April 10, 2000 / The Sherbrooke Record / David Suzuki / Science Matters
Columnist Suzuki writes that spring is a time of rejuvenation and rebirth,
but it also has a darker side-it's the start of pesticide season in Canada.
Every spring, says Suzuki, people across the country purchase vast
quantities of toxic chemicals and spray them on lawns and gardens to remove
undesired insects and weeds like pesky dandelions. Often, it is an
unquestioned ritual that may continue throughout the summer and fall. In
Canada alone, sales of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides top $1
billion annually.
The federal regulations that govern these chemicals are now under review
because, says Suzuki, they are in desperate need of an overhaul. Nearly a
third of the ingredients in common Canadian pesticides were approved before
1960, when little was known about their long-term effects and standards were
less strict. Further, the regulations are based on exposures for
average-sized adult males and fail to take into account the greater
vulnerability of children and women.
Children in particular absorb larger quantities of pesticides for their
size. Suzuki says that a study last fall by the Ontario College of Family
Physicians found that pesticides posed an undeniable risk to Canadian
children, particularly to children living near farms that use pesticides,
Inuit children, and those living in housing that is sprayed with
insecticides to control cockroaches and other pests.
Suzuki says that around the world, use of these chemicals has increased 33
fold since 1942. Studies in Switzerland have found that European rainwater
is often laced with toxic levels of common pesticides and herbicides like
2-4-D, often well above guidelines set for drinking water. In Canada, an
apple may be sprayed with up to 16 different chemicals before it reaches the
consumer. According to government statistics, pesticide residues on Canadian
food have doubled since 1994.
Many of these chemicals are linked to cancers such as Non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, which has increased by 73 per cent in the US since 1973. A 1987
study published in the US Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported
that children whose parents commonly used pesticides in their homes and
gardens were seven times more likely to get leukemia.
Some of the more potent of these chemicals also bioaccumulate up the food
chain and end up in toxic amounts in marine mammals. And pesticides are
thought to play a role in a rash of frog deaths and deformities seen around
the globe in recent years.
In addition to the environmental and health effects resulting from the
over-use of pesticides, they cause significant global economic costs to
society. These are estimated to be at least $100 billion annually according
to an article in the journal Nature.
Some food crops have been genetically modified to have insect resistance
built-in and have been touted as effective alternatives to using pesticides.
But, says Suzuki, the fact that these crops can also kill other non-pest
organisms has caused concern among ecologists, and there's a good chance
insects will develop resistance to them as they have to pesticides. In some
cases, crops with built-in herbicide resistance have resulted in an increase
in the use of these chemicals.
If you are concerned about pesticides, you can reduce your exposure by
buying organic produce and by not using them on your lawn or in your garden.
Instead, you can plant low-maintenance native shrubs and flowers, and reduce
the size of your lawn. Lawns are vast monoculture crops that require
tremendous amounts of water and chemical inputs to stay green and weed-free.
To find out more about common pesticides and herbicides, visit
www.scorecard.org, a site administered by the US-based Environmental Defense
Fund. There, you can enter the name of virtually any herbicide or pesticide
and the site will rank its toxicity and provide a list of potential
side-effects. Considering the unnecessary added risk many of these chemicals
pose to us and our ecosystems, a few dandelions on the lawn may not be so
bad after all.
To discuss this topic with others, visit the discussion forum at
www.davidsuzuki.org.
(posted without permission)
