Commonly used pesticides present serious health risks for dogs and people

One of my dogs recently had her regular check-up at our veterinarian's office, where despite my oft-stated concerns over pesticide safety I was convinced to buy an expensive product to keep fleas, ticks and mosquitoes at bay during this exceptionally buggy summer.

It's perfectly safe, the doctor assured me.

As it turns out, she was wrong -- but she had no way of knowing that because of secrecy on the part of federal pesticide regulators.

The product in question was Advantix, a once-a-month topical treatment for dogs developed by Bayer. One of the active ingredients in Advantix is permethrin, a member of the family of synthetic chemicals called pyrethroids, which are similar to the potent natural pesticide pyrethrin produced from chrysanthemums. Permethrin is also used on crops and to treat head lice and scabies in humans, and it's found in popular home insect sprays.

But a groundbreaking new report by the Center for Public Integrity -- based on a decade's worth of adverse incident reports filed by pesticide manufacturers with the Environmental Protection Agency -- documents serious safety problems with permethrin and other pyrethroids:

An analysis of EPA data by the Center for Public Integrity ... shows that the number of reported human health problems, including severe reactions, attributed to pyrethrins and pyrethroids increased by about 300 percent over the past decade. A Center review of the past 10 years' worth of more than 90,000 adverse-reaction reports, filed with the EPA by pesticide manufacturers, found that pyrethrins and pyrethroids together accounted for more than 26 percent of all fatal, "major," and "moderate" human incidents in the United States in 2007, up from 15 percent in 1998. Although the number of fatalities was low -- about 20 from 2003 to 2007 -- the amount of moderate and serious incidents attributed to the group -- more than 6,000 -- is significantly greater than any other class of insecticide.

Accompanying its study, CPI has created a searchable database of pesticide incident reports based on EPA data that has not been public until now. Deemed one of the "10 Most Wanted Government Documents" by the Center for Democracy and Technology, the EPA's database was released to CPI earlier this year under the Freedom of Information Act.

It shows that in North Carolina there have been five reported incidents involving Advantix and moderate adverse effects on humans.

The EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs hadn't planned to examine the health effects of this class of chemicals until 2010, but it now says it will expedite the process.

N.C. lawmakers approve farmworker pesticide protection bill

We recently brought you the tragic story of Carlos Candelario, the severely deformed infant of a farmworker who had been exposed to pesticides by her employer, Florida-based Ag-Mart. He was one of several children with pesticide-related health problems born to company employees.

A state investigation eventually documented hundreds of violations of pesticide and worker protection standards at Ag-Mart tomato farms in North Carolina. While North Carolina officials cited the company for 369 pesticide violations on two farms and fined it $184,500, an administrative law judge slashed the fine to no more than $500. The state continues to fight that decision.

In a bit of a good news, state lawmakers this week approved legislation that aims to better protect farmworkers from such toxic threats. Senate Bill 847 requires the state Pesticide Board to create new rules improving record-keeping by farms. It also protects workers who report pesticide safety concerns from retaliation.

While she praises the bill's passage, Toxic Free NC Executive Director Fawn Pattison says there's more that needs to be done. Writing on her group's Fair Ground blog:

This is important legislation, and those who worked to pass it should be proud (particularly Rep. Dan Blue, Sen. Charlie Albertson, Health Director Leah Devlin and Governor Easley). But they also shouldn't be lulled into thinking that farmworkers and their families are now safe from harmful exposure to pesticides, or that a disastrous incident like what has been alleged in the Ag-Mart case couldn't happen again.

For information on the other kinds of pesticide protections Toxic Free NC would like to see for farmworkers, click here.

Immediate action needed on farmworker pesticide safety bill

As early as tomorrow, the N.C. House is expected to take up a bill that aims to better protect the state's farmworkers from pesticide exposure.

Introduced by Reps. Dan Blue and Grier Martin of Raleigh, the measure is a response to the tragic Ag-Mart case in which Carlos Candelario (pictured here) and other children born to employees of the company's tomato farms in North Carolina and Florida suffered severe birth defects. A state investigation found hundreds of violations of pesticide laws and worker protection standards at Ag-Mart farms.

Senate Bill 847, Prevent Agricultural Pesticide Exposure, would require better record-keeping when pesticides are used and workers are present. It would also prohibit employer retaliation against workers who report pesticide safety problems.

Toxic Free NC is asking supporters to take action by 1 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, July 3. For more on the bill and how to contact your representatives, click here.

(Palm Beach Post photo courtesy of Toxic Free NC website)