‘Safe’ Pesticides: Worst in Poisonings

‘Safe’ pesticides kill faster!

Pyrethrins and pyrethroids, the main ingredients of thousands “safe” pesticides, were responsible for at least  26 percent of all fatal, “major,” and “moderate” episodes filed with the EPA in 2007, a new report by the Center for Public Integrity said.

Key Findings:

• The number of reported human health problems, including severe reactions, attributed to pyrethrins and pyrethroids rose by about 300 percent since 2000, according to previously unreleased EPA data.

• Pyrethrins and pyrethroids based pesticides cause more human harm than all other classes of pesticides.

Credit: The Center for Public Integrity. Image may be subject to copyright.

“Two-and-a-half-year-old Amber Nickol McKeown had head lice. Her mother, Eileen, put the child in a warm bath and massaged Osco Lice Treatment Shampoo into her scalp. Problem solved.”

Soon amber’s chest turned red and bathing her in cool water didn’t help. Little Amber’s condition deteriorated rapidly as she struggled to breathe. “Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her skin peeled off in clumps, according to a lawsuit filed by the family.”

Amber was dead within 72 hours of her bath. Click here for full report.

Related Links:

• World Wide Web of Pesticides Can Endanger Consumers : The Internet Presents a Unique Challenge for Pesticide Regulators
• A Checkered Past : The EPA’s Erratic Effort to Monitor Pesticide Poisonings