Industrial research assessed by independent scientists shows that exposure to the country’s most common pesticides, neonicotinoids, can affect the developing brain in the same way as nicotine, including by significantly shrinking brain tissue and losing neurons.
Exposure may be linked to long-term health effects such as ADHD, slower auditory reflexes, impaired motor skills, behavioral problems and delayed sexual maturation in men, the new review finds.
The industry science will be used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set new regulations, but the independent scientists say they found pesticide makers withheld information or failed to include required data, and argue that the EPA drew industry-friendly conclusions from the study has drawn.
Residues of neonicotinoids are common on agricultural products, and the EPA appears poised to set limits that are especially dangerous for developing children. The health threat is “concerning,” said Nathan Donley, co-author of the paper at the Center for Biological Diversity.
“If you are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant, I can say with certainty that the current level of human exposure considered safe by the EPA does not protect your future child, and it boils my blood,” Donley said. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Food & Water Watch also co-authored the article.
The EPA said in a statement that it had not yet reviewed the new study, but that the industry research “has been independently reviewed by the EPA and is included in the most recent human health risk assessments for these neonicotinoid pesticides.”
Neonicotinoids are a controversial class of chemicals used in insecticides spread across more than 150 million acres of cropland in the U.S. to control pests, in addition to their use on lawns.
The pesticides work by destroying an insect’s nerve synapse, causing uncontrollable shaking, paralysis and death – but a growing number of scientists have found that it harms pollinators, decimates bee populations and kills other insects not targeted by the chemical.
Neonicotinoids are similar in chemical structure to nicotine and affect the same human neurotransmitters responsible for nervous system development and ongoing health. Although scientists long thought neonicotinoids only affected insects, they break down into smaller compounds that are as powerful as nicotine in their effects on the human brain, Donley said.
Recent research has shown that the chemicals in the bodies of more than 95% of pregnant womenand in human blood and urine at alarming levels. Although farmworkers face the highest exposures, the chemicals are soluble in water, leach easily into soils and streams, and are common in drinking water. Neonicotinoid residues are also regularly found on products.
The EPA is required by law to review the safety of pesticides every fifteen years, and the industry research Donley’s team reviews is part of that process.
The low to moderate exposure to water and food worries the authors of the article. The pesticide industry in many cases has not submitted data on these levels, despite the EPA requesting it, Donley said.
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Still, the EPA appears ready to enact new regulations without the data and has simply asserted that moderate-to-low exposures are safe, Donley added. But available data points to health risks and research supporting the industry’s claim is lacking.
“The strategy of pesticide companies seems to be to ignore the EPA, and instead of receiving any consequence, the EPA just shrugs and rubber stamps it,” Donley said.
In another case, EPA management overruled one of its own scientists who raised concerns about neurotoxic effects, and instead adopted a statistical analysis that claimed lower doses have no neurotoxic effects, Donley said.
It’s unclear why the EPA isn’t asking for more data. However, it is the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding the pesticide division coming from his alleged ties to pesticide manufacturers, and his financial dependence on them.
“It’s clear the industry is gaming the system and we don’t have anyone to call them out on it,” Donley said.