pesticide

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Want to Save Babies? Protect Bats
In Bat Die-Off, Human
Infants Also Paid the Price
NEW STUDY
Sep 7, 2024 8:00 AM CDT

In Bat Die-Off, Human Infants Also Paid the Price

New research shows that when bats died of fungal disease, infants also died, possibly due to pesticide

(Newser) - When a deadly fungal disease from Europe spread to bats in the United States, killing off colonies of the creatures, one scientist wanted to see what such a bat die-off would mean in other ways. What the University of Chicago's Eyal Frank found: that in counties where infected bats...

In 40-Year First, EPA Issues Emergency Suspension

Say goodbye to DCPA, a herbicide found to pose 'serious risks' to unborn babies

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency has issued its first emergency suspension in more than four decades to ban a common weedkiller that poses "serious risks" to unborn babies. Tuesday's action applies to dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate or DCPA, sold under brand name Dacthal, which is used on grasses, artificial turf, and...

Widow of Late LL Bean Chief Says Her Trees Were Poisoned

Lisa Gorman accuses Missouri couple of tainting oaks in Maine for better view at their summer home

(Newser) - Suspicious deaths in an idyllic seaside community and detective work that points to poison sound like themes from a classic murder mystery. But the victims in this Maine whodunnit were trees that stood in the way of a wealthy family's oceanfront view of Camden Harbor, allegedly felled by well-heeled...

EPA Aims to Relax Limits on Common Pesticide
EPA Aims to Relax
Limits on Common Pesticide
LONGFORM
Apr 28, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

EPA Aims to Relax Limits on Common Pesticide

ProPublica reports on how critics say the agency is working too closely with chemical industry

(Newser) - "It's exactly what we recommended against." That's the view of Veena Singla, a member of a scientific advisory panel tapped by the EPA, on the agency's plan to loosen restrictions on a pesticide called acephate. Sharon Lerner of ProPublica digs into the issue and how...

This 'Dirty Dozen' Are the Most Contaminated

Strawberries top Environmental Working Group list on which fruits, veggies contain the most pesticides

(Newser) - If you aim to eat as cleanly as possible to preserve that temple you call your body, you may want to cross-check what you're buying with the new list of contaminated produce items from the Environmental Working Group. The EWG ranked the pesticide levels of the fruits and veggies...

Off California Coast, a Vast Chemical Graveyard

Survey shows dumping site is bigger than the city of San Francisco, shocks scientists

(Newser) - Scientists who set out to map an underwater dumping ground for industrial waste off the California coast last month say they were stunned by what they found: endless waste barrels spread across a site larger than the city of San Francisco, some 3,000 feet under the sea. After a...

Scary New Find Made in Bootleg Vapes

NBC test sample turns up hydrogen cyanide

(Newser) - Not what anyone needs to be smoking: cyanide. As America's vaping crisis continues, 10 unregulated vaping cartridges have tested positive for pesticides—including a fungicide that can turn into hydrogen cyanide if burned, NBC News reports. "You certainly don't want to be smoking cyanide," says Antonio...

To Avoid Ticks, Follow Lead of US Military
To Avoid Ticks,
Follow Lead of US Military
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 15, 2018 10:00 AM CDT

To Avoid Ticks, Follow Lead of US Military

Permethrin-treated clothing proves effective in new study

(Newser) - The US military was apparently on to something when it began treating soldiers' uniforms with permethrin in the 1980s. The move was based on tests showing the EPA-registered pesticide, which mimics extracts from the chrysanthemum flower, prevented tick and other insect bites. Three decades later, it still holds up to...

Maryland's Bald Eagle Die-Off Finally Explained

The 13 birds ingested a banned pesticide

(Newser) - Thirteen bald eagles found dead on farmland in Maryland's Eastern Shore in the state's largest die-off of the birds in 30 years died from ingesting a banned pesticide, wildlife officials say. The carcasses of the eagles, mostly immature, were discovered in Federalsburg in February 2016 with no outward...

Don't Fear the Chemtrail, and More Unfounded Worries

Ross Pomeroy takes a look

(Newser) - If you're part of the 99.3% of the population that does not have Celiac disease, and yet the idea of ingesting gluten still makes you quake, you might not like Ross Pomeroy's list. A zoologist and conservation biologist by training, he's now the chief editor of...

Environmentalists Sue EPA to Ban Pesticide

EPA recently reversed its decision to ban chlorpyrifos

(Newser) - Environmental groups first asked the Environmental Protection Agency to ban chlorpyrifos back in 2000. Fifteen years later, the EPA agreed to move forward with a ban on the pesticide, which has been linked repeatedly to problems including autism, attention deficit disorders, and developmental delays in children. But the ban hadn'...

The 10 'Dirtiest' Fruits and Veggies

Strawberries top EWG's controversial list

(Newser) - The Environmental Working Group is out with its annual "dirty dozen" list of fruits and veggies it says have the highest amounts of pesticide residues. But take note: Protecting Your Pocket reports that the list, based on US Department of Agriculture data, has been called misleading since 99% of...

Texas Plans 'Feral Hog Apocalypse'
Texas Plans
Feral Hog
'Apocalypse'
Feb 23, 2017 3:25 AM CST

Texas Plans Feral Hog 'Apocalypse'

State approves use of poison

(Newser) - Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is stepping up his war on feral hogs with a move that he says will bring about an "apocalypse" for the crop-destroying animals. Miller has approved the use of the pesticide warfarin to poison the state's 2.5 million or so wild hogs,...

Tiny Invader Threatens Food Staple in Africa

Fall armyworm is wiping out maize crops

(Newser) - Still reeling from a severe drought, Zimbabwe is now on the brink of going hungry as an invasive pest wreaks havoc on the staple crop maize. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports that seven of the country's eight provinces have been hit by the fall armyworm, and as...

4 Kids Dead After Pesticide Creates Toxic Gas Under House

6 family members remain hospitalized

(Newser) - Four children are dead and six family members are in the hospital after what officials are calling an accidental poisoning at a Texas home, reports CNN . Officials were called to a mobile home in Amarillo around 5am Monday after an individual arrived and found a family of 10 sick. Officials...

Delaware Family Poisoned on Vacation to Get $87M

Esmond family severely injured by Terminix's use of banned methyl bromide while on vacation

(Newser) - A Delaware family poisoned by a toxic pesticide during their 2015 Virgin Islands vacation will receive an $87 million settlement from the parent company of Terminix, which admitted using the banned chemical at the resort where they stayed, CBS News reports. Per the New York Daily News , a ServiceMaster Global...

'100% Natural' Quaker Oats? Not Quite, Says Lawsuit

Suit contends oats can't be labeled 'natural' with even trace levels of herbicide

(Newser) - The nearly 140-year-old Quaker Oats brand isn't as wholesome as its name might imply, according to a lawsuit seeking class-action status after trace amounts of the active ingredient in Roundup were found in some oats, which are advertised as being "100% natural," reports the New York Times...

When It Comes to Pesticides, Strawberries Now the Worst

Apples have been dethroned on the "Dirty Dozen"

(Newser) - Strawberries are packed with fiber, Vitamin C, and potassium—and they've usually got some pesticide, too. In fact, 98% of strawberries tested by the USDA had some form of pesticide residue, a distinction that earned the fruit the top spot on the Environmental Working Group's annual Dirty Dozen...

Pesticide-Maker Announces Change to Save the Bees

Ortho will go neonics-free in its products by 2021

(Newser) - Here's some news to bee excited by: A major maker of home and garden products announced it will be phasing bee-harming chemicals out of its pest-control products, NPR reports. According to the AP , neonics damage insects' central nervous systems, either killing them outright or making them vulnerable to disease...

Pesticide Firm Fined $10M for Almost Killing Family

Terminix used banned chemical at US Virgin Islands resort

(Newser) - A pest control company that turned a Delaware family's Caribbean vacation into a living nightmare without end has been ordered to cough up $10 million—not including medical expenses. Steve Esmond, Theresa Devine, and their two teenage sons almost died a year ago after staying in a US Virgin...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>