Toxic hit list shows Australians exposed to dangerous pesticides

The National Toxics Network  and WWF today released a list of Australia’s most dangerous pesticides, more than 80 of which are prohibited overseas because of the risks they pose to human health and the environment. The list includes 17 chemicals that are known, likely or probable carcinogens, and 48 chemicals flagged as having the potential to interfere with hormones. More than 20 have been classified as either extremely or highly hazardous by the World Health Organisation yet remain available for use on Australian farms.

Delegates hair survey reveals high levels of mercury

The first negotiating meeting for a global treaty to eliminate anthropogenic sources of mercury was recently held in Stockholm .  As part of their awareness raising activities, the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) released a report on mercury sampling of hair. All of the people negotiating a global treaty on mercury all had mercury in their hair, including the Swedish environment minister.

USA bans Endosulfan

The EPA is taking action to end all uses of endosulfan in the United States. The US EPA has concluded that endosulfan poses unacceptable risks to agricultural workers and wildlife, and can persist in the environment. EPA’s decision is based upon the most current information available and is founded in the principles of sound science.  New data and scientific peer review have improved the Agency’s assessment of worker risks and ecological risks from pesticides like endosulfan with persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic characteristics.

Read the US EPA’s Action to terminate Endosulfan

Endosulfan moves closer to global ban

Pesticide link to ADHD

“Children exposed to higher levels of pesticide found on commercially grown fruit and vegetables in the United States were more likely to have attention deficit/hyper-activity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published on Monday”.

Read the SMH article

Read the full study published in the journal Pediatrics

Environmentally induced cancers ‘grossly underestimated’

The US President’s Cancer Panel has released a landmark report of global importance which identifies a gaping hole in cancer research – environmentally induced cancers. According to the report, the Panel was particularly concerned to find that the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated. With nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market, many of which are used in everyday products, they expressed concern about the lack of adequate regulation and point out that many of these chemicals were ‘understudied’ before reaching the market. The public remain unaware of many common environmental carcinogens and they call on all governments to ensure citizens are protected from environmental pollutants.

Download the President’s Cancer Panel Report (large PDF)