others that your "registered" POISONS are clearly not controlling the pest problems - but they are killing and/or POISONING us! When will it be "legal" (in your opinion) to use safe and far more effective unregistered alternatives in California?

Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten.