Archived studies and news reports that expand the scope of Environment & Human Health, Inc.'s (EHHI) research reports about health and the environment.
Risks from Lawn-Care Pesticides
Atrazine found in lakes far from farm sources
The herbicide, apparently carried by wind and rain, is turning up far from farm country, in pristine lakes in northern Minnesota. One of the most widely applied herbicides in North America, atrazine is used mainly to control weeds in cornfields. Click here for full story.
Canadian province bans weed and feed lawn products
Alberta announced a ban on herbicide-fertilizer combination products. Known most commonly as weed and feed, the products contain a chemical called 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) that is "highly mobile" when it runs off lawns into storm drainage systems and subsequently drains into creeks and rivers. Click here for full story.
Rats are fat after long-term exposure to lower levels of atrazine
Much of the water in the Midwest is contaminated with the agricultural pesticide atrazine. A new study in Environmental Health News suggests a mechanism to explain prior studies that found high prevalence of obesity in areas of the United States with heavy atrazine use. This study also shows that high-dose experiments do not predict low-dose results, which calls into question many federal safety standards presumed to protect human health. Click here for news story.
EPA announces plan to require disclosure of secret pesticide ingredients
Reversing its policy of the last decade, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will now require pesticide manufacturers to publicly disclose inert ingredients in pesticide products. Nearly 4,000 inerts—including several hundred that are considered hazardous under other federal rulea—are used in agricultural and residential pesticides. Although some secret ingredients are toxic, manufacturers have not been required to identify them on pesticide labels. Click here for news stry.
