RURAL HEALTH

Study documents degree of pesticide exposure in farm families

A new study from University of Minnesota and Emory University shows the
vast majority of spouses and children who live on farms that use certain
pesticides, do not show an appreciable level of increased exposure to
the chemicals. The bio-monitoring study, released today, is the most
comprehensive assessment to date of pesticide exposure for farm
families. The children and spouses of the 95 families that participated
in the study typically had pesticide exposure levels comparable to
levels measured in people who do not live on farms. The study also
measured the amount of exposure for the farmers doing the applications.
Results varied by the chemical being applied and by the handling and
application techniques used.

http://email.agriculture.com/cgi-bin...6TI0TM0FRBO0AH

================

haiku error message seen on a computer ....:

Three things are certain.
Death, taxes and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.

"Oz" wrote in message
...


Study documents degree of pesticide exposure in farm families

A new study from University of Minnesota and Emory University shows the
vast majority of spouses and children who live on farms that use certain
pesticides, do not show an appreciable level of increased exposure to
the chemicals.

I know a lady who had a son in 1997. He was born blind and disabled and has
since died. She said this was caused by the spraying of Benzomate on brussel
sprouts in a nearby field, while she was pregnant, IIRC.

(What is Benzomate? Is it still used?)

"Sirius" wrote:


"Oz" wrote in message
...


Study documents degree of pesticide exposure in farm families

A new study from University of Minnesota and Emory University shows the
vast majority of spouses and children who live on farms that use certain
pesticides, do not show an appreciable level of increased exposure to
the chemicals.

I know a lady who had a son in 1997. He was born blind and disabled and has
since died. She said this was caused by the spraying of Benzomate on brussel
sprouts in a nearby field, while she was pregnant, IIRC.

(What is Benzomate? Is it still used?)




IIRC, in Canada, benzomate was a brand of hand held torch run on
compressed benzene

Dennis

Oz wrote:


RURAL HEALTH

Study documents degree of pesticide exposure in farm families

A new study from University of Minnesota and Emory University shows the
vast majority of spouses and children who live on farms that use certain
pesticides, do not show an appreciable level of increased exposure to
the chemicals. The bio-monitoring study, released today, is the most
comprehensive assessment to date of pesticide exposure for farm
families. The children and spouses of the 95 families that participated
in the study typically had pesticide exposure levels comparable to
levels measured in people who do not live on farms. The study also
measured the amount of exposure for the farmers doing the applications.
Results varied by the chemical being applied and by the handling and
application techniques used.

http://email.agriculture.com/cgi-bin...6TI0TM0FRBO0AH

This is interesting because of the techniques and methodology. If you
come across a site for the paper , let us know.

Dennis

Dennis G. writes
Oz wrote:


RURAL HEALTH

Study documents degree of pesticide exposure in farm families

A new study from University of Minnesota and Emory University

This is interesting because of the techniques and methodology. If you
come across a site for the paper , let us know.

Try the uni websites above?

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.

Sirius writes

I know a lady who had a son in 1997. He was born blind and disabled and has
since died. She said this was caused by the spraying of Benzomate on brussel
sprouts in a nearby field, while she was pregnant, IIRC.

(What is Benzomate? Is it still used?)

Acaricide active: Benzoximate (so I doubt ever used on sprouts).

Reported 1972, manuf Nippon Soda.

Control of spider mite on fruits, vines and ornamentals.

Very toxic (~50ppm), not currently approved in the UK for any use.
May never have been.

I doubt very much that she has the name right.


More likely is Benlate, (benomyl) a fungicide (MBC).

Very widely used, approved, very low toxicity, non-mutagenic.
If the above symptoms were caused by this product it's widespread use on
pretty well all crops would have produced an unmissable epidemic by
about 1980.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.

"Oz" wrote in message
...
Sirius writes

I know a lady who had a son in 1997. He was born blind and disabled and
has
since died. She said this was caused by the spraying of Benzomate on
brussel
sprouts in a nearby field, while she was pregnant, IIRC.

(What is Benzomate? Is it still used?)

Acaricide active: Benzoximate (so I doubt ever used on sprouts).

Reported 1972, manuf Nippon Soda.

Control of spider mite on fruits, vines and ornamentals.

Very toxic (~50ppm), not currently approved in the UK for any use.
May never have been.

I doubt very much that she has the name right.


More likely is Benlate, (benomyl) a fungicide (MBC).

She said it was a fungicide. The name was written after a phone conversation
so may be spelt wrong.


Very widely used, approved, very low toxicity, non-mutagenic.
If the above symptoms were caused by this product it's widespread use on
pretty well all crops would have produced an unmissable epidemic by
about 1980.

Sadly I'm lacking details of this so can't really say anymore except she
lived near the field and was outdoors and subjected to drift. May have had
symptoms herself. I suppose its possible that something that doesn't
normally cause problems could harm a foetus at a particular stage of
development.

Sirius writes

Oz:
More likely is Benlate, (benomyl) a fungicide (MBC).

She said it was a fungicide. The name was written after a phone conversation
so may be spelt wrong.

I would bet on it being benlate. There aren't any other fungicides with
similar names in the book of words likely (or even unlikely) to be used
on sprouts.

Very widely used, approved, very low toxicity, non-mutagenic.
If the above symptoms were caused by this product it's widespread use on
pretty well all crops would have produced an unmissable epidemic by
about 1980.

Sadly I'm lacking details of this so can't really say anymore except she
lived near the field and was outdoors and subjected to drift.

Shouldn't be any drift if the sprayman was doing his job properly. In
any case the amount of drift even a short distance from the boom is
remarkably small, although it *looks* a lot because it is the finest of
droplets. Remember farmers can and do spray one crop, with a highly
susceptible crop next door, and the damage is rarely more than zero to
12" (and that often because the crops overlap).

May have had
symptoms herself. I suppose its possible that something that doesn't
normally cause problems could harm a foetus at a particular stage of
development.

I would suggest it is unlikely to say the least. Remember that quite a
lot of kids are born disabled, it's a natural occurrence. The MBC group
are in widespread use and, now I think about it, were for many years
also used as an antiwormer in cattle/sheep blocks. Doesn't kill the
worms, but stops them laying eggs. Were there deleterious effects then,
given the huge dose by comparison to one doubtful exposure to
spraydrift, we would have seen huge epidemics in stock and some pretty
hefty claims, followed by the rapid withdrawal of the product for all
uses.

Remember that sprays are pretty safe, to protect the operator if nothing
else. Malathion has been effectively banned in agriculture for decades
because it's too toxic compared to modern alternatives, but it's still
used at high dose to kill nits in kid's hair.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 05:13:28 GMT, (Dennis G.) wrote:

Oz wrote:


RURAL HEALTH

Study documents degree of pesticide exposure in farm families

A new study from University of Minnesota and Emory University shows the
vast majority of spouses and children who live on farms that use certain
pesticides, do not show an appreciable level of increased exposure to
the chemicals. The bio-monitoring study, released today, is the most
comprehensive assessment to date of pesticide exposure for farm
families. The children and spouses of the 95 families that participated
in the study typically had pesticide exposure levels comparable to
levels measured in people who do not live on farms. The study also
measured the amount of exposure for the farmers doing the applications.
Results varied by the chemical being applied and by the handling and
application techniques used.

http://email.agriculture.com/cgi-bin...6TI0TM0FRBO0AH

This is interesting because of the techniques and methodology. If you
come across a site for the paper , let us know.

I am not sure it is yet complete, Dennis. The piece above seems to me
to be referring to the same preliminary results as those that were
released from it to the press last year. The farm spouse study was set
up a few years back, funded by the ACPA (American Crop Protection
association). There is a backgrounder on it on the Monsanto website
somewhere.

Best regards,

Torsten Brinch

"swroot" wrote in message
...
Oz wrote:

Sirius writes

I know a lady who had a son in 1997. He was born blind and disabled and
has
since died. She said this was caused by the spraying of Benzomate on
brussel
sprouts in a nearby field, while she was pregnant, IIRC.

(What is Benzomate? Is it still used?)

[-]

More likely is Benlate, (benomyl) a fungicide (MBC).

Very widely used, approved, very low toxicity, non-mutagenic.
If the above symptoms were caused by this product it's widespread use on
pretty well all crops would have produced an unmissable epidemic by
about 1980.

You might be interested in

http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/actives/benomyl.htm


Well I was interested in this bit:
"In 1996 a Miami jury awarded US$4 million to a child whose mother was
exposed in pregnancy to Benlate. The child was born without eyes. The mother
in this case was subject to an unusually high dose of Benlate. The case is
on appeal by the manufacturers. An important issue in the case is whether
the timing of exposure - during the formation of the optic nerve in the
foetus - is critical as well as the magnitude of exposure. A Benlate
compensation case involving an English boy from Essex born without eyes is
also due to be heard shortly in the US(21)."

Oz,
Your post (as header) could be very misleading, I'll
explain.

For most of my working life, I'm 61 now, I've worked
around farms and livestock and as a gamekeeper. Handled more than my share
of pesticides, antibiotics
and poisons.

4yrs ago (November) I had a chest infection, no problem,
the following March I collapsed, rushed into hospital with
pneumonia. Doctors pumped in the antibiotics as they do.
Result, Brians gradually leaving this world, massive reaction to medication,
temperature of the scale, packed in ice for 48hrs.Awoke to see family
including 87yr old
Mum, around bed,with expressions on faces I never want to see again.

During following 3wks Doctors and specialist went thru
my working history, asking for all the details of chemicals
I had used/handled.No definitive answers but organophosphates(sheep dip)
probably caused adverse
reaction, but last time I came into contact with organo's
was at least 15yrs ago.

Outcome: I can no longer work, can only drive 10mile max, continual loss of
balance due to constricted blood supply to brain, walk as tho I'm
half-cut(****ed).

So to say pesticides are not residual in these children, may
be incorrect, and may not be apparent until there is an adverse reaction to
other drugs, God forbid

Remember I had only been to see a doctor 3 times in 50yrs.......now I'm
there every bloody month.

Brian H......

swroot writes

Further to that you should note that the high cost of litigation over
crop damage due to contamination with atrizine and possible effects on
human health resulted in Dupont voluntarily ceased production of Benlate
in 2001. It is no longer manufactured in the US or approved for use on
food crops in the US.

Eh?

It was dropped because benlate was by far the dearest of the MBC's to
manufacture. One reason I've never used it. Sales plummetted once people
knew that it just broke down into carbendazim, the real active
ingredient.

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.

Brian H. writes

4yrs ago (November) I had a chest infection, no problem,
the following March I collapsed, rushed into hospital with
pneumonia. Doctors pumped in the antibiotics as they do.
Result, Brians gradually leaving this world, massive reaction to medication,
temperature of the scale, packed in ice for 48hrs.Awoke to see family
including 87yr old
Mum, around bed,with expressions on faces I never want to see again.

Hmmm.

Wouldn't it be more rational to blame either the infection or the drugs
used, rather than a long since past exposure to OP's, which aren't known
for producing these symptoms?

--
Oz
This post is worth absolutely nothing and is probably fallacious.
Note: soon (maybe already) only posts via despammed.com will be accepted.

"Oz" wrote in message
...
Sirius writes
Well I was interested in this bit:
"In 1996 a Miami jury awarded US$4 million to a child whose mother was
exposed in pregnancy to Benlate. The child was born without eyes. The
mother
in this case was subject to an unusually high dose of Benlate. The case
is
on appeal by the manufacturers. An important issue in the case is whether
the timing of exposure - during the formation of the optic nerve in the
foetus - is critical as well as the magnitude of exposure. A Benlate
compensation case involving an English boy from Essex born without eyes
is
also due to be heard shortly in the US(21)."

But take a look at the rodent studies.

Winning in law does not mean that you are right.

Very true
( just as assurances of safety don't mean anything is safe ;-)
Winning in law seems to be more like a game than a question of right or
wrong.

This mention of eye damage to foetuses (foetii??) does of course strike a
chord with me though.

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 22:31:25 -0000, "Sirius"
wrote:
"Oz" wrote in message
...


foetus - is critical as well as the magnitude of exposure. A Benlate
compensation case involving an English boy from Essex born without eyes
is also due to be heard shortly in the US(21)."

But take a look at the rodent studies.
..

This mention of eye damage to foetuses (foetii??) does of course strike a
chord with me though.

Take a look at the rodent reproductive studies.
Anophtalmia/microophtalmia ~ missing or rudimentary development
of the eye bulbs is a well known teratogenic effects of benomyl.

e.g.:
Staples RE (1980) "Teratogenicity study in the rat after
administration by gavage of technical benomyl ( 95% benomyl)"
(Du Pont, unpublished report No. HLR 649-80)
Staples RE (1982) "Teratogenicity study in the rat using technical
benomyl (95% benomyl) administered by gavage and supplement with
individual animal data" (Du Pont, unpublished report No. HLR 649-80)

Best regards

Torsten Brinch