Fungicides

More than 300 diseases have been linked to pesticide use. These are not as a result of lab rat tests and studies either. They are based on real-life, epidemiological studies of humans around the country. Of the top 25 pesticides used to manage "facilities" and the 13 used in "landscape management," 11 are linked to cancer, five cause birth defects, 10 cause liver or kidney damage, 12 are linked to neurological problems and the list goes on. Of course, children are the most susceptible to injury from pesticide exposure because their systems are still developing. Many pesticides are endocrine disrupters, so the development that is supposed to happen happens "wrong." There is even now link to lower I.Q. in children when exposed. This is not a happy state of affairs.

Pesticides used in agriculture are designed to protect crops against unwanted species, such as weeds, insects, and fungus. Many compounds target the nervous system of insect pests. Because of the similarity in brain biochemistry, such pesticides may also be neurotoxic to humans. Concerns have been raised that the developing brain may be particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of neurotoxic pesticides. Current requirements for safety testing do not include developmental neurotoxicity. We therefore undertook a systematic evaluation of published evidence on neurotoxicity of pesticides in current use, with specific emphasis on risks during early development.

According to a recent study by researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury and lived in areas with exposure to pesticides may be three times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. In UCLA's recent study, researchers compared a group of 357 people with Parkinson's to 754 people without the disease. All respondents lived in an agricultural area in central California. Using records of pesticide applications dating back to 1974, researchers tracked exposure to paraquats in the study. The research participants were also asked to report any head injuries suffered in their pasts that caused loss of consciousness longer than five minutes. The examination found that 42 of the 357 people with Parkinson's reported having had a traumatic brain injury compared to 50 of the 754 people without the disease. Moreover, those with Parkinson's were 36 percent more likely to report exposure to pesticides than those without the disease. Ultimately, the research suggests that while brain injuries and pesticides are individually associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's, the combination is associated with a greater threat of developing the disease.

If there’s one food group that Israelis love, it’s vegetables. In fact, all over the Middle East, vegetables are treated with love and presented at table in infinite artful ways. But health hazards lurk on the well-loved produce. According to Haaretz, 11% of produce tested by the Israel Health Ministry showed unacceptably high levels of pesticide residues. Of over 5000 samples taken from 108 kinds of foods, 56% had traces of different pesticides. A scary tomato yielded 50 kinds of residues, while a cucumber showed 30 types. 46 kinds of pesticides were found on parsley. Those are the main ingredients of the famous Israeli salad. Are Israelis indeed eating pesticides with every bite of salad? Studies like the one showing how pregnant Jerusalemite women have higher pesticide levels in their bodies than pregnant New Yorkers support this suspicion.

Due to a major policy report released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Northern New England Poison Center (NNEPC) may be fielding a different type of call in the coming years — potential long-term pesticide poisonings due to exposures in back yards or school and municipal playgrounds. The AAP report said there is a growing body of evidence showing the relation between pesticides and negative health impacts to children. " The past decade has seen an expansion of the epidemiologic evidence base supporting adverse effects after acute and chronic pesticide exposure in children," according to the report, "Pesticide Exposure in Children." The report and policy recommendations were published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics. It said "prenatal and early childhood exposure to pesticides is associated with pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function and behavioral problems." The AAP report has moved closer to Canadian research efforts which, beginning more than a decade ago, found a scientific connection between pesticide use and early childhood diseases. These studies have prompted the ban of certain types of pesticides at certain locations in a number of municipalities and provinces in Canada.

“Meel, water, gist en zout. Meer is er niet nodig om brood te bakken”, zegt bakker Frank van Eerd, eigenaar van ambachtelijke bakkerij De Bisschopsmolen in Maastricht. Bij voorkeur gebruikt hij meel van spelt, een graansoort die gezonder is dan de huidige tarwe. “Van nature is spelt beschermd tegen invloeden van buitenaf, omdat de aar lang in de stengel blijft”, legt Van Eerd uit. “Er hoeven dus geen bestrijdingsmiddelen gebruikt te worden. Spelt bevat lichtverteerbare koolhydraten, hoogwaardig vet met onverzadigde vetzuren, een ideale eiwitsamenstelling en vitamines, mineralen en sporenelementen. Meer dan tarwe bevat. Vanaf de jaren vijftig is de tarwe enorm doorontwikkeld om meer graan per vierkante meter te kunnen produceren”, legt Van Eerd uit. “In dat proces zijn er verschillende gezondheidsvoordelen verloren gegaan. Daarbij worden er allerlei zaken aan brood toegevoegd bij grootschalige machinale productie”, zegt Van Eerd. “Denk bijvoorbeeld aan middelen om de houdbaarheid te verlengen. Het enige wat je als consument kunt doen, is aan de bakker vragen wat er in zijn brood zit en alert zijn op toegevoegde stoffen.”

Vragen van het lid Ouwehand (Partij voor de Dieren) aan de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken over de belangenverstrengeling bij de toelating van bestrijdingsmiddelen en de negatieve gevolgen daarvoor bijen en andere bestuivers (bijlage).

Letzte Woche präsentierte die Bezirkshauptmannschaft die Ergebnisse der umfangreichen Grundwasseruntersuchung. An 190 Stellen wurden Proben gezogen, in 90 Proben wurden Verunreinigungen gefunden. Außerhalb des Werksgeländes der Firma Kwizda stießen die Experten auf das Insektizid Thiamethoxam (bis 5 µg/l) sowie die Herbizide Clopyralid (bis 60 µg/l), Florasulam (bis 0,35 µg/l) und Flumetsulam (bis 0,77 µg/l). Am Kwizda-Gelände wurden insgesamt 15 Wirkstoffe gefunden, die den Grenzwert überschreiten.

De Tweede Kamer heeft ingestemd met een motie hierover van D66 en de Partij voor de Dieren. Nieuwe toelatingen gebeuren vaak op basis van studies die niet openbaar zijn omdat deze in opdracht van bedrijven zijn uitgevoerd. Om meer transparantie te krijgen over de wetenschappelijke onderbouwing van toelatingen moeten de gebruikte studies in Nederland openbaar worden gemaakt. Staatssecretaris Verdaas heeft ingestemd met dit verzoek.