Archive for 'Policy'
MCS groups in Spain to meet with Secretary of Health
Posted on Jan 26, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Disability Rights, Government Regulation, MCS, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins
A coalition of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Groups in Spain will meet with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health to discuss formal recognition of MCS.
Eva Caballé at NO FUN reports that a coalition of MCS groups in Spain will meet with the Secretary of the Ministry of Health on Feb. 4 to discuss the formal recognition of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as a physical illness. The groups also will ask that all people with MCS have the same rights as the other chronically ill people.
The meeting will be held on February 4th 2010 in the Ministry of Health. Mr José Martínez Olmos, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health and Mr Alberto Infante Campos, General Director of Professional Planning, Cohesion of SNS and High Inspection will attend to the meeting representing the Ministry of Health. Following the Ministry of Health instructions, one person by each MCS Association will attend to the meeting and a lawyer and a doctor specialized in MCS too.
David Palma is coordinating this process selflessly.
We are now working on petitions document that will be signed by all MCS associations. This document will be given to the Ministry during the meeting, along with medical information about MCS.
List of MCS associations that are part of this process:
* ACAF
* AFCISQUIM
* Alas de Mariposa
* ALTEA – SQM
* APQUIRA
* ASQUIFYDE
* AVASFASEM-AVASQ
* ENA
* MERCURIADOS
* PLATAFORMA PARA LA FM ,SFC, SQM, reivindicación de derechos, Asociación Nacional
Link to read more about Eva’s book.
Link to read about Eva’s essay in Delirio’s “Silence” issue.
Link to read about Eva’s essay in Delirio’s “Naked” issue.
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Environmental illness and disability law proposed in Italy
Posted on Dec 27, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Disability Rights, Government Regulation, MCS, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins, Worker's Rights
Silvia Müller at the Chemical Sensitivity Network wrote to tell me there’s an Italian law proposal for environmental illnesses and disability. The proposed law includes definitions of various environmental illnesses such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Electromagnetic Sensitivity, diagnosis and prevention guidelines, guidelines for health care professionals, building and planning rules, employment protections, and financial coverage.
This is really good news. We are seeing country after country enact these types of laws, most recently Germany and Japan. Getting these laws enforced is another story, but we should still celebrate this forward momentum toward global recognition of environmental illnesses, moving us closer to full rights given to those who need medical care, safe housing, financial, and other support.
MeP DOMENICO SCILIPOTI (IDV): “HOW TO HELP PEOPLE AFFECTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL DISABILITY”
PRESS RELEASE, Rome 21.dec.09
“In order to help people with Environmental Disabilities whose survival and quality of life depend not on drugs, but on avoiding certain environmental factors, today I presented a project of law about this issue”, comments On. Scilipoti. “The law is meant for environmentally triggered diseases such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), involving a loss of tolerance of chemicals, or Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), forcing the affected ones to get far from electromagnetic fields emitted by mobiles, Wi-Fi, electric cables, etc. But the law is also meant for genetic, metabolic, neurological or immunological disorders such as fibromyalgia or CFS (involving chemical intolerances) or favism, which gives serious reactions to legumes. Other cases of environmental disability are seen in autism, epilepsy, migraine and lupus that involve reactions to fluorescent lighting”. “It’s important to discuss this law as soon as possible in order to give an answer to these people”, Scilipoti concludes.
Link to read entire law proposal.
Thanks, Silvia!
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Change is coming on U.S. toxic chemical policy
Posted on Dec 09, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Government Regulation, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins
A great report today from the Huffington Post on the work currently being done in Washington DC to change toxic chemical policy.
While Afghanistan, the economy, Copenhagen and health care grabbed headlines this week, on December 2nd, Senators Frank Lautenberg and Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment & Public Works committee, held a hearing on an issue that could significantly influence three out of four of those big ticket items. That issue is chemicals – the synthetic and industrial chemicals, largely petrochemical in origin that permeate every aspect of our lives – and the inadequacies of TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act), the primary law aimed at protecting Americans from chemical hazards.
The report also covers introduction of the Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009 by Senator John Kerry and Representative Jim Moran. The Environmental Working Group’s study is included as reference (they are doing God’s work in my opinion). EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has called for increased research and development of safer chemicals through green chemistry. Coinciding with the Senate hearing was a statement signed by 13 states also calling for TSCA reform.
The coming changes might not impact the lives of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in real time, but the current paradigm on chemical policy, the one that got most of us sick in the first place, is about to get trounced.
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Government to improve regulation of toxic chemicals
Posted on Oct 14, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Government Regulation, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins
EPA director presents new guidelines to improve regulation of toxic chemicals.
The Michigan Messenger reports momentum builds for tighter regulation of industrial chemicals; health care providers say reform of chemical regulation is key to creating public health system.
In a recent policy speech, Lisa Jackson, director of the Environmental Protection agency, called the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act an “inadequate tool” and presented a set of guidelines that she said should steer efforts to improve regulation of chemicals. Environmental health activists, representatives of the American Nurses Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Clean Water Action are urging the EPA to use biomonitoring data — data gleaned from screening certain demographics for chemicals in blood and urine — as a guide in prioritizing its investigation of chemical safety.
The Michigan Messenger reports on the EPA announcement from their state’s perspective:
New chemical regulations could have special meaning in Michigan. Midland-based Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), the nation’s largest chemical company, is in negotiations with EPA officials over how to handle the company’s widespread contamination of the state’s largest watershed with industrial chemicals. In the Midland area, and in other industrial and post-industrial sites around the state, people are burdened with historic chemical contamination in the environment as they also encounter new chemicals in everyday items [emphasis added].
Unlike pharmaceutical chemicals, which are often only available by prescription and only after they are evaluated for safety by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and manufacturers are required to divulge information about possible side effects, industrial chemicals — found in plastics, food packaging, cleaning products, building materials, furniture, medical supplies and a host of consumer products — are generally not reviewed for safety by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“[W]e need to review all chemicals against safety standards that are based solely on considerations of risk — not economics or other factors ,” Jackson said, “[A]nd we must set these standards at levels that are protective of human health and the environment.
Although more than 80,000 chemicals have been manufactured, since the 1976 enactment of the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA has only declared five unsafe.
The article explains well the problems in current chemical regulations. Given the weak federal protections, states were pretty much left on their own to strengthen the most problematic of health and environmental toxicity. We saw this when California recently initiated the first of its kind state-level chemical oversight program. The article makes the case for using the new momentum initiated by the EPA to strengthen chemical regulations at both state and federal levels.
I don’t think any of this current activity is going to bring tangible relief to those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Both policy reform and biomonitoring initiatives are first looking at the most egregious offenders, already backed by solid science as being harmful — such as lead, Bisphenol A, mercury, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and triclosan — not necessarily the most common household chemicals that can make our lives a living hell on a daily basis. But there are trends moving in our favor in toxic chemical regulation reform and also with breakthroughs in green chemistry. Again, perhaps not activity that will bring people with MCS relief in the near future, but nonetheless positive activity when looking at “cause” of our illness.
It’s wise to remember while watching trends that government regulations do not truly change corporate practices in a systemic manner until consumers demand it. So keep doing what canaries do best: educate, educate, educate. Live by example. Continue sparking discussion and debate about toxic chemicals with your friends, family, employers, landlords and elected officials. It’s a tough job, especially when struggling with chronic illness, but it’s always tough for people ahead of the curve on medical, social and economic change. Hang in there and be aware that there are forces out there finally taking a look at toxic chemical regulation reform.
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Stand with President Obama on health care reform
Posted on Jul 21, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Policy, Social Justice, Susie Collins
The Principles
President Obama has announced three bedrock requirements for real health care reform:
* Reduce Costs — Rising health care costs are crushing the budgets of governments, businesses, individuals and families and they must be brought under control
* Guarantee Choice — Every American must have the freedom to choose their plan and doctor – including the choice of a public insurance option
* Ensure Quality Care for All — All Americans must have quality and affordable health care
Stand with the President! Click here to declare your support.
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Australia: Comments to Draft Report on MCS are released
Posted on May 20, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Policy, Susie Collins
Australian government releases comments made to the Draft Report on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
In 2008, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) and the Office of Chemical Safety and Environmental Health (OCSEH) prepared a draft report on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) entitled “A Scientific Review of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Identifying Key Research Needs.”
Consistent with the process for finalizing a scientific report, the Draft MCS Report was released for a three-month period for public comment from November 3, 2008. Fifty-three submissions were received from this call for comments. Most of these comments have just been released for public view; some were withheld due to lack of permission from the commentors to publish.
The initial report was heavily weighted towards the theory that MCS is psychosomatic in cause. The majority of commenters challenge this position. Submissions are from patients, activists, and researchers.
It is hoped that the final report will weigh more accurately on the current scientific literature on MCS and present useful information for sufferers of MCS and health care providers.
There is some good reading in here, particularly among the submissions challenging the draft report.
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Multiple Chemical Sensitivity – Submissions to the Draft Report — this is the document with the submitted comments.
Intro adapted from a widely circulating email in the global MCS community.
Thanks, Linda!
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Vilsack surprises critics
Posted on May 02, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Policy
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack adds a garden at the USDA and asked all USDA offices to put in gardens, too.
The Demoines Register reports Tom Vilsack’s approach as ag secretary surprises critics.
Washington, D.C. – The World War II-era poster that faces Tom Vilsack’s desk should provide a clue that he may not be the kind of agriculture secretary expected of a former governor of Iowa, the land of big, high-tech grain and hog farms.
The poster says: “Let’s All Grow Vegetables.”
In his first 100 days in office, Vilsack has surprised his early detractors, who feared he would be too close to agribusiness.
In what is supposed to be a symbol of the Obama administration’s new priorities, Vilsack started an organic vegetable garden in front of the Agriculture Department near one of the more prominent spots for tourists in Washington, the subway stop that serves the Smithsonian museums.
In another key move, Kathleen Merrigan, a university professor who helped create the national program for certifying organic food, was installed as deputy secretary at the USDA.
Vilsack also demonstrated an early willingness to take on the USDA’s traditional constituency among conventional farm interests. He called meatpackers in and told them to adhere to more strict procedures for labeling pork and beef from foreign sources, and he pitched a proposed cut in farm subsidies as vital to funding better nutrition for poor children.
“He has a much broader understanding of agriculture and food systems than I think some of his critics had expected,” said Ben Lilliston of the Institute for Agriculture and Food Policy, a group that advocates a shift to smaller-scale, diversified farms that rely less on chemical inputs and biotechnology.
Lilliston said the USDA’s organic garden is a powerful symbol showing that the department now “recognizes and values the importance of people growing their own food and connecting with food in a deeper way.”
Link to full story at The Demoines Register.
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EPA recognizes impact of greenhouse gasses on public health
Posted on Apr 22, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Policy
At long last, the Environmental Protection Agency says greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endanger public health and welfare.
The Wonk Room reports that after years of delay, EPA now recognizes Global Warming Pollution Endangers ‘Health And Welfare’ Of American Public.
The proposed endangerment finding is now available:
The [EPA] Administrator concludes that, in the circumstances presented here, the case for finding that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endanger public health and welfare is compelling and, indeed, overwhelming. The scientific evidence described here is the product of decades of research by thousands of scientists from the U.S. and around the world. The evidence points ineluctably to the conclusion that climate change is upon us as a result of greenhouse gas emissions, that climatic changes are already occurring that harm our health and welfare, and that the effects will only worsen over time in the absence of regulatory action. The effects of climate change on public health include sickness and death. It is hard to imagine any understanding of public health that would exclude these consequences. The effects on welfare embrace every category of effect described in the Clean Air Act’s definition of “welfare” and, more broadly, virtually every facet of the living world around us.
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Leading research group asks you to get political
Posted on Apr 22, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Policy
Environmental Working Group wants us to fight the good fight against chemical companies influencing the nation’s chemical policies.
An Earth Day message from the Environmental Working Group:
Dear Supporter,
We work to provide useful, science-based information to help you safeguard your family from environmental hazards.
We also work to reform federal policy on toxic chemicals so that the Earth is a cleaner, safer place for us all.
Please join us in celebration of Earth Day by changing how you live, then by letting government know that you want better protection from chemical pollution.
Make a personal change:
- Switch to earth-friendly light bulbs. Start with our Green Lighting Guide to identify which energy-efficient bulbs have the least mercury, where in your home they should go and how to use them safely.
- Eat organic when you can. Put our Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in your wallet or on your iPhone (now!) so you can eat organic without breaking the bank.
- Do that dusting. Pets and young children are the most vulnerable to dust-bound pollutants, but cleaning your home is free, easy, and everyone benefits from cleaner indoor air.
Get political:
- Ask the Energy Star program to reduce mercury in compact fluorescent light bulbs. The program requirements lag behind industry advancements; Energy Star should lead, not follow. Click here to email the Energy Star program director.
- Tell the EPA to set a truly health-protective safety standard for perchlorate in drinking water. Perchlorate is known to interfere with thyroid hormones essential for brain development, so it poses particular risks to the fetus, infants and young children. Click here to send your message to the EPA.
Support EWG so we can get political:
We need your help to counter to the chemical industry’s busy and well-funded lobbyists. Without financial support from donors like you, the nation’s chemical policies will be more heavily influenced by chemical companies than the health interests of you, me and our families.
Click here to support our advocacy work today – so we can get political together.
Let’s make meaningful progress this Earth Day.
In partnership,
Ken Cook
President, Environmental Working Group
Learn more about EWG’s project on the Kid Safe Chemical Act.
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International Neurotoxicity Risk Assessment
Posted on Apr 19, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Policy, Research
Environmental Health Criteria
NEUROTOXICITY RISK ASSESSMENT FOR HUMAN HEALTH: PRINCIPLES AND APPROACHES
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US House examines chemical reform
Posted on Feb 26, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Policy
Congressional hearing held today may signal the beginning of the end of a federal policy that has made it all but impossible for the government to protect the public health from toxic industrial chemicals.
The Environmental Working Group reports the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection convened a hearing today to focus on the failed federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The shortcomings of TSCA are well-known. Under the law, the EPA approves an average of 700 new chemicals for commercial use each year with or without safety tests. The agency has required testing for fewer than 200 of the 62,000 chemicals grandfathered in and presumed safe by TSCA and has banned or restricted just five chemicals. TSCA is the only major environmental and public health law that has never been modernized and is widely considered to be the weakest.
Last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) included reforming TSCA in its 2009 “high risk” priority list, indicating it is a must-do for the Obama administration.
From her first days as EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson has recognized the need for fundamental changes to the program housed within EPA.
“It is clear that we are not doing an adequate job of assessing and managing the risks of chemicals in consumer products, the workplace and the environment,” Jackson said in a memo to EPA employees on January 23, 2009.
“It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs.”
Link to full report at the Environmental Working Group.
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U.S. government poised to overhaul chemical policy
Posted on Jan 26, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Policy, Products
Transforming the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to prevent toxic chemicals from causing human illness and environmental damage is now a high priority.
Yesterday, I reported on the U.S. General Accountability Office audit that found the Environmental Protection Agency a failure on U.S. chemical policy. “It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs,” said Lisa Jackson, new head of the EPA, in response to the GAO report.
Today, Enviroblog at the Environmental Working Group reports on the details of the audit, which included placing as a high priority “transforming the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to prevent toxic chemicals from causing human illness and environmental damage.” The Enviroblog post also presses for more comprehensive action to protect public health, calling for passage of the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act.
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Audit finds EPA a failure on chemicals
Posted on Jan 25, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Policy, Research
Assessment of toxic risks inadequate, says new chief
Warning: Chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long-term health effects, including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government promised to test these chemicals. It still hasn’t.
The Journal Sentinel reports a government audit found the EPA a dismal failure at protecting the public and the environment from toxic chemicals. The administration’s new chief says it’s time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to assess toxic chemicals is as broken as the nation’s financial markets and needs a total overhaul, a congressional audit has found.
The Government Accountability Office has released a report saying the EPA lacks even basic information to say whether chemicals pose substantial health risks to the public. It says actions are needed to streamline and increase the transparency of the EPA’s registry of chemicals. And it calls for measures to enhance the agency’s ability to obtain health and safety information from the chemical industry.
Lisa Jackson, the EPA’s new administrator, promised to take the report under consideration.
“It is clear that we are not doing an adequate job of assessing and managing the risks of chemicals in consumer products, the workplace and the environment,” Jackson said in a prepared statement Friday. “It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs.”
The Journal Sentinel has chronicled the failure of the EPA to disclose information about toxic chemicals in its series, “Chemical Fallout,” which began in 2007. Last month, the newspaper reported that the agency routinely allows companies to keep new information about their chemicals secret, including compounds that have been shown to cause cancer and respiratory problems.
Earlier in 2008, the Journal Sentinel revealed that the EPA’s Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program, which relies on companies to provide information about the dangers of the chemicals they produce, is all but dead. And it disclosed that the agency’s program to screen chemicals that damage the endocrine system had failed to screen a single chemical more than 10 years after the program was launched.
Health and environmental advocates pounced on the GAO’s findings as proof that the EPA has been shirking its responsibilities for years.
“This just shows that the EPA is not any better able to protect Americans from risky chemicals than FEMA was to save New Orleans or the SEC was to cope with the financial collapse,” said John Peterson Myers, a scientist and author who has been writing about chemical risks to human health for more than three decades.
For the EPA to be compared to the collapsed financial markets dramatically underscores the need for a complete overhaul of the regulation of toxic chemicals, said Richard Wiles, executive director of Environmental Working Group, a health watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C.
“The EPA joins the hall of shame of failed government programs,” Wiles said.
Link to full report at the Journal Sentinel
Thanks, Linda!
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EU Parliament votes to ban pesticides
Posted on Jan 16, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Policy
If turned into law, the tighter rules would be phased in from next year with the aim of halving toxic substances on plants by 2013.
The European Union regulation places tight curbs on crop-spraying, bans the use of pesticides near schools and hospitals, and proscribes 22 chemicals, some said to be carcinogenic. This is the kind of change in policy that will start to shift the chemical pesticides paradigm throughout the world.
Beyond Pesticides reports:
On January 13, the European Parliament adopted a pesticide regulation to phase out hazardous pesticides across the European Union.
According to the EU, “The new legislation will increase the protection of human health and the environment, will lead to a better protection of agricultural production and will extend and deepen the single market of plant protection products.”
The EU stated: “The new Regulation confirms the importance that the European Commission gives to a high level of protection of human health and the environment, while at the same time harmonises further the availability of plant protection products. Moreover it intends to favour competition and reduce administrative burden for all stakeholders.”
The EU’s approach to pesticide regulation moves it rules to a hazard-based, rather than a risk-based, system.
The proposal would push farmers and chemical companies to replace the most toxic products with alternatives, remove provisional licenses for pesticides not yet registered with the EU, restrict the use of crop-dusters, and ban pesticides near sensitive areas.
“One of the main aims of the proposal is to maintain a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment. This is essential for our citizens,” said EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, who advocated for this ban in May 2008. “We will not authorize what is known to be harmful for public health.”
Link to full report at Beyond Pesticides.
Photo by florriebassingbourn, England. Butterfly in a organic veg box.
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Pesticide exposure kills elderly woman
Posted on Jan 04, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Policy, Products
EPA files complaint three years later; federal pesticide law limits the penalty EPA can seek to a maximum of $4,550.
(Beyond Pesticides) The U.S. EPA has filed an administrative complaint, seeking a maximum penalty of only $4,550, against a pest control company that sprayed pesticides in a couple’s home, causing the wife to die shortly thereafter. It has been more than three years since the incident took place in Florence, Oregon.
Swanson’s Pest Management of Eugene, Oregon sent an employee to a home on June 29, 2005 to apply Conquer Residential Insecticide Concentrate, active ingredient esfenvalerate, and ULD BP-100 Contact Insecticide, active ingredient pyrethrin. The couple returned to their home two and a half hours later and immediately fell to the ground due to the fumes. Paramedics were called in and they too experienced respiratory distress or became ill when they entered the treated home. According to The Oregonian, Florence Kolbeck was 76 years old and died of cardiac arrest as a result of the exposure. Her husband, Fred, was hospitalized for respiratory distress.
The complaint was filed following a review of Swanson’s use of the two pesticides, finding that the company failed to properly ventilate the home prior to the occupants re-entering, and improperly applied Conquer as a “space spray” at nearly three times the allowable rate. All of which are violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The U.S. EPA complaint also contains alleged violations pertaining to an application at another residence that took place prior to the application that led to the women’s death. In this case, the applicator allegedly used the same tank mix of pesticides, though no adverse health affects were reported.
A 2006 article in the Seattle Times reported that Swanson’s general manager, Steve Fisher, “said his review of the case showed that the technician sprayed the home as he normally would… ‘Unfortunate things happen in just about every walk of life.’”
This past March, Fred Kolbeck settled a $2.5 million lawsuit against Swanson’s for an undisclosed amount, according to The Oregonian.
Swanson’s has 30 days from the day they received the U.S. EPA complaint to either arrange a settlement conference, file an answer to the Complaint, or pay the proposed penalty. Swanson’s operation manager, Joan Jensen told The Oregonian, “that the EPA’s allegations are not accurate” and that the “negotiations with the agency are ongoing.”
According to EPA, “The consequences of Swanson’s alleged violations were extremely serious,” yet the federal pesticide law limits the penalty EPA can seek to a maximum of $4,550.
With the phase-out of most residential uses of the common organophosphate insecticides, chlorpyrifos and diazinon, home use of pyrethrins and pyrethroids, such as the ones applied at the Kolbeck home, has increased. According to a 2008 report, pyrethrins and pyrethroids were responsible for more than 26 percent of all major and moderate human incidents involving pesticides in the United States in 2007, up from just 15 percent in 1998 – a 67 percent increase. This is based on an analysis of adverse reaction reports filed with the Environmental Protection Agency by pesticide manufacturers.
While pyrethroids have been characterized as less toxic than organophosphates, the number of reported human health problems, including severe reactions and even deaths attributed to pesticides containing pyrethrins and pyrethroids, increased from 261 in 1998 to 1,030 in 2007, nearly a 300 percent increase. Pyrethrins and pyrethroids account for more incidents than any other class of pesticide over the last five years. EPA data shows at least 50 deaths attributed to this supposedly safer class of pesticides since 1992.
Pesticide products containing synthetic pyrethroids are often described by pest control operators as “safe as chrysanthemum flowers.” While pyrethroids are a synthetic version of an extract from the chyrsanthemum plant, they are chemically engineered to be more toxic, take longer to breakdown, and are often formulated with synergists, increasing potency and compromising the human body’s ability to detoxify the pesticide. Pyrethroids may affect neurological development, disrupt hormones, induce cancer, and suppress the immune system. Researchers at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) find that residential pesticide use represents the most important risk factor for children’s exposure to pyrethroid insecticides.
There are clear established methods for managing homes that prevent infestation of unwanted insects without the use of synthetic chemicals, including exclusion techniques, sanitation and maintenance practices, as well as mechanical and least toxic controls (which include boric acid and diatomaceous earth). Based on the host of health effects linked to pesticides, their use in the home is hazardous and unnecessary. Most pest problems can be solved without toxic pesticides, through sanitation, proper storage of food and trash, exclusion (sealing entryways), traps and non-volatile baits. For detailed information on preventing specific pests, see Beyond Pesticides’ Alternatives Factsheets.
For more information on the details of the Kolbeck/Swanson incident and the issues surrounding ventilation after a pesticide application, click here.
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Welcome to The Canary Report!
The Canary Report is a blog and social network about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.
We compassionately bring you unfiltered and uncensored news and information you can trust directly from the source: people who have MCS. Dedicated to sharing, supporting, and inspiring with the Aloha Spirit, The Canary Report gives all canaries a voice. Come join us!
Aloha,
Susie Collins
Founder and Contributing Editor
Hilo, Hawaii
Let’s Connect on the Social Web
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Why I boycott Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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The Canary Report releases its 2010 wall calendar
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The false promise of miracle cures for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
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Warning: Avoid ozone generating air machines
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The dangers of aroma technology
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A statement from Lourdes Salvador about recent ad hominem attacks on Facebook
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DIY: Skip the chemicals, get a buzz
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The naked truth about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
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Perfume blogger dismisses concerns from a member of our community
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International Multiple Chemical Sensitivity awareness project is launched
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