Most of what we hear about is what's in our drinking water. I'm also
concerned about what we're doing to wildife. I found this in my computer
files -- I don't know how old it is, but less than 2 years. This article
is from American Bird Conservancy. The Diazinon mentioned is what Earl May
promotes for grub control. Jane Clark at [log in to unmask]
LATEST ISSUES: CHLORFENAPYR - KEY DOCUMENTS
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PESTICIDES AND BIRDS CAMPAIGN
The Problem: Pesticides are Killing Birds
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documentation, at least 50
different pesticides have caused bird die-offs in the United States. A
field study, cited by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, showed that
77% of bird carcasses were removed from a corn field by predators within 24
hours, and those that remained were difficult to locate, leading scientists
to liken the number of pesticide kills detected to the tiny tip of an
enormous iceberg. In the thirty-three years between 1962, when Rachel
Carson's book 'Silent Spring' was published, and 1995, pesticide use in the
U.S. doubled to an all-time high of 1.2 billion pounds per year. Pesticide
use soared to record levels again in 1996 and 1997. And in a recent report,
Professor David Pimental of Cornell University conservatively estimates
annual bird mortality in the U.S. from pesticides at 67 million birds.
A deadly path: carbofuran
•Eighty-two bird species, including Bald and Golden Eagles and the
declining Dickcissel, are recorded by USFWS as having been killed by the
widely used pesticide carbofuran.
•On 9 April 1990, more than 2,000 songbirds were killed in Essex County,
Virginia. Investigators determined that the responsible agent, carbofuran,
had been applied according to the instructions and found no evidence of
misuse.
•According to a 1996 USFWS statement "there are no known circumstances
under which carbofuran can be used without killing birds."
•Carbofuran is still being manufactured, sold, and used in the United
States.
•In 1997, 2,469 tons of the substance were applied to fields across the
U.S.
•In just three states, Kansas, Nebraska, and California, 6,855 square
kilometers were treated last year. Carbofuran has caused Bald Eagle deaths
in at least twelve states.
Other examples
In April 1993, 20 dead and dying Swainson's Hawks were found by a hunter in
Young County, Texas. Laboratory tests showed the hawks had ingested
grasshoppers that had been sprayed with disulfoton. No evidence of misuse
was found. In March 1989 several sick and dying Bald Eagles collected along
the Missouri River were found to have been poisoned by phorate that had
been legally applied to nearby crops the previous fall.
More than 50 incidents of fatal diazinon poisoning involving more than
1,000 individual birds have been recorded across the country. Diazinon has
been linked to human cancers was once been widely applied to golf courses,
and was found in 31% of EPA surface water analyses. In July 1990, the
registration of diazinon for golf courses and sod farms was canceled, but
the substance is still permitted for use on lawns and agricultural crops.
It is widely used by homeowners who can unwittingly cause a serious hazard
to birds and wildlife, even when following the label directions correctly.
Diazinon can be purchased at local hardware or garden shops by anyone.
[Note from Jane Clark -- this is what is suggested for grub control -- a
significant hazard to birds in the lawn.]
EPA's legal standard for the registration of a pesticide is that: "when
used in accordance with widespread and commonly recognized practice, it
will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment."
Although the agency itself has concluded that the pesticide azinphos-methyl
(AZM) "will pose a high risk of acute effects (mortality) to aquatic and
terrestrial organisms when applied at label rates," it remains on the
market. As well as being toxic to birds, AZM was responsible for killing
more than one million fish in Louisiana in several 1991 and 1992 incidents.
AZM is one of 31 pesticides which are the subject of an ongoing, eight and
a half year inquiry under the Endangered Species Act. The USFWS Biological
Opinion on AZM concluded that it indicates jeopardy for 118 endangered
species including 10 birds, 40 bivalves, and 44 fish.
There is no comprehensive data base for identifying problem pesticides for
birds and other wildlife. Such information is needed in the U.S. and
globally to promote pest control practices that protect avian species.
The Solution:
A Comprehensive Campaign to protect Birds from Pesticides.
American Bird Conservancy has launched a Pesticides and Birds Campaign.
After successfully brokering an international accord to protect Swainson's
Hawks from the deadly insecticide monocrotophos in Argentina, ABC has
turned its attention to the broader problem of pesticides killing birds in
routine, legal use. The Campaign will build on current ABC initiatives and
will employ a broad-based partnership. The campaign will include:
•An advisory panel of experts on avian toxicology and pesticides issues.
•Disseminating information on pesticides acutely toxic to birds to NGO's
and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
•Focusing other national conservation and pesticide groups' attention to
pesticides killing and sub-lethally affecting birds.
•Working with the EPA to strengthen wildlife protection in pesticide
management.
•Conducting a campaign against pesticides routinely killing birds in the
U.S.
•Building a cooperative relationship with pesticide manufacturers and their
trade associations.
•Establishing an international avian pesticide incident reporting system.
•Employing a strong partnership-building effort to attain consensus on
pesticide and bird issues.
For more information on the ABC Pesticides and Birds Campaign contact:
Kelley R. Tucker
Director, Pesticides and Birds Campaign
American Bird Conservancy
1250 24th Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20037
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