By Harriet Blake
The EPA has issued a list of pesticides that will be screened for possibly disrupting the human, as well as animal, endocrine system. The list, released Wednesday, focuses on “endocrine disruptors” which are chemicals that can negatively impact hormones produced by the endocrine system. The system regulates all biological processes in the body – specifically, growth, metabolism and reproduction.
“Gathering this information,” said EPA Adminstrator Lisa P. Jackson, “will help us work with communities and industry to protect Americans from harmful exposure. Endocrine disruptors can cause lifelong health problems, especially for children.”
The endocrine, or hormone, system is found in all mammals, birds and fish. It is made up of glands, hormones that are produced by the glands and receptors in different organs that respond to the hormones.
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Pesticides in combination shown to be toxic to salmon
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
What happens when salmon are given a pesticide cocktail? The effects are more pronounced than the damage done from exposure a single pesticide, according to a study just released in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.
In an attempt to replicate real world pesticide exposures, researchers from NOAA Fisheries Service and Washington State University studied how coho salmon reacted to five common pesticides, individually and in various combinations.
They found that almost every pesticide pairing resulted in a chemical reaction in the brain – a reduction of an enzyme – that could lead to the accumulation of acetylcholine, which would affect the salmon’s behavior, jeopardizing its ability to survive.
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Tags: · carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, diaznon, Environmental Health Perspectives, malathion, NOAA, pesticides, Salmon, Washington State University
