ABOUT

Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Written by EWG staff.

DONATE TO EWG!

Help us protect your health and environment!  Please donate $5 to EWG today.

GET EWG'S TIPS & ACTION ALERTS

Sign Up here to receive email updates and tips from EWG and stay informed on the issues that matter most to you.

ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL

Delivered by FeedBurner

 Enviroblog in your Reader

Get EWG widgets & blog badges.

Join EWG's live chat with Chef Ann Cooper

School lunch: More fruits & veggies, please!

Texas Schools are Drilling for Dollars

Why do blowouts take so long to fix?

SEARCH ENVIROBLOG

FIND PAST POSTS

select month November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004

FEATURED

Support the 2010 Safe Cosmetics Act. It's Urgent.

Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?

Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure

So what products CAN we use?

Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked

EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series

EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure

EWG on TV

Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill

Toxic Tub?

Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water

Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen

BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics

Ask EWG

What can I do about fluoride in my water?

What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?

What is "fragrance"?

Which infant formula is best?

Are stainless steel water bottles safe?

Is mineral-based makeup safer?

Ask EWG Archives

PEOPLE TALKING TOXICS

Breast Cancer Fund

The Daily Green

Eco Child's Play

Environmental Defense Fund

Green Moms Carnival

Grist

Healthy Child, Healthy World

Huffington Post Green

NRDC's Switchboard

Organic.org

Safer States

TreeHugger

TALK TO US

Did we miss something? Email Enviroblog.

« DuPont Agrees to Settlement After Poisoning Drinking Water | Main | GAO Clears the Air on EPA Pollution Analysis »

Pesticides Linked to Increase in Canine Cancer and Hermaphroditic Frogs

Spikes in bladder cancer in dogs and hermaphroditic amphibians show a connection to increased pesticide use in the United States, two new studies show. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that a study at Purdue University revealed that Scottish terriers exposed to lawns or gardens treated with herbicides and insecticides showed a significant increase in the risk of bladder cancer over dogs exposed to untreated areas. The risk of bladder cancer was higher in dogs exposed to the most commonly used agricultural chemical, phenoxy acid herbicides.

Phenoxy acid is an active ingredient in 2,4-D, a common herbicide that the EPA says is safe. However, the EPA doesn’t require that inert ingredients be listed on the labels of lawn products, and those compounds – which contain metals, petroleum-based solvents and cadmium – cause cancer.

A follow-up study will be conducted on children and dogs exposed to lawn chemicals to determine if the chemicals are in their systems, at what levels, and the nature of the exposure more than three days after their lawns are chemically treated.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also released a 150-year study showing a heavy increase in hermaphroditic frogs during periods of widespread pesticide contamination, the Los Angeles Times reports. This condition was rare until the 1950s, when the chemicals were most heavily used.

The phenomenon, which has also been observed in Florida alligators, is most obvious in the decline of cricket frogs in Chicago and other regions in the 1960s. DDT, PCBs and other pollutants are theorized to have had mutagenic effects that reduced the number of female frogs and caused the population to drop dramatically.

Unfortunately, scientists can’t tell if banning DDT and PBCs has made a difference in current populations, because where the animals were mutating into hermaphrodites the populations died out, and there are no longer any samples to collect. They do suspect that atrazine, a popular corn herbicide still in use, may also be responsible. Frog populations are low in central Illinois, where the herbicide is most used, and higher in southern areas, where it isn’t.

Pesticides may cause a variety of health problems in humans, including premature puberty in girls and reproductive diseases. The Environmental Working Group has petitioned the EPA to halt a study called CHEERS (Childrens’ Environmental Exposure Research Study) that offers families $970, a T-shirt, a bib and a videocamera to expose their children to household pesticides. The American Chemistry Council provided $2 million of the $7 million fund for the study.

View EWG’s work on pesticide testing on humans.

« DuPont Agrees to Settlement After Poisoning Drinking Water |