Illnesses Associated with Occupational Use of Flea-Control Products -- California, Texas, and Washington, 1989-1997
Subject: Illnesses Associated with Occupational Use of Flea-Control Products -- California, Texas, and Washington, 1989-1997
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 06:00:33 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of
California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Daily News
Updated on
Former Farm Bureau Official Named to EPA
Adam Sharp, former director of agricultural chemicals, biotechnology, and air quality at the American Farm Bureau Federation, has been appointed to the EPA as the Associate Assistant Administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Sharp brings to EPA a history of support for biotechnology and pesticide use.
For example, the American Farm Bureau Federation voiced
opposition in 1999 when EPA announced restrictions to uses of azinphos methyl
and methyl parathion. These two organophosphate pesticides were commonly used on
a variety of food crops, and have both been linked to negative environmental and
health effects. EPA says azinphos methyl "poses a high degree of risk to
agricultural workers, as well as significant acute ecological risks." Adam
Sharp stood against the restriction claiming foreign growers would have an
advantage over those in the
Adam Sharp's firm advocacy for pesticide use will now be impressed within EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Efforts by the public must be strengthened to promote pesticide reforms and a safe environment.
The U.S. Senate included in the Farm Bill passed today legislation to protect children from pesticides and promote safer pest management practices in schools. The legislation, the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA), sponsored by Senator Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), was previously attached to the Senate Education Reauthorization Bill on a unanimous consent vote last June, but later failed by one vote in the House-Senate Education Conference Committee in November.
"We hope that the Agriculture Conference Committee will now see the importance of embracing this piece of legislation. Children, teachers and school staff deserve the basic health and safety protections that this measure would provide," said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, a Washington-based public interest group.
Beyond Pesticides says that there are provisions in the Farm Bill supported by the chemical industry that may be held up if it again seeks, with support of the House Agriculture Committee, to derail SEPA in conference committee. SEPA ran into opposition from House Agriculture Committee members who had previously refused to participate in negotiations on the bill last Spring.
A coalition of environmental, public health, labor, parent and teacher organizations, and groups representing the pest management and chemical industry, support the legislation, creating an historic alliance between groups often at odds with each other. Although still claiming support, chemical industry representatives refused to voice support for SEPA when it was in the education conference committee, leading to the bill’s derailment last year.
SEPA represents a straightforward approach to promote school pest management practices that minimize risk to children and notify and provide safety information to parents and school staff when pesticides are used by schools. If it becomes law, schools may become safer for children and teachers. There is no similar language in the House version of the Farm Bill.
With regard to the three major programmatic components of
SEPA -- posting, notification and integrated pest management (IPM) -- three
states, including
The School Environment Protection Act (SEPA): --requires local educational agencies to implement a school pest management policy considering sanitation, structural repair, mechanical, biological, cultural and pesticide strategies that minimize health and environmental risks as developed by the state and EPA approved; --requires universal notification 3 times per year (at the beginning of the school year, midyear, and once for summer session) of school pesticide use; --provides parents and school staff access to health and toxicity information on all pesticides used in schools; --establishes a registry for parents and school staff to sign-up to receive 24 hour pre-notification of a pesticide application; --provides information on the pesticide’s adverse health effects on the notice provided via the registry; -- requires signs to be posted 24 hours prior to the pesticide application and remain posted for 24 hours; --exempts antimicrobials, baits, gels, and pastes from the notification requirements; -- requires the area where a pesticide application is to take place be unoccupied; -- requires record keeping of pesticide use and disclosure.; --establishes 24 hour reentry period for pesticide applications made via baseboard spraying, broadcast spraying, tenting or fogging, unless the label specifies a specific reentry interval; --does not apply to pest management activities conducted on or adjacent to school property by, or at the direction of, state or local agencies other than local educational agencies; and, --does not preempt state or local schools from adopting a policy that exceeds provisions of the act.
Children are among the least protected population group
when it comes to pesticide exposure, according to the
In fall 1999, the General Accounting Office (GAO), at the request of Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), conducted a national review of the extent to which pesticides are used in and around the nation’s 110,000 public schools and the magnitude of the risk of exposure to children. The GAO report, Pesticides: Use, Effects, and Alternatives to Pesticides in Schools (GAO/RCED-00-17), found that the data on the amount of pesticides used in the nation’s public schools is neither available nor collected by the federal and most state governments. The report also found that EPA is not doing enough to protect children from pesticides, and that there is limited information on how many children are exposed to pesticides in schools. The GAO cited EPA’s analysis of the Poison Control Centers’ Toxic Exposure Surveillance System, documenting 2,300 school pesticide exposures from 1993-1996. Because most of the symptoms of pesticide exposure, from respiratory distress to difficulty in concentration, are common and may be assumed to have other causes, it is suspected that pesticide-related illness is much more prevalent than presently indicated.
Lawmaker Calls For Ban On Arsenic-Treated Wood (from
(From KCRA TheKCRAChannel.com) A state lawmaker and activists are calling for an immediate moratorium on the use of arsenic in the kind of wood that's used in playground equipment, park benches and other home uses.
Environmental activists said the chemical doesn't stay in the wood, and that they've found it in the sand below playground structures at levels far above what's allowable in water. "The play structure itself was 74 micrograms, compared to the 2 micrograms in the child-sized glass of drinking water," activist Samantha McCarthy said.
State Senator Gloria Romero, D-
"There's acknowledgement that there's a problem with arsenic, so let's not play footsies. Let's not just voluntarily agree to do something in the future. Let's act now," Ms. Romero said.
While parents said they are concerned, they also said they would wait for more information before pulling their children off play structures.
"Well, this is only the second time we've come here. I'm not worried … unless there's a study that comes out that just a little exposure could do some harm," parent Kristine Goodman said.
Romero's bill would not only ban the use of arsenic-treated
wood in
Hardware stores across the country have begun to pull CCA-treated
lumber from their shelves. All Home Depot stores in the
EPA Announces Wood Preservatives Phase-out but Victims
Want Them Fully Banned (from
While pleased that the controversial arsenic-based wood preservative, chromated copper arsenate (CCA), is being phased out, victims express concern that EPA will neither immediately nor fully stop public exposure to CCA and all the hazardous wood preservatives.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced late
yesterday a voluntary agreement with the wood preserving industry to phase-out
most residential uses of the most popular arsenic-based wood preservative,
chromated copper arsenate (CCA), including decks and patios, picnic tables,
playground equipment, walkways/boardwalks, landscaping timbers, and fencing by
It is estimated that the phase down of residential CCA wood affects about 5% of the highly toxic wood preservative market, according to Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP. CCA, overall, accounts for approximately 10% of the market, when including the other hazardous wood preservatives, penta and creosote. In the latest data available from the American Wood Preservatives Institute's 1995 statistical report, 1.6 billion pounds of wood preservatives are used to treat wood, 138 million pounds of CCA, 656 million pounds of penta and 825 million pounds of creosote. The vast majority of wood preserving arsenic, penta and creosote are used in a broad array of products from utility poles to railroad ties.
Those who have been poisoned are saying that the agency should stop compromising with the public's health and ban all uses of all hazardous wood preservatives immediately. Late last year 13 national, regional and state environmental groups petitioned EPA to ban CCA and the dioxin-laden pentachlorophenol.
While the groups welcome any action that reduces continued exposure to these chemicals, which are linked to cancer, nervous system damage and birth defects, they say that there is no justification to allow continued public exposure because alternative materials are available.
"Nothing short of a ban of all uses of the hazardous wood preservatives will protect the public from the chemical's short and long term adverse health effects," said Jay Feldman, Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides. "Since less toxic and non-toxic alternatives are available for all wood preservative uses, it is wrong and unnecessary to allow any use to continue," said Mr. Feldman. EPA has a history of striking compromises on pesticides. In 2000, despite headlines indicating the "banning" of two organophosphate pesticides, chlorpyrifos and diazinon, EPA's decision left on the market many uses that account for a majority of the chemicals' overall poundage, and the phase-out period leaves consumers and the public inadequately protected while stocks are being sold off or used in unsuspecting people's homes and businesses.
In addition, according to Mr. Feldman, "The continued presence of CCA and pentachlorophenol wood products in existing structures and their eventual disposal creates potential for ongoing human and environmental exposures," which are not addressed by the agreement.
Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP maintains a database of people who are willing to share their stories associated with the tragedy of wood preservative poisoning. Please contact Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP if you would like to contact these people or for more information about the phase-out at 202-543-5450 or info@beyondpesticides.org.
New Study Reveals Pesticides Threaten Northwest Salmon
(from
New analysis of government water quality research shows that numerous dangerous pesticides are present in Northwest rivers and streams at levels known to be harmful to salmon. The findings were released today in a report, Poisoned Waters, by the Washington Toxics Coalition and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides as part of their Clean Water for Salmon Campaign.
The report compiles water quality testing results from the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which studied five major river systems in
"In every major river system in the Northwest
including the
The full extent of the pesticide pollution may actually be worse because many additional pesticides that are used in the Northwest were not included in the study. Studies have shown that the detected pesticides can kill salmon directly or cause subtle but devastating changes in behavior, immune systems, and hormonal systems that ultimately threaten survival.
The report's analysis of EPA documents shows that approved, legal applications of many pesticides in the region will exceed hazard levels for salmon. These findings lend new credence to claims by citizens groups that the EPA has not met its legal responsibility under the Endangered Species Act to protect salmon from harmful pesticides.
"EPA's own documents portray harmful levels of pesticides in rivers where salmon are endangered is clear evidence of how this agency turns a blind eye to the damaging role of pesticides in the pollution of our waters, " said Erika Schreder of the Washington Toxics Coalition.
The Washington Toxics Coalition, together with environmental and fishing groups, filed a lawsuit last year against the EPA to force the agency to take action to protect salmon from pesticides. Settlement negotiations in that suit broke down late yesterday, and the parties in the suit are moving forward with the lawsuit.
Among those expressing concern at the report's findings was
the area's local fishing community. Steve Matthews, a commercial fisherman and
retired
Poisoned Waters calls on state and local agencies to take immediate action on pesticides including: phasing out use of pesticides that are harmful to salmon; adopting measures to keep pesticides out of water crucial to salmon survival; establishing a reporting system to track pesticide use; and promoting salmon-friendly gardening and farming practices that reduce reliance on pesticides.
The impacts of pesticides on endangered Northwest salmon
will be a major focus of the 20th National Pesticide Forum, April 26-28, in
Give an Organic Bouquet this Valentines Day (from
At last, organic flowers are now available! Organic flowers are safer for the environment and farm workers, yet few have tapped into this market until last month. So this Valentines Day, instead of pesticide-laden roses, you can surprise your sweetheart with organic flowers.
Most of the nation's cut flowers come from countries where
the environmental regulations are even less stringent than ours, and are
routinely sprayed with toxic pesticides. Flowers often have pesticide residues
when you buy them. Dangerous herbicides are also widely used in the
A California-based company, Organic Bouquet, recently made
its debut with organic tulips. The bulbs are organically grown by Sun Valley
Floral, the largest fresh-cut flower grower in the
Next month, Organic Bouquet plans to introduce over 100 specialty varieties. "We plan to include a fragrant variety in most of the bouquets and be able to offer them at competitive price points," said CEO Gerald Prolman.
The company's co-founder is Dave Smith, who co-founded Smith & Hawken, which is a $100 million garden catalog and retailer. Smith estimates the potential market for organic flowers to exceed $150 million by 2006. "Organic floral is the natural product industry's newest category, competing in the $230 billion LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) market," said Smith.
For more information, see www.organicbouquet.com.
Public Interest Groups Tell EPA to Fully Protect Public
from Wood Preservatives (from
In a meeting with the DC-based environmental health group
Beyond Pesticides on
In response to the meeting, Beyond Pesticides fired off a letter to EPA today, urging the agency to move ahead with a phase-out that is quick and broader in scope. In its letter, Beyond Pesticides' executive director Jay Feldman, said, "We are particularly concerned about the relatively narrow scope of the reported proposal and about the possibility of a lengthy phase?out period for voluntarily withdrawn uses." The letter reminds EPA of the petition submitted by Beyond Pesticides and 12 national, regional and state groups in December 2001 to immediately suspend the use of CCA and the dioxin-laden wood preservative pentachlorophenol (penta). The letter continues, "We interpret the Agency's acceptance of the proposal, as described in press accounts (which you agreed are "not totally inaccurate"), as tantamount to a denial of most of the elements of our petition."
In its letter, Beyond Pesticides tells the agency that, "acceptance of the proposal would prejudice further, more complete regulatory action by EPA, including completion of the risk assessment. If no further urgent action is taken, the resulting phase-out of only non-industrial uses of CCA-treated wood is equivocal to the Agency's approval of continued CCA contamination and exposure. Exposure to workers, children and the environment, including soil and groundwater contamination, would remain un-addressed. Utility poles, approximately half of which are treated with CCA, will continue to constitute enormous exposure risks." The petitioners, as indicated in their petition, maintain that EPA has sufficient data to suspend the use of CCA and penta immediately. Today's letter states that EPA has a responsibility to oversee a cleanup of contamination associated with the use of CCA and other wood preservatives. "The continued presence of CCA in existing structures and their eventual disposal creates the potential for ongoing human and environmental exposures," said Mr. Feldman. He continued, "We are confident that, given the availability of alternative materials, our request for suspension will not cause economic dislocation."
The letter concludes, "[W]e are extremely concerned that this action may prejudice ongoing efforts to address broader contamination and exposure issues. We view the long history of inaction on both these chemicals and the attendant accumulation of scientific data and experience with their toxic effects as exceedingly troubling, in light of the daily adverse impact that they have on children and the public."
Copies of our petitions can be found on our website at
www.beyondpesticides.org. Groups joining the petitions include, Beyond
Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides,
Genetically Modified Super-Weeds "Not
Uncommon" (from
According to English Nature, the
The Canadian system of voluntary guidelines advising
farmers to leave a separation distance of 175 m between different GM varieties
seems to have broken down, and 'gene stacking' is now widespread in
Dr Brian Johnson, English Nature's biotechnology advisor
said, "Our report shows that the SCIMAC code is probably inadequate to
prevent gene stacking happening in
English Nature are concerned that attempts to eliminate GM volunteers with multiple herbicide tolerance in 'weedy' crops like oilseed rape could lead to more intensive herbicide use in field margins and uncropped habitats, which can be important refuges for wildlife.
Dr. Johnson said, "We do not yet know how 'stacked
gene' plants would behave either in farmers' fields or in the wild. The European
regulatory system has not yet approved GM herbicide tolerant oilseeds for
general release. English Nature will be working with DEFRA and
The European Commission has recently proposed that a threshold of up to 0.7% GM seed should be allowed in batches of conventional crop seed. English Nature are deeply concerned that if this proposal were to be adopted, it might be a recipe for gene stacking, because the GM plants from a seed batch could be made up of several varieties that would inevitably hybridise, giving 'volunteer' plants next season with multiple GM traits. It will be difficult to police seed batches to ensure that this does not happen.
English Nature has been pressing the GM industry to explain how to deal with these issues before GM crops are released widely, rather than wait for stacking to emerge and then try to control the rogue crop plants.
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