|
|
|
|
Placing Pets in Danger (Beyond Pesticides,
November 13, 2003) A recent widely circulated story by Boston's WCVB-TV has drawn attention to the potential of lawn pesticides to make pets
sick. Although the story failed to mention specific chemicals (namely, 2,4-D
discussed below), it did highlight a very real and commonly ignored hazard to
children, dogs and other pets: The chemically treated lawn. The piece, which was also
rerun by a Florida
TV station, interviews a veterinarian
doctor, an environmental health advocate and a citizen. Doug Haley, a citizen of
Salem, Massachusetts, is convinced he lost his dogs to lawn chemicals.
"'Pesticides are death,'" he says, "'Shoshie, our little border
collie, had liver cancer, and Miss Marya, a big black Lab, died…of stomach
cancer. They're a lot of other things that could have caused it, but our vet
thinks it was the exposure to the golf course chemicals.'" As the piece
implies, there's good reason to think Mr. Haley is right on the mark. A 1991 National Cancer
Institute study
found that dogs whose owners' lawns were treated with 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxy
acetic acid), four or more times per
year, were twice as likely to contract canine malignant lymphoma than dogs whose
owners did not use the herbicide. Incidentally, malignant lymphoma in dogs is
considered very similar to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in humans. Studies in rats
have demonstrated that 2,4-D can migrate into nervous tissue and concentrate in
certain areas of the brain. Not too surprisingly, behavioral changes have also
been observed in treated rats (Evangelista de Duffard 1990). In humans, seemingly minor
dermal exposures have been known to cause irreversible loss of feeling in the
extremities. Depression, lethargy and coma have also been documented in animals
and humans. A bioassay conducted by the Food and Drug Administration found
increased incidences of lymph sarcoma (malignant tumors) in both male and female
rats, breast tumors in female rats and malignant blood cell tumors in mice and
male rats exposed to 2,4-D. An EPA-funded
study published in the November 2001
issue of Environmental Health Perspectives found that 2,4-D and dicamba (another
chemical used in herbicides) are easily tracked indoors, contaminating the air
and surfaces inside residences and exposing children and pets at levels ten
times higher than pre-application levels. 2,4-D is the most widely
used herbicide in the non-agricultural sector with 23-27 million pounds used
annually (U.S. EPA 1999). Yet, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has admittedly registered the chemical without fully evaluating 2,4-D's effects
on human health and the environment. All 2,4-D products (such as
LawnKeep, Malerbane, Planotox, Plantgard, Savage, Salvo, Weedone, and Weedtrine-II)
are required to carry the signal word "DANGER" on the label, but that
word may not suffice in expressing the real hazard of the product. For those who
know the EPA labeling system, "danger" on the label indicates an EPA
toxicity rating of I - the highest of four categories. Many people assume that
since lawn pesticides (also widely used on golf courses) are so common, they
must not be harmful. The truth is that just because a pesticide is registered
with the EPA does not necessarily guarantee its safety. The piece by WCVB-TV may
not be scientific, but it is a helpful reminder that if you are at all concerned
about being exposed to pesticides, you should be doubly concerned for your pets. Healthy lawns can be
achieved with non-toxic methods. Soil aeration, correct mowing, organic
fertilizers, vinegar and corn gluten are just some of the available alternatives
to toxic chemicals. |
|
Send mail to Dawn - dawn@summersetproducts.com or Tony - tony@summersetproducts.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|