This document may be seen on my website at www.envinfo.org under
II.Permethrin +
Piperonyl Butoxide + ? : Fogging Trucks
HOME GARDENS DESTROYED BY APPLICATION OF ILLEGAL TOXIC PESTICIDES.in Longmont and other nearby communities.
RESIDENTS HAVE STILL NOT BEEN NOTIFIED BY AUTHORITIES OF THE DANGERS AND SPECIFIC TOXICITY.
On
The label of Aqualuer 20-20 states : “Where dense vegetation is present, use higher rates of application and/or a slower speed for best results. All applications should be conducted when temperatures are greater than 50 F.” ( http://www.allprovector.com/labels/APAqlr2020.pdf )
The temperature was barely above 50 F. At this colder temperature, Aqualuer 20-20 is much more toxic: “DDT and pyrethroids are some of the few insecticides with toxicities that increase at lower temperatures.3,10” (Toxicology and Environmental Fate of Synthetic Pyrethroids , Doria Mueller-Beilschmidt / Journal of pesticide Reform v.10,n.3 Fall 1990. Doria Mueller Beilschmidt is the information services coordinator at the North American regional center of the Pesticide Action Network International (PAN).
(http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Pyrethroids-Synthetic.htm ) )
THERE WAS NEVER ANY REASON TO USE WIDESPREAD MOSQUITO
SPRAYING! The weather never got hot again, not surprising for the
altitude of 5040 ft. at this time of the year, except that it did reach 92.5
degrees very briefly on Aug 30.. ( http://199.45.163.146/ABC-2006-08-30.txt Go to http://199.45.163.146 Go to the bottom of the page to “Browse
Archive Records. Enter the date. Click on “Browse Day Records”. For August:
http://199.45.163.146/NOAA-2006-08.txt and September: http://199.45.163.146/NOAA-2006-09.txt ) There was a frost advisory for
There is a public record of all the mosquito traps set and
mosquitos caught by Colorado Mosquito Control, Inc. with dates from
The
The public health officials who urged the City of
The answer was not widespread fogging of neurotoxins and
carcinogens, endocrine disrupters and hormone replicators. The EPA rates synthetic pyrethroids as “among
the most dangerous to children of all pesticides in common use. ( http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0109.html )..
That same newspaper article reported that spraying would start about
The only warning ever issued was in the newspaper which many cannot afford to buy.: “Residents can close their windows if they’re concerned about breathing the spray, but ‘unless you are chemically sensitive, there’s really no reason to do that.’” This statement is both inaccurate and illegal according to Federal law. Residents were also told that they could contact CMC to have the trucks avoid spraying directly in front of their homes.
I was phoned that Thursday by Colorado Mosquito Control so
that I could flee the city, because I contacted CMC weeks earlier to tell them
that I have asthma and that I am growing an organic garden. However, they sprayed down
In 1999 a producer faced fines up to #10,000 per violation and other fines for illegally applying a permethrin to 5 acres of basil:
This summer, an investigation conducted by the FDACS's Pesticide Compliance Section determined that a producer was illegally applying Ambush (permethrin) to his five acre basil crop. No tolerance has ever been established for permethrin on basil, so this user is in violation of the label. To aggravate the problem further, Ambush is a restricted use pesticide, for retail sale and use only by certified applicators or persons under their direct supervision. The producer did not posses a restricted-use pesticide applicator's license, and admitted that he borrowed the Ambush Insecticide from a friend and used it without any direct supervision.
Added to this, the producer had not even taken the first step toward training his agricultural workers in accordance with the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). None of his workers possessed an approved Worker Protection worker training certificate.
The use of the Ambush inconsistent with its label issue is unlawful under Section 487.031(10) of the Florida Statutes. The use of a restricted-use pesticide without a license is unlawful under Section 487.031(9) of the Statutes, and the WPS problem is a violation of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 170.130 and 170.230. Therefore, this producer is subject to administrative action, including fines up to $10,000 per violation. Additionally, he may be subject to additional penalty provisions of FIFRA, which are administered by EPA.
FDACS Communication;
I don’t understand how anyone could illegally apply Aqualuer 20-20 to my organic vegetables and fruits and not face similar penalties.
Two CSU professors issued the following warning about illegal spraying of food crops in home gardens by residential spraying for mosquitoes:
“Caution: Adulticides may not be
registered for use on food Crops.
Applications in residential areas can result in illegal residues on
produce from home Gardens.” This
information comes from Colorado State University Cooperative Extension –
Horticulture bulletin no. 5.526, entitled Mosquito Management by F.B. Peairs and W.S. Cranshaw (Colorado
State University Cooperative Extension entomologists and professors,
bioagricultural sciences and pest management. 6/98. Reviewed 11/03. Updated
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/INSECT/05526.html
The label of Aqualuer 20-20 contains the following warning:
“Do not allow spray treatment to drift on pastureland, cropland (other than crops listed), or water supplies. In treatment of corrals, feedlots, animal confinements/houses, wine lots and zoos, cover any exposed drinking water, drinking fountains and animal feed before application.”
( http://www.allprovector.com/labels/APAqlr2020.pdf#search=%22aqualuer%22 ).
Crops NOT registered for use of Aqualuer spraying or listed on the label include: plums, brassica leafy vegetables including collard greens and mustard greens, bok choi, corn on the cob, green onions, peppers (except for bell peppers), all root vegetables including beets, carrots, turnips, summer squash, winter squash, peas, beans, berries, grapes, hazelnuts., herbs If you are growing any of these vegetables, fruits, herbs, or nuts no amount of washing of THESE vegetables, fruit, herbs and nuts will make this food safe for consumption after application of this pesticide illegal for this food..
I made a phone call to the Pesticide Hotline in
Permethrin has been a Restricted Use Product since December,
2002. (
http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/rup/rup6mols.htm ).
“The U.S. EPA (1) restricts use of some pesticide products because they
are acutely toxic to humans or beneficial insects; have been shown to cause
worker illnesses, groundwater contamination, bird or fish kills; or their drift
damages other crops” ( http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Docs/ref_regulatoryUS.html#EPA25b ).
West Nile Virus doesn’t claim many victims unless their
immune systems are comprised by, among other things, pesticide spraying and
DEET. In 1999
http://www.ucop.edu/srphome/bcrp/progressreport/abstracts/biology/3pb0095.html ).
The risk of having
cancer in one’s lifetime in the
“Based on rates from 2001-2003, 41.28% of men and
women born today will be diagnosed with cancer of all sites at some time during
their lifetime. This number can also be expressed as 1 in 2 men and women will
be diagnosed with cancer of all sites during their lifetime. These statistics
are called the lifetime risk of
developing cancer. “
From: http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html
Ted William reports in his article “Out of Control” in the Audubon Magazine that:
The Audubon Society, which had
worked with
Mosquito controllers who depend on this type of "source reduction," as they call it, and on chemical pesticides can never succeed because, along with a few mosquitoes, they take out whole ecosystems, including such natural controls as frogs, toads, salamanders, fish, damselflies, dragonflies, and birds. If birds aren't killed directly, hatchlings may starve when insects are poisoned off, and exhausted migrants may not be able to fuel up for the next leg of their journey.
But sometimes birds are killed directly. …
When the Collier Mosquito Control District, which has five helicopters, three turbo-prop Sky Vans, and a DC-3, was criticized for killing fiddler crabs, it began spraying fenthion in "ultra-low volume." But though the dose was reduced, it was delivered in finer drops that hung in the air far longer, drifting as far as five miles…
Moreover, Krimsky and other public-health authorities warn that routine, pesticide-based mosquito projects, ongoing in most states, may impede real disease control, should it ever become necessary, by creating chemical resistance in local mosquito populations.
“West Nile Virus and Mosquito Control Practices, Survey of Mosquito Control Practices and Less-Toxic Alternatives, December 2002 – Update” reports that routine and widespread spraying can actually in the long run lead to many more mosquitoes:
It has been found that routine and widespread spraying can lead to more mosquitoes in the long-term. This result occurs since the mosquito’s natural predators are killed by the sprays, and do not reproduce as rapidly, leaving more favorable conditions for mosquitoes to increase their numbers.
An example of this produced a
15-fold increase in mosquitoes at
Increased Risks of
The Immunity Paradox
Ironically, use of adulticide
sprays for
Encephalitis is mainly a risk to individuals who currently have a weak functioning immune system. This can include the elderly, sick and very young. However, a paradox arises since the use of many pesticides have shown the side-effect of weakening the human immune system. Since our immune system defends us from contracting encephalitis after being bitten by an encephalitis-carrying mosquito, the use of pesticide sprays can potentially create further risks of encephalitis by creating greater numbers of people whose immune systems are impaired below the threshold necessary to protect against encephalitis. In other words, the spraying intended to protect sensitive groups of people can increase the potential for encephalitis, making matters worse.
http://www.chem-tox.com/malathion / Dr. Wayne Sinclair, MD, Richard Pressinger, M.Ed
Same Immunity Warning from
Stop the Indiscriminate Spraying of “Friendly Fire” Pesticides.
In
“There is a widely accepted erroneous belief that mass spraying of adulticides protects the population against mosquitoes. In fact, the opposite is true: the mass spraying will result in a deterioration of public health by exposing millions of people to “friendly fire” pesticides. Ironically, such spraying is especially dangerous to those with impaired immunity for whose “protection” such spraying is mainly being done.”
http://www.cap-quebec.com/pdf/wnv_19th_august_02.pdf
Insecticide risks to the brain-blood barrier
Dr Dennis Goode, Department of
Biology,
Encephalitis risks in mosquitoes
Adulticide chemicals may be putting
mosquitoes that are sprayed, but not killed, into an immuno-compromised state,
thereby allowing them to accumulate and spread more
Spraying is Ineffective
Much spray does not reach its
intended target, the mosquitoes. Dr.
David Pimentel , professor of entomology at
This question seems the most important. If the efficacy of spraying approaches zero, what's the point of exposing our bodies, ecosystems, and wildlife to toxic chemicals in the first place? (Three-state report)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) within its guidelines for control of West Nile Virus has recognized that adulticide spraying is the least efficient mosquito control technique (as discussed earlier.)…
Widespread Spraying Impacts Agriculture
The success of agriculture depends in large measure on pollination, a necessary step in the production of most fruits and vegetables and in the production of many forage crops utilized by livestock. It is estimated that domestic honey bees pollinate only 15% of these crops, while the remainder are pollinated by wild bees and other wildlife, principally insects.
Widespread spraying of mosquito adulticides can adversely impact a broad range of honey bees, other insects and wildlife, as these pesticides are broad-based killers. Loss of crop productivity could occur from loss of pollinating species resulting from widespread adulticide spraying. Organic farms could lose their status and their market if exposed to the mosquito pesticides. Widespread spraying is a poor choice, and should be avoided where agriculture is at risk.
http://www.meepi.org/wnv/overkillma.htm
Widespread Spraying Impacts Mosquito’s Natural Predators
http://www.meepi.org/wnv/overkillma.htm
Widespread spraying for mosquito
control can increase mosquito populations by killing off natural predators
(dragonflies, fish, birds, bats, amphibians, wasps, etc.) of the mosquitoes and
their larvae, thereby removing natural control of mosquito population levels.
The fewer mosquito predators there are, the more mosquitoes there will be. The results at
Dragonflies are important predators as the adults eat adult mosquitoes and the nymphs feed on mosquito larvae and pupae. Other natural predators such as bats and birds (Purple Martins and Tree Swallows) eat adult mosquitoes and can help reduce their numbers in an area. Communities and residents have maintained bird and bat houses as another natural method of control. Goldfish serve as natural predators in ornamental water gardens and ponds, but the feeding of fish food should be limited if residents expect the fish to eat mosquito larvae. Gambusia fish are used by some jurisdictions, adding these fish to drainage holding ponds and other freshwater ponds. Guppies, sunfish and killies have also been successfully used as natural predators of mosquito larvae. By avoiding adulticide spraying, the natural predators will benefit. (
http://skipper.physics.sunysb.edu/mosquito/mosquito2/Mosquito2.htm ).
This report also list a number of non-toxic alternatives to
widespread spraying and list many communities who have used alternative methods
successfully for years to control mosquito populations.
The city of
8 reasons why spraying pesticides is not the solution to
(excerpted from UPdate, Spring 2003, by Rebecca Watson)
The so-called "solution"
of spraying pesticides to kill mosquitoes actually leads to bigger problems.
Here are eight compelling reasons why spraying pesticides is not the answer to
Least-Effective Measure
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and other experts say that spraying or fogging is the least-effective means for slowing the spread of WNV-carrying mosquitoes. For fogging to have maximum effect, a mosquito has to be flying. Estimates are that fogging kills only about 10% of adult mosquitoes. A federal-provincial task force on WNV admits there is little evidence for the efficacy of insecticide spraying. Adult mosquitoes live only about two weeks, with new larvae hatching constantly. This means that spraying cannot be a one-shot operation, but needs to be repeated frequently if chosen as a means of control.
Predators Harmed, Mosquitoes Thrive
Aerial spraying or fogging is more
harmful to mosquito predators than to mosquitoes. Since predators are farther
up the food chain, they will take in higher amounts of pesticide. By decreasing
mosquito predator populations, aerial spraying actually leads to increases in
mosquito populations. Data from a study in
Pesticide exposure also results in immune suppression in birds, which serve as the hosts for WNV. Birds exposed to organophosphate pesticides tend to suffer immune suppression, as do mammals, amphibians and other animals. This makes them less able to fight off viral and bacterial infections — the very opposite of what is needed. Once infected with WNV, birds are more likely to develop symptoms and to remain ill longer than if they had not been exposed. Thus, pesticide spraying leads to more frequent and longer infections and higher viral loads in birds, making it more likely they will spread the disease to mosquitoes. This increases the possibility of mosquitoes transmitting the virus to humans and other mammals.
Super Mosquitoes, Sicker Mosquitoes
For some reason, as yet unknown,
mosquitoes exposed to pesticides are more likely to have WNV in their salivary
glands and develop a damaged gut lining that becomes more porous, allowing WNV
to pass through. Over a decade of insecticide spraying to control encephalitis
in
Immediate Human Health Effects
Immediate health effects on humans
from exposure to sprayed pesticides are considerable. A letter from 26
prominent physicians and scientists in
Long-Term Health Effects
Pesticides used in mosquito control can contribute to immune suppression in humans. A report from the World Resources Institute notes, "Impairment of the immune system by chemical pesticides can lead to allergies, auto immune disorders such as lupus and cancer. It may also lead to infections to which one may be normally resistant." People with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable to WNV. Thus, in the long term, aerial spraying may actually increase the number of people who become seriously ill from WNV.
Long-Term Environmental Effects
Most of the pesticides presently used for mosquito control do not selectively target mosquitoes. Malathion, Naled and Resmethrin kill all insects. This includes hundreds of beneficial insect species that pollinate crops and keep pests under control. Malathion is known to contaminate water, and is classified as highly toxic to most species of fish. In 1999, 90% of adult lobsters in Long Island Sound were killed by malathion used on land. Fish kills in the thousands have been reported following mosquito spraying. Since some species of fish feed on mosquito larvae, this is doubly counterproductive.
Keep Risk in Perspective
Taking a Long-Term Approach
We need a rational, long-term, problem-solving approach that is healthy for humans and the environment. Reducing mosquito breeding sites (standing water), known as source control, is the most-effective mosquito control method. Since adult mosquitoes seldom travel more than one kilometer, source control in a neighborhood can be extremely effective and quite non-toxic. Experts stress the value of source controls such as mechanical flushing of sewer catch basins, and introduction of dragonfly larvae in nearby ponds and lakes. Maintaining healthy mosquito predator populations is an important part of a mosquito control strategy. Eliminating mosquito larvae through predators and biological means and, if absolutely necessary, via pesticides, is far more effective than trying to kill adult mosquitoes. Ultimately, the most effective defense against WNV is a healthy ecosystem and a healthy immune system in humans, birds and other species. ( http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=citysec_westnile )
WE ACTUALLY HAVE INCOMPLETE INFORMATION AS TO WHAT WE HAVE
BEEN SPRAYED WITH. The EPA has found
“doctored” forms of pesticides and the
suppliers from a British chemical company are under investigation.
EPA and Justice Department investigators are targeting a network of
pesticide manufacturers and
suppliers in the
overseas who allegedly have been selling counterfeit versions of
pesticides that are widely used to fight mosquitoes that may carry
the
one of the largest ever into the sale of alleged imitation
pesticides, according to one federal investigator, and sources say
the inquiry may prompt a rethinking of EPA policies aimed at
protecting the distribution of pesticides used for public health
purposes. ( http://environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/WNV/WNV-LArchive/0833.html ).
In addition,
the label of Aqualuer 20-20 calls this product “A Synergized Permethrin Formulation”. This means that other ingredients have been added
to the 26% permethrin to made it much more lethal to the targeted animal. The half life of insecticides made of chrysanthemums
is a few hours. The half life of
permethrim is 10-30 days. The half life
of synergized permethrin was 42 days in
The label lists these ingredients:
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
*Permethrin……………………,,,,,,,,,…20.6%
**Piperonyl Butoxide Technical………..20.6%
INERT INGREDIENTS:………………..58.8%
TOTAL ………………….100.0%
*(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl(+/-)Cis/trans 3-(2,2-dichlorethenyl)2,2-Dimethyl cyclopropanecarboxylate.
Cis/trans ration: min. 35%(+/-) cis and max. 65% (+/-) trans.
**Equivalent to 80% (butylcarbityl)(6-propylpiperonyl) ether and 20% related compounds
Contains 1.75 pounds of Permethrin and 1.75 pounds of Piperonyl Butoxide per gallon.
Apart from the dangers of these two ingredients separately, which I will list below, the Piperonyl Butoxide is added to the Permethrin to make it more lethal. In addition, there is the problem of the “INERT INGREDIENTS” which are not “inert” but “other” ingredients added in a “secret” formulation to make the listed ingredients more lethal. These secret ingredients are “trade secredts”. The company will release the ingredients to emergency room doctors when someone is rushed to the emergency room if the doctors promise not to tell anyone what they are. At least 8 ingredients used by pesticide companies are extremely dangerous to human health.
One study finds that “inert ingredients” are often as toxic as the active ingredient or ingredients:
Despite their name, these ingredients
are neither chemically, biologically or toxicologically inert. In general,
inert ingredients are minimally tested, however, many are known to state,
federal and international agencies to be hazardous to human health. For
example, the
The vast majority of all pesticide
products registered for use by EPA and state governments have never been fully
tested for the full range of potential human health effects, such as cancer,
birth defects, genetic damage, reproductive effects and neurological disorders,
and endocrine disruption. Indeed, pesticides can be registered even when they
have been shown to cause adverse health effects….. There is no way to predict
the effects in children solely based on toxicity testing in adult or even
adolescent laboratory animals, which is EPA’s procedure for evaluating adverse
effects. ( http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pcos/ingredients.htm ).
Doria Mueller-Beilschmidt lists some of the “inert” (secret) ingredients and contaminants used in pyrethrum formulations:
"Inert" (secret)
ingredients and contaminants can also affect the toxicity of a pyrethroid
formulation, especially since the formulated product often contains more
"inert" ingredients than active ingredients. Several
"inerts" in pyrethroid formulations used in the
Simultaneous contact with substances that inhibit detoxification processes, called synergists, can increase the acute toxic effects of a pyrethroid. High levels of some synergists (organophosphorus and carbamate compounds) can block esterases, enzymes that degrade pyrethroids by cleaving the molecule at the double bond between a carbon and an oxygen atom. Other synergists (piperonyl butoxide and sulfoxide) block the mixed function oxidases, enzymes which oxidize and detoxify a wide variety of compounds.10-16 Simultaneous exposure to pyrethroids and organophosphates has also been shown to increase the inhibition by the organophosphates of cholinesterase, an enzyme in the nervous system.17 (Toxicology and Environmental Fate of Synthetic Pyrethroids , Doria Mueller-Beilschmidt / Journal of pesticide Reform v.10,n.3 Fall 1990. Doria Mueller Beilschmidt is the information services coordinator at the North American regional center of the Pesticide Action Network International (PAN).
(http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Pyrethroids-Synthetic.htm ) )
Permethrim has been studied as a cause of Gulf War Syndrome. Permethrim was added to military uniforms. ( http://newton.nap.edu/books/N1000104/html/93.html ). It is also added to the material of other clothing:
Permethrin is carcinogenic and mutagenic, so states Caroline Cox:
“PERMETHRIN – Insecticide Fact Sheet. Read before using this poison.”
The insecticide permethrin (in the
synthetic pyrethroid family) is widely used on cotton, wheat, corn, alfalfa,
and other crops. In addition, over 100 million applications are made annually
in and around
Permethrin, like all synthetic pyrethroids, is a neurotoxin. Symptoms include tremors, incoordination, elevated body temperature, increased aggressive behavior, and disruption of learning. Laboratory tests suggest that permethrin is more acutely toxic to children than to adults.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified permethrin as a carcinogen because it causes lung tumors in female mice and liver tumors in mice of both sexes. Permethrin inhibits the activity of the immune system in laboratory tests, and also binds to the receptors for a male sex hormone. It causes chromosome aberrations in human and hamster cells.
Permethrin is toxic to honey bees and other beneficial insects, fish, aquatic insects, crayfish, and shrimp. For many species, concentrations of less than one part per billion are lethal. Permethrin causes deformities and other developmental problems in tadpoles, and reduces the number of oxygen-carrying cells in the blood of birds.
Permethrin has been found in
streams and rivers throughout the
A wide variety of insects have developed resistance to permethrin. High levels of resistance have been documented in cockroaches, head lice, and tobacco budworm. (Journal of Pesticide Reform [Summer 1998] v. 18, no. 214, a copy of which is found at http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/permethrin/cox-report/cox.htm . The extensive bibliography is found at http://safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/permethrin/cox-report/references.html
Another study finds permethrin neurotoxic:
6 Neurotoxicity of Permethrin
Permethrin is neurotoxic at high doses. It produces a variety of clinical neurotoxic effects in animals. Some of those effects are tremors, salivation, paresthesia, splayed gait, depressed reflexes, and tiptoe gait; reversible axonal injury occurs at high doses (Brammer, 1989; Robinson, 1989a,b). These symptoms appear to be universal for pyrethroids.
The primary action of pyrethroids on the peripheral nervous system is to induce pronounced repetitive activity—i.e., continuous rather than single nerve impulses (van den Bercken, 1977; van den Bercken et al., 1979). Pyrethroids interact with a fraction of the voltage-dependent sodium channels in excitable membranes that produce a prolongation of the inward sodium current during excitation in which the channels remain open much longer than normal (see review by Vijverberg and van den Bercken, 1990). Membrane depolarization might also occur, resulting in enhanced neurotransmitter release and eventually blockage of excitation. Although postsynaptic neurotransmitter responses can be suppressed by pyrethroids, doses must be higher than those that produce effects on sodium channels. Pyrethroids also increase concentrations of β-glucuronidase and β-galactosidase, which are thought to be associated with repair process, in peripheral nerves (Aldridge, 1990). (Health Effects of Permethrin-Impregnated Army Battle-Dress Uniforms (1994) (Commission on Life Sciences) (http://newton.nap.edu/books/NI000104/html/67.html )
Permethrin is both mutagenic and carcinogenic:
Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity In a number of separate Mutagenicity studies (studies of the ability to cause genetic amage), cypermethrin, allethrin, cismethrin, permethrin and fenpropathrin have shown some mutagenic effects.3,25,28 Only in the case of permethrin was the response (changes in mice bone marrow) found to be significant…..
Carcinogenicity studies of permethrin, resmethrin, fenvalerate and deltamethrin have hown increases in various kinds of cancers.3,27,29-32 Only permethrin has been determined to be a potential or weak carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.29 (Toxicology and Environmental Fate of Synthetic Pyrethroids , Doria Mueller-Beilschmidt / Journal of pesticide Reform v.10,n.3 Fall 1990. Doria Mueller Beilschmidt is the information services coordinator at the North American regional center of the Pesticide Action Network International (PAN). (http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Pyrethroids-Synthetic.htm ) )
Ms. Mueller-Beilschmidt explains the Pyrethroid mode of action:
Like DDT and many other insecticides, naturally occurring pyrethrins and the synthetic pyrethroids are nerve poisons. Pyrethroids' principal mechanism of action is believed to be disruption of the permeability of nerve membranes to sodium atoms. The site of action is not known, but pyrethroids and DDT probably act on both the central (the brain and spinal chord) and the peripheral nervous system (nerves in other parts of the body). Other major groups of insecticides (carbamates and organophosphates, for example) are nerve poisons but do not act on the peripheral nervous system.3,18
A study published
The metabolite, 3-PBA, was detected
in 59% of the children's urine samples.,,,. Through inhalation, ingestion, and
dermal routes of exposure, the median aggregate potential absorbed doses of cis-
and trans-permethrin for these children were estimated at 2.1 and 1.7
ng/kg/day, respectively …The results showed that these children were
potentially exposed to both cis- and trans-permethrin from
several sources, and through several pathways and routes. The urinary biomarker
of exposure, 3-PBA, confirms that these children were exposed to and absorbed
one or more of the pyrethroids, likely including permethrin, into their bodies. (MORGAN, M. K., L. S. SHELDON, C. W. CROGHAN,
P. A. JONES, J. C. CHUANG, AND N. K. WILSON. EXPOSURES OF 127
Permethrin is much more toxic to babies and young children:
Infants and young children may distribute and
metabolize certain toxicants differently from adults. Compared with
adults, they have a higher proportion of total body water and less
body fat in which to store lipophilic substances. This lesser
ability to store toxicants in fat can lead to higher circulating
levels. Renal clearance rates and activities of hepatic enzymes vary
considerably during infancy and early childhood; as a result, a
xenobiotic may exert greater or lesser toxicity. For example, a
reduced capacity to metabolize organophosphate or carbamate insecticides
might be beneficial because the metabolites are more toxic than the
parent substances. Conversely, if metabolism of a toxicant typically
converts it to a less active and more readily excreted metabolite,
then reduced metabolism would result in a greater toxic effect. For
example, permethrin is almost 5 times more acutely toxic in
8-day-old rats than in adult rats because the neonates lack
permethrin-specific esterases…..32
The developing brain and central nervous system have pronounced vulnerability to neurotoxicants (eg, lead, mercury, alcohol) other than pesticides. As this special issue of Pediatrics confirms, threats to neurobehavioral development arising from chemicals in the environment must be a serious concern of pediatricians. The articles on lead, mercury, alcohol, and polychlorinated biphenyls all emphasize the special vulnerability of the developing brain to toxic challenges and, especially, how such vulnerability may be expressed in subtle disorders of function. The progression from encephalopathy to lowered IQ scores as criteria for excessive lead exposure or the similar progression from the overt signs of fetal alcohol syndrome to the subtle deficits of fetal alcohol effects offer a prototype for assessing the hazards of pesticides….
Perhaps the best known example of endocrine-disrupting
activity in early embryonic and fetal development is that of the
synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES). DES was used
extensively in the 1950s to 1970s to maintain pregnancy in women
threatening spontaneous premature delivery.59
Only decades later was it discovered that daughters born to
DES-treated mothers experienced increased rates of vaginal clear
cell adenocarcinoma, genital tract abnormalities, and abnormal
pregnancies. Although not a pesticide, the DES model provides
evidence for the effects of estrogen receptor agonists on the
developing human reproductive system. Animal studies and
cell-culture studies have shown that a variety of pesticides such as
DDT/DDE, mirex, aldrin, dieldrin, atrazine, hexachlorocyclohexane,
toxaphene, alachlor, chlordane, vinclozolin, and chlorpyrifos can
interact with endocrine system components such as the estrogen,
androgen, and thyroid receptors during critical periods of
development and produce an equally varied spectrum of adverse
developmental effects such as altered social skills, decreased
intelligence, and reproductive difficulties or failures.60–67
Thyroid function in pregnant women is a critical determinant of
offspring IQ,68
and contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins are known
to disrupt thyroid function.69
Such findings demonstrate the special sensitivities of developing
embryos and fetuses to chemical exposure levels that are safe and
without effect in mature adults. (Bernard
Weiss, PhD [* Department of Environmental Medicine, University of
Piperonyl butoxide is mixed with permethrin to increase its toxicity:
piperonyl butoxide inhibits
microsomal oxidation of a wide variety of compounds which are detoxified by
hydroxylation reactions. This effect can
explain the ability of piperonyl butoxide to prolong the action of barbiturates
and zoxazolamine, slow the metabolism of benzpyrene and enhance the toxicity of
pyrethrins. ( http://www.inchem.org/documents/jmpr/jmpmono/v072pr27.htm ).
Colorado
Mosquito Control, Inc. before 2006 used AquaReslin. During 2006 it has changed to Aqualuer. www.ci.erie.co.us/download.cfm?DownloadFile=A58F5FCB-D0B7-3EB0-FD170CB23246E485 Residents of
EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency) and Justice Department personnel are investigating the Sierra Chemical
and Supply Company,
Investigators are examining whether
Sierra sold imitations of Aqua-Reslin and several other pesticides.
Investigators are also examining whether Sierra doctored the formulations of
brand-name pesticides…
Federal investigators are looking at whether Sierra made copies of Aqua-Reslin labels and placed them on canisters of Sierra's own pesticide formulation, which sources say was a rough approximation of Aqua-Reslin.Sources say Sierra sold pesticides carrying the Aqua-Reslin label to municipalities in states across the Southeast and parts of the Midwest, including Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Ohio, and Illinois, at prices well below the general market rate for the brand-name pesticide…..
Sources estimate Sierra may have ac-cumulated at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue from the sale of these pesticides…..
Sources familiar with the investigation say that tests of Sierra's pesticides revealed chemical concentrations that were some-times too high and other times too low to match the concentrations of chemicals in Aqua-Reslin.
Investigators are also examining potential criminal violations in Sierra's supply chain, which sources say investigators have traced back to a British chemical company.
Sources say that investigators are
also examining other suppliers, both domestic and international, to determine
whether Sierra may have obtained raw materials from other facilities. (Phil Nixon, “EPA Investigates Pesticide
Distribution,”
When I asked Marshall Lipps two times on the phone who his supplier was, he wouldn’t tell me.
The ban covers 23 pesticide active
ingredients that--according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and/or World Health Organization (WHO)--are known or possible carcinogens or
endocrine disruptors, including lindane, malathion, MCPA, permethrin, benomyl,
captan and 2,4-D. ( http://ipm.osu.edu/trans/033_241.htm ).
40,000 women will die of breast cancer this year in the
http://www.ucop.edu/srphome/bcrp/progressreport/abstracts/biology/3pb0095.html
The risk of having
cancer in one’s lifetime in the
“Based on rates from 2001-2003, 41.28% of men and
women born today will be diagnosed with cancer of all sites at some time during
their lifetime. This number can also be expressed as 1 in 2 men and women will
be diagnosed with cancer of all sites during their lifetime. These statistics
are called the lifetime risk of
developing cancer. “
From: http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html
All statistics involving encephalitis and meningitis caused by West Nile Virus are meaningless, because the county departments of health do not keep track of whether the patient was exposed to DEET or mosquito fogging before these conditions were contracted. This would have to include nuisance fogging as well as fogging ordered by local governments and local departments of health, and would have to include careful records of fogging by the designated pesticide company such as Colorado Mosquito Control, because patients are not always or even usually aware of having been fogged. IF PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS REALLY WANT TO PROTECT CITIZENS, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THEY CAREFULLY KEEP THESE STATISTICS. In my experience, the public health department points to these cases and says that they prevented many more. But the fogging in fact actually caused these cases.
Dr. Anne Maziar, Ph.D.