Call to Ban DursBAN--------

Subject:   Call to Ban DursBAN------
Date:       Wed, 31 May 2000 11:38:37 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

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

Dear Lyndon - I thought you might like to check out the following web site to ban your "registered" pesticide POISON called DursBAN - http://www.banDursban.org

EWG Launches BanDursban.org Web site - To Urge EPA To Ban Toxic Bug Killer. Final Decision by EPA Expected This Spring on Nation's Top-Selling Insecticide.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) today launched a new web site BanDursban.org to help build public momentum to get the EPA to ban the toxic pesticide. Although it is the nation's top selling bug killer, Dursban has already been found unsafe for adults and children by the EPA in virtually every common household application when used as directed. A final decision on whether to ban Dursban is expected from the EPA within the next month.

"Dursban causes more poisonings that any other pesticide in the U.S., with more than a thousand confirmed cases every year", said EWG Analyst Todd Hettenbach and principal author of BanDursban.org. "As people use more and more pesticides during the spring and summer to combat bugs, we expect to hear of even more about Dursban poisonings. We are urging everyone to email us at BanDursban.org and tell us their stories, so that we can keep telling the EPA that they have to ban this toxic chemical."

In addition to collecting and listing individual stories, BanDursban.org includes basic information on the chemical, resources and links to information on non-toxic pest control, and a link to EWG's One Minute Activist so citizens can e-mail EPA Administrator Carol Browner and Vice President Al Gore requesting that they take action. Current cases include a church in Kansas that was closed for two years after being fumigated with Dursban, and an incident in West Virginia in which the Dow Agrosciences, which manufactures Dursban, paid an eight figure court settlement to a family after Dursban was suspected in the poisoning and paralysis of their six-month-old boy.

Dursban is approved for use both inside and outside the home to kill bugs, and it is also used in flea collars for pets. (One EPA report succinctly notes, "Dog chewed flea and tick collar. Dog died.")

Dursban is a member of a class of highly toxic pesticides called organophosphates, originally developed as nerve gases by a Nazi contractor, I.G. Farben, during WWII. Among its close cousins is sarin, the deadly nerve gas used in the commuter train mass murder in Japan. Organophosphates attack the brain and nervous system, and even short -term exposure can cause damage. Symptoms include headaches, nausea, dizziness, seizures, and in extreme cases can lead up to paralysis, coma, and death.

Dursban can be found at virtually any home supply outlet, drug store, or hardware store throughout the U.S. The brand names include Ortho, Real Kill, and Spectracide. In addition to home use, commercial growers use Dursban/Lorsban on some of the most commonly available fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, and tomatoes.

The EPA is acting now because the landmark 1996 Food Quality Protection Act ordered the agency to ensure that all pesticide exposures are safe for infants and children. The Centers for Disease Control found a Dursban by-product in 82% of adults, and a 1999 EPA study found the same by-product in 92% of the children tested. This would be the third high-priority pesticide in a row that EPA has banned or severely restricted.

Environmental Working Group o 1718 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 600 o Washington, DC 20009 o info@ewg.org

This is taken from the University of Nebraska NebGuide, SIgns and Symptoms of Acute Pesticide Poisoning - http://ianrwww.unl.edu
Signs and symptoms associated with mild exposures to organophosphates and carbamate pesticides include:
1.    headache, fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite with nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea;
2.    blurred vision associated with excessive tearing;
3.    contracted pupils of the eye;
4.    excessive sweating and salivation;
5.    slowed heartbeat, often fewer than 50 per minute;
6.    rippling of surface muscles just under the skin.

These symptoms may be mistaken for those of flu, heat stroke or heat exhaustion or upset stomach.

Moderately severe organophosphate and carbamate poisoning cases exhibit all the signs and symptoms found in mild poisonings, but in addition, the victim may have the following symptoms; is unable to walk; often complains of chest discomfort and tightness; exhibits marked constriction of the pupils; exhibits muscle twitching; has involuntary urination and bowel movement.

Severe poisonings are indicated by incontinence, unconsciousness and seizures. The order in which these symptoms appear may vary, depending on how contact is made with the pesticide. If the product is swallowed, stomach and other abdominal manifestations commonly appear first; if it is absorbed through the skin, gastric and respiratory symptoms tend to appear first.

The most common long term effects (from acute and chronic exposures) are chemical sensitivity, peripheral neuropathy and neuropsychological changes. This is in the 1997 EPA review of chlorpyrifos poisoning data.

Well Lyndon, when one considers that there are so many safe and far more effective alternatives to your dangerous "registered" POISONS - coupled with the fact that the EPA, FDA, and USDA agreed in 1993 to find alternatives to your "registered" POISONS; one would think you would "legally" allow the use of safe and far more effective alternatives to actually control pest problems - why on earth don't you?

TOP
If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, Email Us. with "subscribe" in the subject line.

Nontoxic Products Recommended by Steve Tvedten

Now Available

Safe 2 Use Products and Services