The Committee on Environmental Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics, The National Academy of Sciences, and the President’s Cancer Panel have all concluded, after reviewing many scientific studies, that exposure to many synthetic pesticides is linked to reproductive disorders, birth defects, learning disabilities, neurological disease, endocrine disorders, and cancer. Children are especially vulnerable because their immune, nervous and digestive systems are still developing. And they are less able to detoxify chemicals. Tiny amounts of pesticide can harm their hormone function at critical stages (endocrine disruptors). Childhood exposure is linked to brain tumors, leukemia, asthma, decreased cognitive function, a higher risk of ADHD and autism (Pesticide Action Network).
In 2012 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) called for local governments to reduce children’s exposure to pesticides. AAP wrote that scientific evidence “…demonstrates associations between early life exposure to pesticides and pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems.”
Why Children and Pesticides Don't Mix Fact Sheet from Beyond Pesticides
Adults & Children: Pesticide-Induced Diseases Databank on asthma, autism & learning disabilities, birth defects & reproductive dysfunction, diabetes & cancer https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/pesticide-induced-diseases-database/overview
Adults & Children: Select an illness from the list to see how it is linked to pesticides, https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/pesticide-induced-diseases-database/overview
A 2017 study in the International Journal of Cancer links residential use of pesticides to a 1.4x increased risk of a child developing a brain tumor before the age of 15.
A 2015 study in Environmental Health found that children between ages 8 and 15 that had detectable levels of commonly used pyrethroid insecticides in their urine were twice as likely to have ADHD as children who did not have the chemical in their bodies, with boys exhibiting a stronger correlation than girls.
Health Effects of 40 Commonly Used Lawn Pesticides (with citations) Of these 40 pesticides, 26 are possible or known carcinogens, 24 have the potential to disrupt the endocrine (hormonal) system, 29 are linked to reproductive and sexual problems, 21 are linked to birth defects, 24 are neurotoxic, 32 can cause liver or kidney damage, and 33 are sensitizers and/or irritants.
FMI: PESTICIDES AND Children’s sports fields Are we unintentionally harming our children? https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/lawn/factsheets/PesticideandPlayingFieldsltrhead.pdf
Cost Comparison Organic vs Chemical Land Management
https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/documents/Cost%20Comparison.pdf
NOTE: DEFINITION OF “PESTICIDE“: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that a pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. The term “pesticide” also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used to control pests. And pesticides include plant regulators, defoliants, and desiccants. (The EPA is the government department that regulates pesticides in the U.S.)
"Pets come in contact with pesticides by digging, sniffing, licking, and eating unknown objects. Toxic chemicals in insect sprays and baits, rodent poison, flea collars, weed killers, disinfectants, and more are also hazardous to our companion animals. The good news is that toxic products are not necessary to solve everyday problems, and we can work with our neighbors to keep our whole community — including pets — safe! (Beyond Pesticides)"
THREATS TO POLLINATORS, BIRDS, OTHER WILDLIFE: Mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and critical insects including pollinators, are all adversely affected by pesticides. These pesticides can kill wild animals directly or through diseases like cancer, and can disrupt their hormones, affecting their behavior and the ability to reproduce. As with humans, persistent pesticides accumulate in their bodies.
INSECTS/POLLINATORS
Bees and pesticides: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/bee-protective-pollinators-and-pesticides/bee-protective
Pollinators in Maine, NPR Radio program 5/20/22 https://www.mainepublic.org/show/maine-calling/2021-05-20/pollinators-in-maine-bees-other-pollinators-play-critical-role-in-maines-environmental-health
Xerces Society: excellent information; scroll down to “Rethink Pesticides” https://xerces.org
BEE LAWNS – CONSERVE POLLINATORS AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN YOUR OWN HOME LAWN https://beeinformed.org/2022/02/23/bee-lawns-conserve-pollinators-and-natural-resources-in-your-own-home-lawn/
Pollinators benefit from your backyard garden:https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2022/01/your-garden-and-town-gardens-are-the-change-that-pollinators-need-study-finds/
FMI: ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF 40 COMMONLY USED LAWN PESTICIDES https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/Environmental%20Effects%2040%20Lawn%20Pesticides%202021.pdf
The Worldwide Integrated Assessment of the Impact of Systemic Pesticides on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (WIA) has made a synthesis of 1,121 published peer-reviewed studies http://www.tfsp.info/en/worldwide-integrated-assessment/ Scientists reiterated earlier warnings that widely used systemic insecticides, including neonicotinoids and fipronil often used in residential lawns, are poisons, “and the chronic damage caused can include: impaired sense of smell or memory; reduced fecundity; altered feeding behavior and reduced food intake including reduced foraging in bees; altered tunneling behavior in earthworms; difficulty in flight and increased susceptibility to disease.”
Insects contaminated by pesticides:https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2022/01/insects-found-in-nature-preserves-contaminated-with-over-a-dozen- pesticides/
BIRDS
https://abcbirds.org/program/pesticides/home-and-garden/ Pesticides can kill birds directly, or can poison them without killing them directly, or can affect them by reducing their food or habitat resources. “Aside from our ethical commitment to conserve birds, they provide billions of dollars' worth of insect and rodent control, plant pollination, and seed dispersal. Some studies are finding that pesticides actually reduce agricultural yields by decimating the birds, bats, butterflies, and beneficial invertebrates that keep pests in check.”
Birds and Pesticides: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/wildlife/birds
The Schoodic Institute reports the total bird population has declined nearly 40 percent over the past 52 years. https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/tech/science/environment/bird-population-falls-40-in-maine-throughout-the-past-52-years/97-add42f0d-2b7f-4ddd-a984-d592fde210b0#:~:text=The%20Schoodic%20Institute%20reports%20the,National%20Park%20and%20Hancock%20County.
How to Help www.birds.cornell.edu/home/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds/
NYC Audubon: https://www.nycaudubon.org/save-the-bugs-before-it-s-too-late Ornithologists estimate that we have lost 25 percent of our birds in the past 50 years (North America), equating to roughly 3 billion individuals
OTHER WILDLIFE
Wildlife and Pesticides: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/wildlife
Amphibians: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/wildlife/amphibians
Mammals: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/wildlife/mammals
Impacts of Pesticides on Fish https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/wildlife/fish
THREATS TO HEALTHY SOILS
Pesticides kill many of the vital living microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, arthropods, protozoa, e.g., amoeba, diatoms…) in the soil. Healthy “living” soils sequester more carbon and hold more water, helping with storm water run-off (a Climate Change issue). Healthy soils foster strong disease-resistant plants.
“Synthetic and high nitrogen fertilizers can disrupt the nutrient balance of the soil, accelerate turf(grass) growth, increase the need for mowing, and contribute to thatch buildup. Synthetic pesticides harm the microorganisms, beneficial insects and earthworms, that are essential to maintaining healthy soil, and therefore healthy turf.” (City of So. Portland)
Effect of Pesticides on Vital Soil Microorganisms: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/programs/wildlife/soil-biota
A 2014 study in Soil Biology and Chemistry found that earthworms on conventionally managed land spent significant energy detoxifying pesticides, leading to smaller and fewer worms when compared to organically managed land.
WATER
We need CLEAN WATER, free of toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which harm aquatic life, including fish (our sturgeon & salmon are already listed as endangered), pollute streams, rivers and ponds and cause algae blooms (depleting the oxygen) and leach into the water-table. Excess nitrogen in drinking water is linked to colorectal cancer, thyroid disease, and neural tube defects.
Good information on pesticide contamination of our fresh waters https://www.beyondpesticides.org/resources/threatened-waters/overview
NIH report on the human health dangers of high nitrogen in drinking water, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6068531/
Threatened Waters: Turning the tide on pesticide contamination https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/water/water-brochure.pdf
The 2008 President’s Cancer Panel Report on Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk notes that “Fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides used for residential and other landscaping purposes (e.g., parks, golf courses), in some cases the same as those used on farms, represent a considerable component of water contamination because they seep into groundwater and runoff into streams, rivers, and other drinking water supplies.” The report adds that, “in addition, individuals can be exposed to these chemicals by swimming in or eating fish from contaminated bodies of water.”
FMI
Pesticides degrade the health of freshwater ecosystems by harming species that form the basis of aquatic food chains, https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2021/09/studies-show-how-pesticides-harm-organisms-that-form-the-foundation-of-freshwater-ecosystems/
Pesticide pollution continues unabated: in US Geologic Survey Study of Rivers. https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2021/06/pesticide-pollution-continues-unabated-according-to-new-data/
Well, not really. EPA registration does not equal safety. The testing and health data used by the EPA typically comes from the manufacturer or researchers affiliated with the manufacturer. The EPA is, by law, not obligated to look at essential peer-reviewed studies (and often does not). The EPA often registers toxic pesticides under a “conditional registration” without required data on health and environmental impacts. For all fully registered pesticides, testing is only required on the “Active ingredient” which is a mere 1-5% of the product. The remaining “Inert” ingredients are “trade secrets”; many are toxic, and have synergistic effects, making the product considerably more toxic.
FMI
A fantastic collection of resources on the impacts of pesticides to people & the environment.
A report from Physicians for Social Responsibility (Maine Chapter) on the need for action.
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