Methyl iodide pesticide gets state approval despite links to cancer

 

 
'California regulators approved a pesticide Wednesday for use by fruit and vegetable growers despite heavy opposition from environmental and farmworker groups that cited its links to cancer.

The state Department of Pesticide Regulation will register methyl iodide as a substitute for the pesticide methyl bromide, which is being phased out by international treaty because it depletes the protective ozone layer. 

California's $1.6 billion strawberry industry will undoubtedly provide one of the biggest markets for the chemical, as will the Central Valley's nut orchards and the fresh flower nurseries dotting the coast in Ventura and San Diego counties.' 

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Pesticide exposure linked to 53 percent increased risk for Alzheimer's disease

Pesticides and Cognitive Decline

By Dr. Allan Spreen

Alzheimer's risk skyrockets for farmers in Utah

In recent study, Duke University scientist Kathleen M. Hayden, PhD and her team followed 3,000 elderly men and women living in rural Utah for 14 years. At the outset of the study, the scientists asked each of the participants detailed questions to determine exposure to many different types of pesticides. In addition, the scientists measured the participants' cognitive levels three times over the course of the study.

They found that about 600 participants had some pesticide exposure. In fact, most of them had been exposed to two kinds of pesticides commonly used to spray food crops, called organophosphates and organochlorines.

Of the 600 participants exposed to these pesticides, an astounding 500 developed "incident dementia" over the course of the study. In addition, 433 developed Alzheimer's disease.'

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