Pesticides In The News . . . Or

“No Pesticides Used Here” Yard Signs

To ensure neighbors of your yard’s safety and to spread an important environmental message, why not purchase a colorful and durable sign stating your use of nontoxic lawn care methods?

These signs offer a counter to signs warning people to stay off, due to pesticide use. Halleck Design’s version states, ‘This lawn uses no chemicals or pesticides. It may not be perfect, but it’s not harmful to kids, animals or rivers,” and is available in a mix of colors.

This sign costs $28.75 (ppd) per dozen or $6 (ppd) each.

The Center for Energy and Environmental Education of the University of Northern Iowa offers three versions stating “Yards for Kids,” “Yards for Nature,” and “Yards for Health.”

All three state, “No Lawn Pesticides Used Here,” and are available in yellow, pink, and blue. These signs cost $2.50 each (ppd), and funds generated from sales support educational programs on ecological alternatives to pesticides.

Contact: Elaine Halleck, Halleck Design, 2120 Medford Rd., #35, Ann Arbor, MI Dr. Kamyar Enshayan, Physics Building, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, .

Reprinted from Pesticides and You, the newsletter of Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, . Subscriptions, $25.00 for individuals.

Study Finds Pesticides in Babies’ First Bowel Movements

A recent study finds that newborn babies’ first bowel movements contain residues of multiple toxic chemicals.

The study, “Environmental Pollutants in Meconium in Townsville, Australia,” by L. Deuble, et al., of the Department of Neonatology, Kirwinwas Hospital for Women in Townsville, Australia, and Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, Michigan, assesses the prevalence of pesticides, heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in meconium, or a newborn baby’s first bowel movement.

Meconium samples were collected from August 1998 to November 1998 from 44 newborn babies, frozen, and flown to the Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, MI, for analysis for the pesticides diazinon, pentachlorophenol, lindane, chlorpyrifos, malathion, parathion, chlordane, DDT, the industrial pollutant PCB, and heavy metals.

Results were then linked to demographic data of race (either Aborginal and Islander [AI] or not), birth weight (less than or greater than 2,500 grams, or 5.5 lbs.), gestational age, number of miscarriages, and thyroid status.

Of the 44 samples analyzed, 21 were from babies weighing less than 2,500 grams. 35 (78%) of the total samples contained lindane, 19 (43%) contained pentachlorophenol, 26 (59%) contained chlorpyrifos, 15 (34%) contained malathion, 7 (16%) contained chlordane, 23 (52%) contained DDT, and 12 (27%) contained PCB.

No samples were found to contain diazinon, parathion or heavy metals. Significantly, all babies less than 2,500 grams were positive for lindane, linking exposure to this pesticide with low birth weight. Additionally, more AI babies were exposed to chlorpyrifos.

While DDT has not been available in Australia since 1981, lindane since 1985, and chlordane since 1995, these pesticides still exist in the food chain and can be passed from the mother to the fetus, explaining their presence in baby meconium. An average of three different pesticides was found in each meconium sample.

Although individual pesticide concentrations were low, many babies were found to be positive for more than one pollutant and could have experienced additive or synergistic effects, says the study.

For a copy of the study summary (4pp), send $1.00 to Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP.

Reprinted from Pesticides and You, the newsletter of Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, , D.C. 20003, 202-543-5450. Subscriptions, $25.00 for individuals.

Research Shows Dangers of Pesticide Combinations

A new study shows that the insecticide chlorpyrifos is made more toxic when used in combination with other pesticides. Mohammed Abou-Dania, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology and neurotoxicology at Duke University in North Carolina, first established the level at which chlorpyrifos, a commonly used organophosphate, had no effect on the nervous system of the lab animals.

Dr. Abou-Dania also looked at the pesticides per-methrin and DEET. When applied individually, these chemicals produced no neurological problems at their established levels.

However, when combined, they produced a toxic effect equivalent to the lethal dose of chlorpyrifos.

There are three reasons why these chemicals are far more dangerous when used in combination than when they are used individually, according to Dr. Goran Jamal, a neurologist at the West London Regional Neuro-Science Centre of the Imperial College’s of Medicine in London.

First, animals endure stress when exposed to a combination of chemicals, which in turn makes the protective role of the blood brain barrier less effective, allowing the level of toxics to cross into the brain to be 100 times higher.

Second, tissue that has been exposed to a toxin becomes more sensitive and receptive to other toxic substances.

Third, certain chemicals bind to enzymes that detoxify the body, making the enzymes unavailable to protect the body from other intruding chemicals.

Dr. Jamal makes the following comparison, “It’s like releasing 200 criminals in London and taking away the police officers that are usually on duty. There is bound to be some damage.”

The three pesticides used in Dr. Abou-Dania’s study could easily be found in a typical American home. Chlorpyrifos, which is sold as DursbanTM, is a commonly used insecticide that can be found in lawn care products, flea collars, household aerosols, and termite controls.

Permethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid, can be found in lawn care products, termite controls, lice controls, household foggers, and in insect repellants. DEET is one of the most common insect repellants, found in many insect sprays and lotions.

For a copy of the study (22pp), send $4.00 to Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP.