- A comprehensive survey of more than 1,300 Americans has
found traces of weed- and bug-killers in the bodies of everyone tested,
leading environmentalists in both Canada and the United States to call
for far tighter controls on pesticides.
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- The survey, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, found that the body of the average American contained
13 of these chemicals.
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- A surprising finding was that 99 per cent of Americans,
including virtually all children born in recent years, had DDT residues.
The use of the insecticide has been subject to controls and outright bans
since the late 1960s, and its presence indicates how persistent it is in
the general environment.
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- More than half of those tested also had residues of 2,4-D.
The lawn herbicide is controversial in Canada, where its use has been targeted
by dozens of municipal bans on the cosmetic use of herbicides.
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- The finding of widespread pesticide exposure suggests
that, despite the trend to the increased consumption of organic food and
intense regulation of the pesticide industry, the U.S. public is routinely
coming into contact with these substances through the environment and food.
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- "The fact that Americans are carrying a mixture
of toxic pesticides suggests a dramatic failure of government efforts in
the U.S. to protect public health and safety," contended Andrea Peart,
a spokesperson for the Sierra Club of Canada.
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- Health authorities in Canada have done no comparable
survey on the amount of pesticides in Canadians. A spokeswoman for Health
Canada, Catherine Saunders, says the agency relies on the U.S. data to
estimate what Canadians may have in their bodies.
-
- She said Health Canada is currently proposing to have
some pesticide measurements done as part of a Statistics Canada survey
on the health of Canadians, but that research won't be available until
2006-2007.
-
- Without detailed studies, there is no way of knowing
if Canadians are as heavily contaminated as Americans, or have lower amounts
of pesticides in their bodies. "I think the logical question . . .
is are we going to find these same results in Canada?" said Ms. Peart.
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- The levels of pesticides found in Americans were generally
small. The DDT residues were detected in parts per billion, with the highest
readings in women. Women generally have more fatty tissue than men and
DDT is stored in fat.
-
- But environmentalists have raised concerns that some
residues exceed safety standards. Pesticide Action Network North America
analyzed the U.S. exposure data and determined that for two insecticides
-- chlorpyrifos and methyl parathion -- exposures exceeded acceptable thresholds,
in one case, by more than four times the amount recommended for children.
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- Canadian health authorities believe Canadians may have
smaller amounts of the two compounds in their bodies.
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- Health Canada has been concerned by chlorpyrifos exposure
in children, and banned residential uses of the insecticide in 2001 for
this reason, according to Chris Krepski, a spokesman for Health Canada's
Pest Management Regulatory Agency. However, the pesticide is still in widespread
use on food crops.
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- Chlorpyrifos is in a class of pesticides known as organophosphates,
over which there is considerable concern about potential health effects.
Organophosphates disrupt nerve impulses and some research suggests they
may harm brain development.
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- Although the PMRA has banned the use of the product around
homes, Canadians could still have exposures because chlorpyrifos can be
used on 30 crops, including wheat, peaches and strawberries. The crop list
in Canada is generally the same as in the United States.
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- Methyl parathion is used heavily in the United States
to kill insects on cotton crops, but is not licensed for use in Canada.
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- Danger within
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- A recent study of over 1,300 Americans found widespread
evidence of pesticides in their systems. Below are some pesticides and
the percentage of those tested in whom they were found.
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- TCP or chlorpyrifos Licensed for agricultural use in
Canada, but was recently banned for use around homes: 93%
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- 2,4-D Active ingredient in most lawn herbicides; subject
to bans in many Canadian municipalities: 55%
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- DDE A breakdown product of DDT; persists in people's
bodies despite having been banned for decades: 99%
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- © Copyright 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc.
All Rights Reserved. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040521.
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