Subj: PANUPS: Toxic Pesticides Above
Date: 5/11/2004 5:19:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: PANUPS <panups@...>


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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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Toxic Pesticides Above "Safe" Levels in Many U.S. Residents
May 11, 2004

Many U.S. residents carry toxic pesticides in their bodies above government
assessed "acceptable" levels, according to Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in
Our
Bodies and Corporate Accountability a report released today by Pesticide
Action
Network North America (PANNA) and partner groups in more than 20 cities.
Analyzing
pesticide-related data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) on levels of chemicals in 9,282 people nationwide, the report
reveals that government and industry have failed to safeguard public health
from
pesticide exposures.

"None of us choose to have hazardous pesticides in our bodies," said Kristin
Schafer of PANNA and lead author of the report. "Yet CDC found pesticides in
100%
of the people who had both blood and urine tested. The average person in this
group
carried a toxic cocktail of 13 of the 23 pesticides we analyzed."

Many of the pesticides found in the test subjects have been linked to serious
short- and long-term health effects including infertility, birth defects and
childhood and adult cancers. "While the government develops safety levels for
each
chemical separately, this study shows that in the real world we are exposed to
multiple chemicals simultaneously," explained Margaret Reeves, of PANNA. "The
synergistic effects of multiple exposures are unknown, but a growing body of
research suggests that even at very low levels, the combination of these
chemicals
can be harmful to our health."

Chemical Trespass found that children, women and Mexican Americans shouldered
the
heaviest "pesticide body burden." For example, children -- the population most
vulnerable to pesticides -- are exposed to the highest levels of
nerve-damaging
organophosphorous (OP) pesticides. The CDC data show that the average 6 to11
year-old sampled is exposed to the OP pesticide chlorpyrifos at four times the
level U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) considers "acceptable"
for
long-term exposure. Chlorpyrifos, produced principally by Dow Chemical
Corporation
and found in numerous products such as Dursban™, is designed to kill insects
by
disrupting the nervous system. Although U.S. EPA restricted chlorpyrifos for
most
residential uses in 2000, it continues to be used widely in agriculture and
other
settings. In humans, chlorpyrifos is also a nerve poison, and has been shown
to
disrupt hormones and interfere with normal development of the nervous system
in
laboratory animals.

The report also found that women have significantly higher levels of three of
the
six organochlorine (OC) pesticides evaluated. These pesticides are known to
cross
the placenta during pregnancy with multiple harmful effects including
disruption of
brain development, which can lead to learning disabilities and other
neurobehavioral problems, as well as reduced infant birth weight. This ability
of
organochlorine pesticides to pass from mother to child puts future generations
at
serious risk.

PAN's analysis found that Mexican Americans carry dramatically higher body
burdens
of five of the 17 evaluated pesticides in urine samples, including a breakdown
product of methyl parathion, a neurotoxic, endocrine-disrupting insecticide.
Mexican Americans also had significantly higher body burdens of the breakdown
products of the insecticides lindane and DDT than those found in other ethnic
groups.

Chemical Trespass argues that pesticide manufacturers are primarily
responsible for
the problem of pesticide body burden. "The pesticides we carry in our bodies
are
made and aggressively promoted by agrochemical companies," stated Skip Spitzer
at
PANNA. "These companies also spend millions on political influence to block or
undermine regulatory measures designed to protect public health and the
environment." The report introduces the Pesticide Trespass Index (PTI), a new
tool
for quantifying responsibility of individual pesticide manufacturers for their
"pesticide trespass." Using the PTI, the report estimates that Dow Chemical is
responsible for at least 80% of the chlorpyrifos breakdown products found in
the
bodies of those in the U.S.

Chemical Trespass offers a series of recommendations. The U.S. Congress should
investigate corporate responsibility and liability for pesticide body burdens
and
develop financial mechanisms to shift health and environmental costs of
pesticides
to the corporations that produce them. U.S. EPA should ban pesticides known to
be
hazardous and pervasive in the environment and our bodies including immediate
phase
outs of all uses of chlorpyrifos and lindane. U.S. EPA should also require
that
manufacturers bear the burden of proof for demonstrating that a pesticide does
not
harm human health before it can be registered. Working with the U.S.
Department of
Agriculture, U.S. EPA should promote least-toxic pest control methods.
Individuals
should pressure government officials and corporations to implement these
changes
while seeking alternatives to pesticide use and buying organic products
whenever
possible.

Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate Accountability is
available on the PANNA website at http://www.panna.org. The report's executive
summary is also available in Spanish and French.

Source: Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate
Accountability,
Kristin S. Schafer, Margaret Reeves, Skip Spitzer, Susan Kegley, Pesticide
Action
Network North America, May, 2004.

Contact: PANNA

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting
on
pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's
produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and
non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to
pesticides worldwide.

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