Statement by Nicole Gethmann, Sedona (6-9-09 Open Forum)

 

“Today, every man, woman and child has synthetic chemicals in their bodies. No child is born free of them.”         This quote is from the Emmy award winning documentary TRADE SECRETS: A MOYERS REPORT.

 

Children are born with synthetic chemicals in their bodies because of a dangerous concept called bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation means that chemicals affect not only the individuals directly exposed, but their offspring as well.

 

One of the most common pesticides in the U. S., glyphosate (a component of Round-up), is a proven bioaccumulator.  Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Quick Pro, currently used in Sedona.  Glyphosate is toxic to humans and animals, and kills earthworms and fish.  It has also been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, and neurological conditions among many other illnesses.  A 1999 American Cancer Society study found that people exposed to glyphosate are 2.7 times more likely to contract non-Hodgkins lymphoma.*

 

Bioaccumulation, while particularly scary, is by no means the only form of risk from pesticides. One of the scariest features of pesticides is that we don’t even know the nature and scope of the risks.   Another quotation from the Bill Moyers documentary Trade Secrets highlights the dimensions of the uncertainty.  “Of the more than 75,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, only a fraction have gone through complete testing to find out whether they might cause problems for human health.  Many that are produced in enormous quantities have never been tested at all.” 

 

One of the major uncertainties is that while we have some limited information about the dangers of the active ingredients in pesticides, we are almost totally in the dark about the inert ingredients. While some information on toxic effects is made available by manufacturers, there is no legal requirement to provide such data on "inert" ingredients, only active ones. According to a 1996 report by the Attorney General of New York State, this is a serious gap in the data about toxic effects, since active ingredients can make up as little as one percent or less of the total formulation. **** Thus, risk assessments that are based on active ingredients alone can be misleading and serve to downplay the detrimental effects of the products under consideration. Over 650 chemicals that have been identified as hazardous by federal, state, or international agencies are hiding behind the misleading word "inert" in pesticide products, according to a report released by the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. Over 2,500 substances labeled "inert" are added to pesticides but are not named on product labels. *****

 

Further, a chemical that is used as an “inert” ingredient in one product can sometimes be found as an active ingredient in another. Almost 400 inert ingredients are now or have been used as the active, killing ingredient in pesticides. In addition, 209 are hazardous air or water pollutants, 21 have been classified as carcinogens, and 127 are occupational hazards. Many have been identified as hazardous by more than one statute or agency. In some cases, according to the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, the inert ingredients may be more toxic than the active ingredients. *****

Similarly, the New York Attorney General’s Report states that,”The chemicals used as inerts include some of the most dangerous substances known.” ****

 

The distinction between active and inert ingredients looms large in considering another product used by the city of Sedona:  Surflan.  The active ingredient in Surflan, oryzalin, is scary enough.  According to the Chemical Watch Factsheet’s 2007 update******, oryzalin no longer qualifies for reregistration by the EPA for numerous former applications, partly because of children’s health concerns. Oryzalin is listed as a known carcinogen by the state of California. However, in addition to the dangers posed by Surflan’s active ingredient are the dangers from the inert ingredients.  At least two of the known inert ingredients in Surflan are linked to liver damage, ** at least two affect the kidneys, ***and at least two have been linked to fetal toxicity and embryo death in lab animals. *** The inert propylene glycol in Surflan also affects the central nervous system.

 

 

 

Footnotes

 

*A Case-Control Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Exposure to Pesticides, American Cancer Society, 1999

 

**propylene glycol and Dowicil 75 — Journal of Pesticide Reform/Winter 2001 Vol. 21, No. 4, pp 16-20

***propylene glycol and glycerin — Journal of Pesticide Reform/Winter 2001 Vol. 21, No. 4, pp 16-20

 

**** The Secret Hazards of Pesticides: Inert Ingredients, Report, Attorney General of New York State, Office of the Attorney General Environmental Protection Bureau, February 1996.

 

*****Worst Kept Secrets:  Toxic Inert Ingredients in Pesticides, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, Eugene, OR, January, 1998. Summary at http://www.pesticide.org/ActiveInertsRel.html , and (full report)

Worst Kept Secrets: Toxic Inert Ingredients in Pesticides [PDF 150k]

 

******Chemical Watch Factsheet, A Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP Factsheet, Oryzalin, October 2007 update to Volume 8, No.4, October 1989

 

TRADE SECRETS: A MOYERS REPORT (Emmy award winning documentary for outstanding investigative journalism and target of a classic smear campaign by the chemical industry.) See www.pbs.org/tradesecrets  or obtain from the Sedona Public Library