May 2004
Pesticide Potpourri
Tests by France’s corn growers association (AGPM) have shown that bioengineered corn can be cultivated alongside conventional varieties with almost no cross contamination. Presenting the results of the two-year study, AGPM reported that it had managed to keep the two corn varieties separate along the supply chain from field to customer. The group stated that the results demonstrated it is possible to manage the co-existence of growing both types of corn and that it is compatible with European Union rules. Only a small amount of conventional corn broke the EU threshold of 0.9% for biotech labeling, and extra cost of segregation was estimated at between 2.5 and 5 percent. (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 4/26/04).
KT Industries LLC has announced the availability of DeckSTRIP ChildSAFE, an adhesive-backed deck carpeting that can substantially reduce exposures to arsenic in pressure-treated wood. The carpet sits on a layer of foil that is sandwiched between layers of adhesive. The foil keeps the chemicals from leaching up through the carpet and prevents water and sun from penetrating and degrading the wood. The material comes in five shades, dark and light gray, dark and light brown, and sage green. The company said that product applied ten years ago is still working. More information is available at: DeckSTRIP.com. (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 4/12/04).
Reportedly responding to calls from activist and peasant groups, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez Frias announced in mid April that a cooperative effort between that country and Monsanto would be canceled. The President cited food sovereignty and security - as required by that country’s constitution - as the basis for his decision. Now the half million acres will be planted with cassava, rather than Roundup® Ready soybeans. The peasant organization still wants a blanket ban from the government regarding biotech cultivation. (Vheadline.com via Agnet, 4/21/04; Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 5/3/04).
European starlings cause millions of dollars damage to crops each year in the province of British Columbia. In Okanagan-Similkameen alone, it's estimated the birds inflict about $3 million in losses to the fruit and grape industry. However, a two-year pilot trapping program launched through B.C. Tree Fruits has put a big dent in the starling population in the Okanagan-Similkameen area. Robert Quaedvlieg, of Keremeos, estimates he trapped about 9,500 starlings in the Similkameen Valley last year, and helped capture another 5,000 starlings in the Oliver area. This spring, another 6,500 starlings have been trapped at a South Okanagan cattle feedlot. Control efforts have resulted in an estimated 90 per cent drop in the local starling population. Only 297 starlings were counted in the annual Similkameen Valley bird count in January, compared to a few thousand the year before. As their name suggests, European starlings are not native to North America. In addition to crop damage, they also compete with local species of birds. (Penticton Herald via Agnet, 4/27/04).
The great state of California cultivates a lot of fruits and nuts - as everyone knows. The good folks at the California Department of Pesticide Registration put together a list of “interesting occurrences” at the beginning of April. None of the following cases resulted in death, although most people required medical treatment.
- A Contra Costa homeowner discovered sewer rats were entering his home through a toilet. He bought an incendiary device intended for gophers and other burrowing pests, and dropped it down a plumbing vent on his roof. The device melted a plastic elbow in the pipe and the roof caught fire, causing $80,000 in damage before firefighters could extinguish the blaze.
- A Riverside County woman set off four foggers in her 1,000-square-foot apartment (about three cans more than the recommended application) and left the residence (as the label instructed), only to reenter several times to pick up things she had forgotten. She began to experience dizziness, nausea, and cramps, so she called 911. Upon arrival, a paramedic attempted to retrieve the fogger without wearing a respiratory protection device, and he too became ill.
- In Stanislaus County, a 38-year-old woman found a home remedy for head lice on the Web. She then applied eight ounces of dog flea-and-tick shampoo and olive oil to her scalp, and wrapped her head in cellophane for five hours. Her scalp began to itch and burn. She felt shaky and also experienced nausea and drooling,
- In San Joaquin County, a 23-year-old man spotted a fly on his beer can, and sprayed an insecticide on the can. Later, as he drank from the can, his lips began to tingle.
- An 18-year-old Lassen County resident sprayed half a can of outdoor-use insecticide in his bedroom, then went to sleep. He awoke with nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and other symptoms. He denied his sister's allegation that he was sniffing the insecticide.
- A Placer County man was spraying his yard with the insecticide diazinon when he stopped for a chew of tobacco, placing the wad into his mouth with an unwashed hand. He began vomiting, salivating, and experienced shortness of breath.
- A Sonoma County apartment resident sprayed three aerosol cans of lice treatment on his bed, then went to sleep. He awoke the next morning with a headache, nausea, and vomiting. He did not read or follow the product label directions and told investigators he assumed the more he used, the more effective it would be.
- In Los Angeles County, a woman diluted bleach in a cup to clean it, then forgot about it and went to bed. The next morning, she warmed the cup of liquid and took a sip before remembering the cup contained bleach. In a similar incident, a Sonoma homeowner left a cup of bleach solution that she had used for cleaning on her bathroom counter. She got up at midnight and drank from the cup. Her throat began to burn and she vomited.
- A Tuloumne County homeowner tried to kill a spider in a cupboard by spraying it with insecticide. The woman then stuck her head in the cupboard to determine if the spider was dead. She began coughing and vomiting from the fumes. In a similar case, in San Joaquin County, a man stuck his head inside a cupboard to determine if the insecticide he had sprayed on ants was working. He developed a mild headache, dizziness, and respiratory symptoms.
- A San Francisco physician over-treated his closet with mothballs. When he wore clothes from the closet, he began to feel dizzy, nauseated, and suffered loss of muscular coordination. The first time, he recovered in fresh air. The second time, he went to an emergency room and was hospitalized overnight to rule out a stroke before the problem was traced to excessive mothball fumes.
