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. =============================================== 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. ===================================================== 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 ==================================================== 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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]