September - December

20 December 2008
UK: illegal pesticide found in dead birds
The pesticide carbofuran has been found in the carcasses of a buzzard and a pheasant in Somerset, England. Carbofuran has been banned in the UK since 2002 and is highly toxic to mammals and birds.
- news story

16 December 2008
Pesticides found in fruit based drinks
Spanish researchers have found high levels of pesticides in fruit based soft drinks from a number of countries, particularly the United Kingdom and Spain according to a study published in Analytical Chemistry this month. The authors noted although pesticide levels are strickly controled in fresh fruit and drinking water this is not the case with fruit based soft drinks
- news story
- report

15 December 2008
NEW ZEALAND: endosulfan use banned
After investigations into its safety the use of endosufan in New Zealand is to be banned. The county's Environmental Risk Management Authority has set 16th January 2009 as the date after which import and manufacture of the pesticide will cease.
- news story

08 December 2008
INDIA: EPA sued over moth spraying programme
The Indian Government plans to register neem-based products as pesticides after trials have shown them to be effective in managing pest attacks on vegetables and fruits. Neem is claimed to be completely non-toxic and effective against a wide variety of pests.
- news story

01 December 2008
PHILIPPINES: Call for aerial spraying ban
Groups in the Philippines are calling for aerial spraying of banana plantations to be banned after workers have developed skin complaints. It is feared the pesticides sprayed by aerial application are responsible.
- news story

25 November 2008
USA: EPA sued over moth spraying programme
A lawsuit was filled today against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for a moth spraying programme to be halted after hundreds of individuals reported injuries as a result of the aerial spraying in California last November. Hundreds of dead or injured birds were also found. It is alleged the EPA unlawfully approved two pesticides for use against the brown apple moth.
- news story

20 November 2008
MEPs vote to protect bees
MEPs have voted in favour of creating recovery zones in farmland to give declining bee populations across the continent a chance to re-establish. This new directive has been set up under the Common Agricultural Policy.
- News story

14 November 2008
UK: high court rules crop spraying is damaging to health
The UK Government will be required to review it's pesticide policy after a landmark legal victory by pesticide campaigner Georgina Downs. A high court judge has ruled the Government has contravened EU law and is failing to adequately protect local residents from harmful pesticide exposure.
- News story

03 November 2008
Tributyltin added to prior informed consent list
The United Nations has announced tributyltin (TBT), the pesticide used in antifouling paint on ships, is the 40th chemical to be put on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) list. No agreement was made over endosulfan which remains off the list.
- News story

29 October 2008
Atrazine harmful to frogs
The widely used herbicide atrazine weakens the immune system in northern leopard frogs making them more vulnerable to infection according to a study published in Nature. Atrazine, in combination with phosphate used in fertilizer, was shown to suppress the amphibian immune response thereby increasing trematode infections in the frogs.
- News story
- Report

24 October 2008
Pesticides may cause brain damage
Pesticides that are widely used in the European Union may damage developing brains according to a study published in Environmental Health today. The study reviewed nearly 200 scientific reports relating to pesticides and the brain. It warns that pesticides could cause neuro-developmental toxicity.
- News story
- Report

17 October 2008
MALAYSIA: Farmers suffer after using banned pesticide
Padi farmers in Malaysia are suffering skin complaints and weak joint after using the banned pesticide endosulfan to treat a snail infestation. The pesticide killed the snails instantly but a few weeks later the farmers suffered side-effects which doctors have confirmed are due to contact with pesticides.
- News story

14 October 2008
SCOTLAND: Toxic pesticide used on salmon farms
Teflubenzuron, known commercially as Calicide is again being used by salmon farmers in Scotland years after it was thought to have been phased out. Teflubenzuron has been found by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to be highly toxic to some commercially important marine animals such as lobster, crab and shrimp.
- News story

14 October 2008
PHILIPPINES: Endosulfan use on pineapples to end
As of next year, Dole and Del Monte, will no longer use the toxic insecticide endosulfan on their pineapple plantations. They will not be renewing their endosuphan licence and instead have drawn up a list of alternative pesticide options.
- News story

22 September 2008
Pyrethroids may delay puberty
Doses of synthetic pyrethroids, a widely used class of insecticide, at very low levels have been found to delay the onset of puberty in rats according to a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
- News story
- Report

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