News tagged with 'Pesticides'

Triclosan is everywhere, put into everything from pajamas to toothpaste, toys and trash bags as an antimicrobial agent. And consumers love to buy anything that fights germs. Now with the encouragement of environmental groups, triclosan is being reviewed by the FDA with a skeptical eye as an endocrine disruptor, a pollutant, and contributor to antibiotic resistance.

The CDC tracked deaths and injuries among young workers on the job and finds they have twice the injury rate of older workers. 5,719 died in jobs such as heavy machinery, fast food, and farm work.

The EPA plans on tightening requirements or labeling on pet flea and tick treatments after 44,000 adverse reactions were reported in 2008.

"Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite"- used to be a mildly amusing way to put kids to sleep. Today it's likely to make their skin crawl. Literally. The problem is emerging worldwide to the extent that the EPA is holding a two-day summit on the pesty little red biting bugs. 

Amphibians are being killed by a cocktail of common pesticides that blend downstream. They are considered a foreshadow of human harm. In the meantime, the USDA has stopped issuing reports of national pesticide use, saving $8 million.

A nicotine-based pesticide, neonicotinoid, may explain the collapse of bee colonies. The insecticides, made by Bayer and Syngenta, move through a plant’s vascular system.  Bees pick up the pollen from the plants, which may impact their immune system and behavior.  Billions in agriculture, such as fruits and nuts, are at stake.

The Center for Public Integrity has just published "Perils of the New Pesticides," an investigation into a decade of EPA adverse reaction reports on pyrethrins, which come from chrysanthemums. You may reach for bug spray with pyrethrins this holiday weekend, assuming it's safe, but CPI uncovers thousands of adverse health reports and 50 deaths. 

Summertime, the warm summer weather welcomes fun in the sun, barbeques and pool parties but it also brings out the pesky bugs. Did you know you can remove a bee stinger with a credit card?  

For the first time in this study, researchers have found those exposed to pesticides and insecticides had a 1.6 times higher risk of developing Parkinson’s when compared to their relatives with no or low exposure.  Also the loss of a sense of smell is a consistent predictor of PD.