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What are pesticides?

Pesticides stand out as one of the major developments of the twentieth century.

A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest. Pesticides are poisons designed to kill a variety of plants and animals such as insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), and mold or fungus (fungicides). They also include rodenticides and wood preservatives.

How do pesticides reach us?

Pesticides can be absorbed through the skin, swallowed or inhaled (most toxic). During application pesticides drift and settle on ponds, laundry, toys, pools and furniture. People and pets track pesticide residue into the house, where it breaks down much more slowly than it would outside.

Today, drips and puffs of pesticides surround us everywhere, contaminating 90 percent of the nation’s major rivers and streams, more than 80 percent of sampled fish, and one-third of the nation’s aquifers.

Less than 0.1% of pesticides applied for pest control reach their target pests⁽¹⁾.

Thus, more than 99.9% of pesticides used move into the environment⁽²⁾ where they adversely affect public health and contaminate soil, water, and the atmosphere of the ecosystem.

Pesticides are responsible for damage to many different animals, castrating male frogs ⁽³⁾, causing “colony collapse disorder” in honeybees ⁽⁴⁾, and probably causing deadly white nose syndrome in bats⁽⁵⁾.

Pesticides applied for landscaping purposes can drift anywhere 12 feet to 14.5 miles, depending on weather conditions and type of spray. More serious effects appear to be produced by direct inhalation of pesticide sprays than by absorption or ingestion of toxins.

25 million people suffer pesticide poisoning yearly⁽⁶⁾.

Are registered pesticides safe?

NO.

In the US it is a violation of federal law to state that the use of a pesticide is “safe”, as pesticides are toxic by definition.

Many of the "safety tests" used to test these products are fundamentally inadequate: they test for the acute (not chronic) effects of single (not multiple) chemicals on healthy (not sick, chemically sensitive or immuno-suppressed etc.) adult (not young or elderly) animal (not human) subjects exposed over short (not long) periods of time.

The safety tests are performed by industry and submitted to national regulatory agencies that have been corrupted by industry.

The major manufacturers of pesticides are responsible for atrocities around the globe. Companies like Monsanto⁽⁷⁾ have been found guilty⁽⁸⁾ of conduct "so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency so as to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society".

They test one chemical at a time, even though the public is exposed to many chemicals at once as part of our modern chemical lifestyles. Testing a chemical in isolation cannot possible predict the health risks this chemical can pose when combined with other chemicals. Research shows that several pesticides become even more toxic as they break down.

Because safety testing has not been adequate, current pesticide applications have been called a giant experiment using the general public. That’s being generous; an experiment tests a hypothesis and examines a result. It’s more like science fiction than a science experiment.

Some of the companies testing pesticides have been charged and convicted⁽⁹⁾ of falsifying residue and environmental studies that were used to support pesticide registration in the US and Canada.

Pesticides initiate and propagate multiple chemical sensitivities. About 16 million US citizens are sensitive to pesticides⁽¹⁰⁾ (i.e. they have compromised immune functioning as a result of pesticide exposure).

Suicide by pesticide⁽¹¹⁾ is thought to account for an estimated 300,000 deaths in Asia annually, which is over a third of the world’s suicides.

Pesticides are associated with acute health problems, such as abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, as well as skin and eye problems.

Additionally, many studies have indicated that pesticide exposure is associated with long-term health problems such as respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic conditions, cancer, depression, neurological deficits, miscarriages and birth defects.

For example, a 2006 study⁽¹²⁾ conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health has discovered a 70% increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's disease for people exposed to even low levels of pesticides.

Take care before going golfing⁽¹³⁾.

Here’s what you can do about pesticides:

Educate yourself⁽¹⁴⁾

Don’t use them. Here’s some tips for maintaining a beautiful backyard⁽¹⁵⁾, or front lawn⁽¹⁶⁾ without pesticides.