It amazes me that an American firm can sell a pesticide so deadly that it’s banned in USA, to Kenyans and say that its needed to solve the perennial food shortage.

Carbofuran is not safe enough for Americans, and not safe enough for Kenyans. Join us at WildlifeDirect, ban carbofuran. For more information on what we are doing about the poisoning of wildlife in Kenya follow our Baraza blog and Stop Poisoning Wildlife blog

Last year we were all horrified to learn about lions in Kenya’s Mara Triangle with paralyzed limbs dying in agony from poisoning by a cheap American pesticide called Carbofuran (Furadan) produced by FMC Corporation.

Lion poisoned by Furadan after eating poisoned hippo

I posted about this crisis on my old blog

A campaign was started through Wildlife Direct on the Stop Wildlife Poisoning blog, conferences held and campaigns run to stop the use of the chemical in Kenya.  Richard Leakey called for a ban on Furadan.

And in April of this year, 60 Minutes ran a show highlighting this crisis.
Watch it here.

Wildlife Direct was thrilled to learn that after the airing of the 60 Minutes segment, FMC pulled the chemical from Africa, a major achievement and a rare piece of good news for wildlife.

Fabulous news followed hot on the heels of this breakthrough as in May, the EPA banned the use of the chemical in the United States.

Next on the list is to get it banned in Canada. Stop Wildlife Poisoning has featured today’s Globe and Mail story by Mark Hume that Canada is now considering banning the use of the chemical due to the EPA decision.

an excerpt from the Globe article…

“But the move comes decades after Canadian government officials first
learned carbofuran was wiping out everything from flocks of songbirds in
the Prairies to eagles in British Columbia.

One of the first warnings about the pesticide came in 1984 when a
Saskatchewan farmer went to inspect a canola field he’d treated with
carbofuran.

“He returned to find the bodies of several thousand Lapland Longspurs
dotting the field,” according to a report on the incident by the Canadian
Wildlife Service.

The Lapland Longspur is a sparrow-like songbird that breeds in the Arctic
and winters in open fields across southern Canada and the United States.”

In the article, Michael Fry, director of conservation advocacy for the American Bird Conservancy, says that between 17 million to 100 million birds are killed annually by Furadan.

Thank you to the conservationists at Wildlife Direct in Kenya for raising the alarm on this issue and for achieving such incredible results.
I will post further updates on Canada.

U.S. EPA has revoked regulations that allowed the presence of small amounts of the pesticide “carbofuran” in food. Carbofuran is a toxic insecticide that does not meet current U.S. food safety standards. EPA’s action will eliminate residues of carbofuran in food, including all imports, in a move to protect people, especially children, from dietary risk. Ultimately, EPA will remove this pesticide from the market.

 EPA is proceeding to cancel the remaining carbofuran registrations, or licenses, which will address risks to pesticide applicators and birds in treated fields. In 2006, EPA identified significant dietary, ecological and worker risks from the use of carbofuran and concluded that all uses must be cancelled. While FMC Corporation voluntarily withdrew 22 uses of this pesticide, it was insufficient for the agency to conclude that dietary exposures to carbofuran are safe.

 The final carbofuran tolerance rule becomes effective in December. EPA is encouraging growers to switch to safer pesticides or other environmentally preferable pest control strategies.

 More information on carbofuran: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/carbofuran/carbofuran_noic.htm

Yeah baby! All those comments we sent to the EPA must’ve done some good because the EPA just announced a full ban on carbofuran pesticide, sold around the world as Furadan. The granular form has been banned in the U.S. for a few years because it kills birds in massive amounts, but this new rule bans carbofuran on ALL food sold in the U.S., even food purchased outside the U.S.

Here’s part of the news release found on the Stop Wildlife Poisoning blog on Wildlife Direct:

EPA Bans Deadly Pesticide Responsible for Millions of Bird Deaths

(Washington, D.C. – May 11, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its final decision to revoke all food tolerances for the highly toxic pesticide carbofuran, which is sold under the name “Furadan” by FMC Corporation. The agency’s announcement confirms a proposed action first announced in July 2008. FMC Corp. will have the opportunity to challenge the decision within 90 days with a petition to stay the rule. When the rule becomes final, EPA will proceed with the cancellation of registration for all uses of the pesticide.

Lion poisoned by carbofuran after eating poisoned hippo

“Carbofuran causes neurological damage in humans, and one of the most deadly pesticides to birds left on the market. It is responsible for the deaths of millions of wild birds since its introduction in 1967, including Bald and Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, and migratory songbirds,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy. “This EPA decision marks a huge victory for wildlife and the environment.”

This rule becomes effective December 31, 2009 to allow for commodities in storage to be used. Most uses of carbofuran on food crops were voluntarily canceled in March 2009, effective immediately, so that most uses of the pesticide have been canceled for the 2009 growing season. Today’s announcement is available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/30118530d0b774d7852575b30059aa8c?OpenDocument.

I just got this e-mail message from Dr. Paula Kahumbu, the CEO of Wildlife Direct. I am stunned.

This just came in from Richard Leakey

“I just received a call from the CEO of the organization that manufactures Furidan. They are discontinuing supply to all African countries where there are predators including South Africa, all of Eastern Africa. He has directed Juanaco in Kenya and other distributors in Tanzania to buy back all stocks held by retailers and he believes that within 8 weeks it will be done with. He has offered to work with us to see that similar products are not taken to Africa by others.”

SUCCESS AT LAST!!!! This was obviously the result of everyone working towards this goal (though we never expected the producers to react quite so astoundingly.)

I strongly suspect that this decision comes as a result of the CBS 60 minutes special on Sunday – hope you all saw it. We talked about it here: http://lionguardians.wildlifedirect.org/2009/03/27/watch-60-minutes-this-sunday/.

And you can watch it here http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/26/60minutes/main4894945.shtml.

Well, it’s obviously hit a spot – thank you so much Drew and your team – I hope you can do a follow up and this time please remember to mention WildilfeDirect …

Read the full story here http://baraza.wildlifedirect.org/2009/04/02/breaking-news-furadan-withdrawn-from-africa/ and please leave a comment. Also, do circulate widely.

Kind regards, Paula

s.

Still busy with the beginning of fall classes today, so how about reading these arthropod posts elsewhere?

Doug posts about the Lichen Grasshopper

New Aphid species found….on eBay!

Bootstrap Analysis finds a new species in her yard!

Ants invade….a printer? (video)

EPA limits use of Carbofuran for wildlife safety reasons:

“Carbofuran is one of the most deadly pesticides to birds left on the market. It is responsible for the deaths of millions of wild birds since its introduction in 1967, including Bald and Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, and migratory songbirds. In its 2005 ecological risk assessment on carbofuran, EPA stated that all legal uses of the pesticide were likely to kill wild birds.”

New mosquito virus identified–one they get, not one they transmit! A possible tool for future mosquito control.

Presidential Roach Race

Myrmecos finds an ant basketball in a tree

Some WTFs:

• This, I suppose, is an improvement over the people who want to kill you for teaching evolution: guy wants work camps for Evilutionist scientists. (oh, and we shouldn’t be allowed to vote, either.)
• Science has additional coverage on the new Bush Administration revisions to the Endangered Species Act that exempt many projects from review. Ugh.

And some random stuff:

• 43 folders covers what makes a good blog. I certainly meet the “focused obsession” category

Do you agree with his criteria?

FMC markets carbofuran, a pesticide, as “Furadan” in the United States.  According to FMC’s website, Furadan insecticide-nematicide has been the standard for insect control for more than 25 years. Used as both an at-plant and a foliar insecticide, Furadan provides control of both soil and above ground pests – corn rootworms, alfalfa weevil, 1st generation European corn borer and aphids – on key crops like corn, alfalfa and cotton and more.  The trade name Furadan is used by FMC for the chemical carbofuran.

However, U.S. EPA has concluded that dietary, worker, and ecological risks are of concern for all uses of carbofuran. All products containing carbofuran generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on humans and the environment and do not meet safety standards, and therefore are ineligible for re-registration.

Carbofuran is a white crystalline solid with a slightly phenolic odor. This broad spectrum insecticide is sprayed directly onto soil and plants just after emergence to control beetles, nematodes and rootworm. The greatest use of carbofuran is on alfalfa and rice, with turf and grapes making up most of the remainder. Earlier uses were primarily on corn crops.  

Carbofuran is a systemic insecticide, which means that the plant absorbs it through the roots, and from here the plant distributes it throughout its organs (mainly vessels, stems and leaves; not the fruits), where insecticidal concentrations are attained. Carbofuran also has contact activity against pests. Carbofuran usage has increased in recent years because it is one of the few insecticides effective on soybean aphids.

Short-term health effects: EPA has found carbofuran to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL for relatively short periods of time: headache, sweating, nausea, diarrhea, chest pains, blurred vision, anxiety and general muscular weakness. These effects are reversible.

Long-term health effects: Carbofuran has the potential to cause the following health effects from long-term exposures at levels above the MCL: damage to the nervous and reproductive systems.

EPA will accept public comments on the proposed tolerance revocation for 60 days. For more information go to: epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/carbofuran/carbofuran_noic.htm

OK, so I guess the Bush administration hasn’t totally castrated them. In a “surprising move” yesterday (that’s the Washington Post’s commentary not mine) the EPA banned carbofuran residue on both domestic and imported food. Carbofuran has been known to cause health risks, especially in children and is a known neurotoxin that threatens animals as well as humans. Nice! The residue is typically found on rice, bananas, coffee and sugar cane. Click here for the piece.

Holy mother all that’s … holy! The EPA surprised everyone by announcing that “it will no longer allow residue of the toxic pesticide carbofuran on domestic or imported food, a decision that would effectively remove the chemical from the U.S. market,” according to the Washington Post.

Domestic or imported food – that’s the kicker, folks. That means that foods imported to the U.S. cannot contain carbofuran (sold as Furadan) residues and that means those countries CANNOT use Furadan on foods they sell to the U.S. (such as coffee, rice, bananas, sugar cane) This is a big, huge win for wildlife. Carbofuran, as I’ve mentioned in the past (see Dr. Leakey Calls For Ban on Carbofuran in Kenya, and EPA Considers Lifting Ban on Furadan Pesticide, and Cattle Farming Responsible for Epidemic of Wildlife Poisoning) is used widely to poison wildlife that interfere with cattle farming or other livestock enterprises. You can read a lot more about the dangers to wildlife, and people, of carbofuran on Wildlife Direct’s Stop Wildlife Poisoning blog.

The pesticide’s manufacturer, FMC, plans to fight the EPA’s decision. There is a 60-day comment period when anyone can comment on this proposed rule, so if you know of any NGOs (Defenders of Wildlife, NRDC, etc.) who are asking for public comments, please let me know. We can get this off the market entirely if enough people take time to comment.

The WaPo story goes on to explain why the EPA made this proposal:

In proposing the ban, the EPA also overruled the Agriculture Department, which argued in written comments that federal officials should consider the benefits associated with keeping the pesticide on the market. Gulliford, however, said the EPA does not weigh such factors when judging the risk posed by food products.

“It’s not a benefit-risks decision, it’s a risk-based decision,” he said in an interview, adding that the agency hoped to have the pesticide off the market before next year’s growing season. “This is part of our process to ensure we have the safest food supply of any country in the world.”

There is no question that carbofuran exacts a toll on wildlife: A 2006 EPA document examining the pesticide’s environmental effects found that if a flock of mallard ducks wandered into an alfalfa field within a week after the chemical was applied, 84 percent of the birds would die. The pesticide also kills bees, which have experienced an unexplained massive population collapse in recent years.

Very good news!

s.