Toxic Free News - Summer 2005

Human Pesticide Testing Under Fire
On June 29, the US Senate approved two amendments to the 2006 appropriations bill that would limit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s authority to conduct or accept from industry studies that test pesticides on humans. The first amendment, sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer, would put a one-year moratorium on any government-funded pesticide tests on humans, beginning Oct 1 of this year. The US House adopted an amendment with identical language in May.

However, as of this printing it is still unclear whether the moratorium will become law. On June 29, the Senate also passed another amendment on human testing, sponsored by Republican Conrad Burns, that would require third party review of all human pesticide tests done for government agencies, and would also give EPA six months to develop new regulations on human testing of pesticides.

These amendments come in response to the outcry over EPA’s controversial Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS), which would have paid low-income families in Florida who had their homes regularly sprayed with pesticides to study effects on young children. CHEERS was cancelled by EPA in April after CA Senator Barbara Boxer threatened to hold up the confirmation of EPA’s new Administrator, Steve Johnson, at his Senate confirmation hearing. (Sources: Congresswoman Hilda Solis, Washington Post, EPA)

New York City Adopts Bills to Reduce Pesticides
This May, in the largest city in the U.S., New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law legislation that will top the list nationwide in protecting the largest number of people from highly-toxic pesticides. The NYC Pesticide Reduction Law (Intro 329A) requires the City to phase out acutely toxic pesticides and those that are known or suspected to cause cancer or developmental disorders by November 2006, and develop a strategy to utilize less toxic methods on city property in the future .

The Neighbor Notification Law (Intro 328A) requires commercial pesticide applicators to provide 48-hour advance notice to adjacent neighbors before spraying lawns, shrubs and trees with harmful pesticides. Seven counties in New York State have already opted into the law, which was enacted in 2000 (Source: Beyond Pesticides).

Roundup Kills Frogs
A University of Pittsburgh researcher has discovered that, Roundup, the second most commonly used herbicide in the United States (after atrazine) may also be highly deadly to baby frogs.

Researcher Rick Relyea found major declines in tadpole population size and diversity when Roundup was applied at manufacturer-recommended concentrations in outdoor tanks that simulated real ponds.

"If these frogs are declining from a pesticide effect we never knew existed, then what are the other effects that pesticides are having that we don't know about because we haven't done the tests yet?" Relyea asked. (Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

USDA Asked To Update Organic Food Regulations
Six agriculture, retail and food safety groups petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in June to update organic food labeling rules following a judge’s ruling in the case of Harvey v. Johanns. The ruling found that existing regulations concerning the use of synthetic substances in food products labeled “organic” and the type of feeding of new dairy cows violated the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990.

The six petitioners are asking USDA for a number of regulatory changes designed to ensure the long-term integrity of the “organic” label, to create an equitable and consistent standard that aids dairy farmer transition to organic, and to bring the current National Organic Program (NOP) regulations into compliance with the federal court’s January 2005 ruling. (Source: Beyond Pesticides)

Toxic Free News is a publication of
Toxic Free North Carolina
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 833-5333, Toll-free 1-877-NO-SPRAY
http://www.toxicfreenc.org

Mission: Toxic Free NC advocates for alternatives to toxic pesticides in North Carolina by empowering people to make sound decisions about their health and environment.

Staff: Executive Director: Fawn Pattison, Program Coordinator: Billie Karel
Interns: Jessica Conser, Lauren Livingston, Karl Macklin.

Board of Directors: Allen Spalt, President; Katherine M. Shea, Vice President; Jane Sharp MacRae, Secretary; Mary Jo Windley; Cindy Soehner; Colleen Boudreau; Michelle Nowlin; Annette Hiatt; Billie Rogers, Emeritus.