New Pesticide Threatens Birds
From WWF Conservation Action Network, forwarded by Jane Clark at
[log in to unmask] I received information about this sometime ago and
that information is copied below.
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Within a few weeks, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency will decide whether to permit cotton growers to use a
dangerous new pesticide. Chlorfenapyr has been shown to last
for long periods in soil, be acutely toxic to wildlife, and cause
reproductive problems in birds-including causing fewer eggs
to be laid, fewer embryos to be viable, and fewer normal birds
to hatch. At risk are more than 50 species of birds, including
northern cardinals, blue grosbeaks, brown thrashers, and
migratory species such as Swainson's hawks that are known to
use cotton fields. The new pesticide has physical properties
similar to chemicals that have been banned by the EPA-like
PCBs and DDT. Permitting its use on cotton may open the
door to later use on citrus fruit, vegetables, and in homes.
Please join WWF and a dozen other conservation organizations
in working to prevent a new generation of toxic and persistent
pesticides from entering into production and use. Send a free
message to Carol Browner, the Administrator of the EPA,
urging her not to authorize use of chlorfenapyr. If you are
from the cotton-growing states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana,
and Mississippi, you can also send the same message to your
senators.
To take action, go to
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org and click on "Your Personal
Action Center." Please act today.
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Tuesday, June 29, 1999
Subject: EPA approves toxic spray
Cotton spraying - Mississippi is asking the federal government for
permission to allow cotton farmers to use a chemical which is illegal in
the rest of the nation, USA Today reports. They want to use the spray
Chlorfenapryr, known commercially as Pirate, on 750,000 acres this year.
The American Bird Conservancy says the chemical is second only to DDT in
causing harm to birds. DDT was banned in 1972 because it caused havoc to
the bird population.
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1999/06/062499/bytes24_3966.asp
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Bald Eagle Makes Comeback, Others May Not Be So Lucky
EarthVision Reports
06/23/99
WASHINGTON, June 23, 1999 - While one part of the US federal government was
trumpeting the fact that the Bald Eagle is set to come off of the
endangered species list, another part was busy granting approval for the
limited use of a pesticide acknowledged as "one of the most reproductively
toxic pesticides to avian species." The Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) approval for the use of the pesticide chlorfenapyr to control pests
on as much as 750,000 acres of cotton has some government scientists
fearing for migratory birds.
A Washington Post article reveals that conservationists and officials at
the US Fish and Wildlife Service are not pleased with EPA's
decision to permit the use of the chemical to control the beet army worm
and other cotton pests.
It is not that EPA doesn't think the chemical is dangerous. Chlorfenapyr
has been characterized by EPA as "one of the most reproductively toxic
pesticides to avian species that Environmental Fate and Effects Division
has evaluated." EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs notes that the use of
chlorfenapyr on cotton meets the Food Quality Protection Act standard of a
"reasonable certainty of no harm" with respect to human health. But it
continues by saying, "However, chlorfenapyr appears to be persistent in the
environment, and studies show a potential adverse impact to wildlife,
particularly birds."
According to EPA, chlorfenapyr belongs to a new class of chemical called
"pyrroles," which have never before been registered by the Agency. When
metabolized, it acts on the cell's mitochondria (cellular "powerplants")
and disrupts production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), leading to cell
death and, ultimately, death of the affected organism.
The Pesticide Action Network,an organization that has campaigned to replace
pesticides with ecologically sound alternatives since 1982, notes that the
following ecological concerns are detailed in the EPA risk assessment:
In a chronic reproductive study of mallards, declines were seen in number
of eggs laid (-41%), number of viable embryos (-44%), and number of normal
hatchlings (-56%). A decrease in body weight of adult males and females
(males: -14%; females -15%) was also evident and in females appeared in the
first few weeks of exposure.
American Cyanamid's (the pesticide's manufacturer) testing shows
chlorfenapyr to be persistent in soils, with a half-life of one or more
years. Applications made to the same fields in consecutive years can result
in a build-up in the soil to as much 2.5 times the annual application rate.
Such persisting residues could contribute to levels of dietary exposure
higher than those suggested by a single year of application.
Chlorfenapyr residues are found in avian food items including weed seeds,
insects and foliage. Levels of chlorfenapyr in avian diets may be as much
as 68 times higher than the EPA threshold for reproductive effects, and EPA
states that these toxicological thresholds may be exceeded for up to five
weeks after initial application to cotton crops.
The timing of chlorfenapyr applications coincides with critical
reproductive events for most, if not all, of the more than 50 avian species
that, according to American Cyanamid, are associated with cotton fields.
Many of the tested species are showing downward population trends in cotton
growing states. However, the Post article says that because of the
economic risk to cotton growers, EPA gave 11 states permission to use the
pesticide on an emergency basis this year if they can demonstrate that
their fields have a serious infestation of beet army worms.
A senior EPA official said, "We have very serious concerns about the
environmental impact of this chemical, particularly its persistence in the
environment and its impact on the reproductive ability of birds. But we
felt that the beet army worm is truly a devastating pest and can cause
tremendous damage and that under very, very limited circumstances we could
impose controls on the chemical for this season to allow farmers to fight
the beet army worm and still protect the environment."
Mary G. Henry, branch chief for ecosystem health in the Fish and Wildlife
Service's environmental contaminants division, called the chemical
"extremely toxic." She added, "There are many other alternative chemicals
registered for use on beet army worms."
http://www.earthvision.net/ColdFusion/News_Page1.cfm?NewsID=767
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