Latest news with #DDT
8 hours ago
- Health
「さすが」と言われる事件を 大阪地検特捜部長の原田尚之氏
A recent webinar hosted by the Scientific Society of General Medicine (SSMG) tackled some urgent questions: What exactly are pesticides? How are people exposed to them and who is at the greatest risk? What does current science tell us about their toxicity? The event brought together leading experts to revisit foundational knowledge and present the latest research on this widespread yet often misunderstood class of chemicals. Before delving into the core issues, speakers were quick to make one crucial point, given the sensitivity of the topic: The aim was not to blame farmers. 'They are the first to be exposed to pesticides, and the suicide rate is alarmingly high. We are absolutely not placing the burden of changing agricultural practices on their shoulders,' emphasised Jessica Beurton, MD, holds a Certificate in Environmental Health and is a core member of the Environment Unit at the SSMG. Beurton then offered a brief reminder of what pesticides are: chemical products used to target and eliminate unwanted entities, such as weeds, insects, or fungi. Of the 800 pesticides used worldwide, approximately 650 are thought to function as endocrine disruptors. According to the World Health Organization, an endocrine disruptor is an exogenous substance or mixture that interferes with endocrine functions and causes adverse health effects in an otherwise healthy individual. Exposure With these elements introduced, the presentation began with questions on how people are exposed to pesticides. Ingestion is the primary route, and children are particularly vulnerable; 67% of foods consumed by children contain at least one pesticide residue compared to 37% for adults. A study conducted by French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety found that 100% of the samples from cereals, fruit juices, vegetables, meat, fish, soups, and purees intended for children contained at least one pesticide residue. The same trend applies to foods that are popular among both children and adults, such as sweet biscuits, compotes, and butter. 'Perhaps even more striking, the study revealed the presence of pesticides banned decades ago, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). This illustrates the persistence of these molecules in our environments,' emphasised Céline Bertrand, a paediatric nurse, educator, and member of the Environment Unit at the SSMG. Residential exposure is also a concern. Pesticides, including DDT, have been detected in household dust, bed linens, and bath towels. 'Only a very small portion of the pesticides used in agriculture reach their intended target. The rest is released into the environment — into soil, water, and air,' Bertrand explained. Residents living near agricultural zones face greater risks. While 80% of pesticide spray settles within the first 10 m of the ground, airborne dispersion is more unpredictable. In some cases, concentrations peak over 50 m away or even 48 hours after application of the pesticide. However, occupational exposure remains a serious issue. Among the farmers, there was a strong association with Parkinson's disease, cognitive disorders, and chronic bronchitis. 'We also need to clarify the cancer risks among farmers. A large cohort study, AGRICOH, showed higher risks for certain cancers and lower risks for others, likely linked to outdoor activity.' 'However, this cohort included farmers who used pesticides and others who did not. The data show an increased cancer risk in pesticide users.' Bertrand said. Lung cancer was the most common, followed by prostate cancer, multiple myeloma, and colon cancer. Long-term exposure can also affect DNA and hormone levels, and gene expression in pesticide users. Exposure begins as early as embryonic development. 'The first 1000 days of life — from conception — are a critical window of susceptibility to endocrine disruptors. Puberty is another key period of susceptibility,' added Beurton. The discussion then turned to the toxicity of the pesticides. While acute poisoning remains rare in the general population, chronic exposure is widespread due to contamination of the troposphere. This chronic toxicity, ranging from immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity to cancer, endocrine disruption, and embryo damage, depends on the mode of action of the active molecule and co-formulants, their persistence in the environment, and the toxicity of their breakdown products (metabolites). 'The breakdown of a pesticide produces metabolites that can be more toxic than the parent molecule and can be found in higher concentrations in the blood. This flies under the radar. In Wallonia, we only monitor about 20 pesticide metabolites, which raises questions,' Bertrand noted. Among the various toxic effects identified are those on brain development before birth. Prenatal exposure to organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorders. 'The earlier exposure during development phase in children, the greater the impact,' Bertrand explained. Each year in Europe, exposure to these substances is estimated to result in a loss of 13 million IQ points. It has also been linked to more than 50,000 cases of intellectual disability, 300 cases of autism, and 20,000 cases of ADHD. Risk Surprisingly, some pesticides, including DDT, are obesogenic, with effects that span generations. Studies have shown that mothers exposed to DDT in the 1960s had daughters who were more likely to develop obesity, and this pattern continued into the next generation. 'This clearly illustrates the transgenerational epigenetic effects of pesticides,' Bertrand said. Pesticides also affect fertility in both men and women. For instance, eating fruits and vegetables with high pesticide residues is associated with a lower likelihood of pregnancy and childbirth after infertility treatment. Men who consume the highest levels of such produce have 49% lower sperm counts and 32% fewer normal sperm than those who consume less. 'While it is still difficult to definitively prove cause-and-effect link in environmental health, the body of evidence linking pesticide exposure to neurological and endocrine diseases, childhood cancers, and immune disorders is growing stronger day by day. This should lead us toward the precautionary and even preventative principle,' Bertrand warned. Certain chemicals classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic are still used in Belgium. Toxic Co-Formulants The webinar then focused on glyphosate, a common herbicide still surrounded by controversy, partly due to efforts to cast doubt on its risks. However, science is becoming clearer. The active ingredient of glyphosate meets 8 out of 10 criteria for being classified as an endocrine disruptor. A recent study in mice showed that glyphosate can enter the brain and remain there for months. This led to brain inflammation in both healthy mice and those with Alzheimer's disease and caused early death in the exposed animals. One study assessed glyphosate and two glyphosate-based formulations in rats using three dose levels: no observed adverse effect level, the acceptable daily intake, and an intermediate dose. In all cases, researchers observed a higher rate of both benign and malignant tumours across multiple organs compared to control animals. 'Tumours were found in the blood, skin, liver, thyroid, nervous system, ovaries, mammary glands, adrenal glands, kidneys, bladder, bones, pancreas, uterus, and spleen,' said Bertrand. In another study, liver cells were exposed to glyphosate and four different formulations. All of them showed harmful effects within 24 hours — even at doses below those typically used in agriculture. Chronic in vivo regulatory studies typically assess the glyphosate levels alone. However, experts warn that health effects appear to depend more on the overall formulation than on the glyphosate concentration itself. 'That is quite concerning,' said Bertrand. 'These co-formulants represent the hidden face of pesticides. In many cases, they increase the toxicity of the active ingredient — or are even more toxic than glyphosate itself.' Laboratory tests have detected a range of hazardous substances in pesticide formulations, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), titanium dioxide, heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and nickel, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Notably, PFAS were found in insecticide products even though their presence was not disclosed on the label. 'This should prompt us to rethink how we assess pesticide toxicity and take a much closer look at co-formulants, which can be considered the tip of the iceberg,' Bertrand emphasised. Shifting the Paradigm The webinar concluded with a broader reflection of the socio-economic implications of pesticide use. Critics often argue that eliminating pesticides would threaten global food security. However, Beurton challenged this narrative. 'Pesticides were introduced after World War II when famine was a real threat. This is no longer the case. Today, we understand their health risks, and we are witnessing a serious decline in biodiversity. It is time to change our approach,' she said. Beurton highlighted emerging research and pilot projects in agroecology that promote local, organic, seasonal, and minimally processed foods. 'The majority of farmers themselves are in favour of this paradigm shift. But they do not want to move forward alone: They need support,' she added. The price of organic and local food is often criticised, but Beurton pointed out that much of the cost comes from the industrial food system itself. 'When you break it down, a large portion of the price goes to processing, imports, packaging, marketing, and supermarkets — not the producers. If you want unprocessed food, you need to get it directly from the producer,' she said. Food Equity Beurton also noted that community gardens are growing in number and help make quality food more accessible, especially for low-income families. 'Food inequality is a serious and growing issue,' she said. Finally, she addressed the concern that food production would collapse in the absence of pesticides. 'Right now, Wallonia imports 83% of the fruits and vegetables and 67% of the cereals it consumes. Therefore, we are no longer producing our own food, which is a big problem. Supporting small, local producers — even those without organic certification — can help rebuild local food systems and create meaningful social connections,' she concluded.
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- General
- Boston Globe
John Robbins, author of ‘Diet for a New America,' dies at 77
Advertisement The book's message, Mr. Robbins wrote, was 'that the healthiest, tastiest and most nourishing way to eat is also the most economical, the most compassionate and least polluting.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy in 1988 compared 'Diet for a New America' and its impact on the way we think about food to Rachel Carson's classic 'Silent Spring' (1962), which warned how the unlimited use of agricultural pesticides like DDT had contaminated the soil and water and threatened the health of wildlife and humans, and which helped spur the modern environmental movement. Through the years, food writers for The New York Times have described 'Diet for a New America' as 'groundbreaking.' But Mr. Robbins's methods of raising awareness of the healthful effects of a vegetarian diet drew some criticism from Marian Burros in a 1992 Eating Well column in the Times. Advertisement 'Much of what Mr. Robbins has to say about diet in this country,' Burros wrote, 'is unremarkable: We eat too much meat and dairy products. Much of what Mr. Robbins has to say about the inhumane treatment of animals on factory farms is correct. But Mr. Robbins undermines his case by exaggerating; facts mix with factoids and anecdotes.' Burros cited experts who challenged Mr. Robbins's contentions that raising cattle was responsible for the deforestation of the United States, and that meat and dairy products contained more pesticides than plant foods. Mr. Robbins, quoted in the column, acknowledged that his message was 'a little complicated for the bumper-sticker mind and the sound bite.' John Ernest Robbins was born on Oct. 26, 1947, in Glendale, Calif. His father, Irvine, was a founder of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream company with his brother-in-law Burton Baskin. His mother, Irma (Gevurtz) Robbins, ran the household. The family pool was shaped like an ice cream cone. At age 5, John contracted polio. He was in a wheelchair for about six months, his left leg was impaired, and he walked with a limp as a boy, Ocean Robbins said in an interview. But through yoga, exercise, and a healthier diet, Mr. Robbins as an adult built his body to the point where he could run the equivalent distance of a marathon and complete the swimming, biking, and running stages of an unofficial triathlon. Mr. Robbins worked in the family ice cream business in his younger years, helping to concoct a popular flavor, jamoca almond fudge, and to popularize Baskin-Robbins' distinctive pink spoons. But, as a devotee of Thoreau, Emerson, and Whitman, he later mutinied against materialism, telling the Times in 1992 that, in his family, 'roughing it meant room service was late.' Advertisement He also said that he wished his father had spent more time with him and less time on his company; sometimes, he said, he thought that 'my primary importance to him was that I would carry on the business.' Months after Baskin died of a heart attack in 1967, Baskin-Robbins was sold to the United Fruit Company. Irv Robbins remained with the company until he retired in 1978. According to Ocean Robbins, his grandfather had offered not to sell the company if his son would join him in business. But John Robbins declined. He was concerned, he said in a 2019 interview with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, that the consumption of large amounts of ice cream, loaded with saturated fats and sugar, had contributed to Baskin's cardiovascular problems, and also concerned about the treatment of cows at commercial dairies, where they produced ice cream's primary ingredient: milk. 'It broke my heart to see them treated so poorly,' he told PETA. 'I found the idea of profiting from such cruelty to be appalling.' Irv Robbins was angered by John's rebuff, Ocean Robbins said. 'He thought he had fallen prey to the hippie counterculture world where you just reject everything.' Upon graduating in 1969 from the University of California Berkeley, where he studied political philosophy, Mr. Robbins sought a simpler life. He and his wife, Deo, moved to Fulford Harbour, British Columbia, where they built a one-room log cabin that was later expanded to three rooms. Advertisement Ocean Robbins said that his parents did not own a car and lived on $500 to $1,000 a year, teaching yoga and meditation classes, growing what crops they could and taking one delivery per year of food they couldn't grow themselves. By the mid-1970s, John Robbins had reentered academia. He received a master's degree in humanistic psychology in 1976 from Antioch College (now University) in Ohio through its affiliation with Cold Mountain Institute in British Columbia and began a career as a psychotherapist. The family moved to the Santa Cruz area of California in 1984. Around that time, Mr. Robbins began reading books about the treatment of animals at factory farms, which led to further reading about the links between food, health, and the environment. From that sprung the idea for 'Diet for a New America.' In 2001, Robbins wrote a follow-up, 'The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World.' In 2012, he and his son founded the Food Revolution Network, an online education and advocacy organization dedicated to healthy, ethical, and sustainable food that claims more than a million members. In 2019, Ocean Robbins said, his father began experiencing symptoms of post-polio syndrome, losing strength and suffering chronic pain in his legs and later enduring sleep and cognition issues. In addition to his son, Mr. Robbins is survived by his wife, whom he married in 1969, and two sisters, Marsha Veit and Erin Robbins. In the late 1980s, his son said, John Robbins reconciled with his father: Irv Robbins, suffering from weight issues, heart disease, and diabetes, was given a copy of 'Diet for a New America' by his cardiologist. The doctor had no idea that the book had been written by his patient's son. Advertisement Irv Robbins read the book, gave up sugar, reduced his meat consumption, lost weight, improved his golf game and lived another 20 years, Ocean Robbins said. He died in 2008. It was confirmation, John Robbins liked to say, 'that blood was thicker than ice cream.' This article originally appeared in
The Hindu
15-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Sir Ronald Ross and the mosquito link: how one nobel winning discovery changed the course of malaria control
Before Sir Ronald Ross's discovery in 1897, malaria was understood to be a disease caused by bad air ('mal aria,' meaning bad air). While the disease was recognised and feared for centuries, the underlying cause was not known. Understanding how malaria spreads: A scientific turning point On August 20, 1897, while working in Secunderabad, India, Ross dissected a mosquito that had fed on a malaria-infected patient. Inside its gut lining, he observed the presence of Plasmodium parasites—the microscopic organisms responsible for malaria. This observation provided the medical community with the first solid evidence that mosquitoes act as carriers of the disease. Although French military doctor Charles Laveran had identified Plasmodium in human blood in 1880, the method of transmission remained unclear. Ross, building on the ideas of physician Patrick Manson, confirmed that the malaria parasite requires a mosquito host to complete part of its life cycle before being passed to humans. Marking this discovery, Ross noted in his journal: 'This day relenting God Hath placed within my hand, A wondrous thing…' These words captured not only a breakthrough in understanding infectious disease but also a shift in how malaria prevention would be approached from then on. A scientific method grounded in observation and precision Ross conducted careful experiments using birds infected with Plasmodium relictum, an avian form of malaria. He allowed mosquitoes to feed on these birds and later dissected them at regular intervals. Over time, he found the parasites developing in the mosquito's stomach lining -- later forming what we now know as oocysts. This work revealed the external (or 'extrinsic') development of Plasmodium in the mosquito. Ross had traced the full transmission cycle, proving mosquitoes were not just incidental but a necessary host for the parasite. His work became the foundation of what we now call vector biology—the study of how insects and other organisms transmit diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges Ross's discovery as a pivotal moment in public health, reporting that it 'opened up a new vista for prevention and control of malaria' Changing how public health systems responded to malaria Ross's findings had a direct impact on how malaria was managed in India, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Once mosquitoes were identified as vectors, public health teams focused on controlling mosquito breeding: draining stagnant water, managing swamps, and later using insecticides like DDT. Ross went on to work in Sierra Leone and Mauritius, where he applied these principles in real-world malaria control efforts. He used mapping, statistics, and population data to track infection spread—techniques that are still used in disease surveillance today. In 1902, Ross received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work. The citation read:'for his work on malaria, by which he has shown how it enters the organism and thereby has laid the foundation for successful research on this disease and methods of combating it.' His legacy Ross was also a prolific writer, poet, and advocate for medical education in the colonies. He pushed for more locally-run laboratories and for training Indian personnel in research methods, long before it became common practice. He also developed early mathematical models for how malaria spreads, laying the groundwork for what would become the Ross-Macdonald model—a widely used formula to estimate malaria transmission based on mosquito and human populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that Ross's work, in collaboration with George Macdonald, led to the development of a mathematical model of mosquito-borne pathogen transmission . Over 125 years later, Ross's discovery continues to influence how we fight malaria. Vector control—like bed nets, mosquito repellents, and larvicide treatments—remains one of the most effective strategies to prevent the diseas .The WHO emphasises that controlling insect vectors has played an increasingly important role in reducing the burden of malaria since Ross's discovery . August 20 is now remembered as 'Mosquito Day' in his honor, especially in India. His field lab in Secunderabad has been turned into a memorial, and medical researchers still refer to his original drawings and writings. Sir Ronald Ross died in 1932. At the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where he later taught, his epitaph reads: 'He gave to mankind an immense weapon against death.'
Chicago Tribune
14-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: EPA bans use of pesticide DDT
Today is Saturday, June 14, the 165th day of 2025. There are 200 days left in the year. This is Flag Day. Today in history: On June 14, 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered a ban on domestic use of the pesticide DDT, to take effect at year's end. Also on this date: In 1775, the Continental Army, forerunner of the United States Army, was created by the Second Continental Congress. In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the design of the first 'stars and stripes' American flag. In 1846, a group of U.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the breakaway state of the California Republic, declaring independence from Mexico. In 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown embarked on the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1940, German troops entered Paris during World War II; the same day, the Nazis transported their first prisoners to the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court, in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, ruled 6-3 that public school students could not be forced to salute the flag of the United States or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill adding the phrase 'under God' to the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1982, Argentine forces surrendered to British troops on the disputed Falkland Islands. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced his nomination of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2005, Michelle Wie, 15, became the first female player to qualify for an adult male U.S. Golf Association championship, tying for first place in a 36-hole U.S. Amateur Public Links sectional qualifying tournament. In 2017, fire ripped through the 24-story Grenfell Tower residential building in West London, killing 72 people. In 2018, a Justice Department watchdog report on the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe criticized the FBI and its former director, James Comey, but did not find evidence that political bias tainted the investigation. Today's Birthdays: Actor Marla Gibbs is 94. U.S. President Donald Trump is 79. Olympic speed skating gold medalist Eric Heiden is 67. Jazz musician Marcus Miller is 66. Singer Boy George is 64. Tennis Hall of Famer Steffi Graf is 56. Classical pianist Lang Lang is 43. Actor J.R. Martinez is 42. Actor Lucy Hale is 36. Actor Daryl Sabara is 33. Rapper Gunna is 32.
Boston Globe
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Frank Graham Jr., nature writer who updated ‘Silent Spring,' dies at 100
He added, 'I'd visit him in Maine, where he had a little island, and we'd be eating plants, and he'd also be picking spiders out of his kayak and identifying them.' Advertisement In addition to birds and insects, Mr. Graham wrote about threats to the environment. Ed Neal, the outdoors columnist for The San Francisco Examiner, described Mr. Graham's 1966 book, 'Disaster by Default: Politics and Water Pollution,' as 'a damning indictment of what industry and indifferent government have done to the nation's waterways.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In 1967, after the book was reviewed in Audubon, the magazine asked him to write about the progress, if any, of pesticide legislation and regulation in the United States since the publication of 'Silent Spring,' a devastating examination of the ecological effects of insecticides and pesticides including DDT. A year later, Audubon named him its field editor, a job he held until 2013. Advertisement Mr. Graham's three-part series about pesticides for the magazine persuaded Paul Brooks, Carson's editor at Houghton Mifflin, to sign him to write an update of 'Silent Spring.' The resulting Mr. Graham book, 'Since Silent Spring' (1970), described the years Carson spent researching and writing 'Silent Spring,' documented the attacks on her findings by agricultural and chemical companies and governmental interests, and chronicled the catastrophes caused by pesticides in the ensuing years. (Carson died in 1964.) Mr. Graham's book came out several months after the federal government announced steps it was taking to ban DDT, vindicating Carson's message. 'One cannot read this book and escape the fundamental point that today's environmental advocates are attempting to make,' Francis W. Sargent, a conservationist and moderate Republican who was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1970, wrote about 'Since Silent Spring' in The New York Times Book Review. 'Man's environment has become so complex and interrelated that any action that alters one aspect of the environment may have a potentially disastrous impact on man's health.' Looking back in 2012 in an Audubon article, Mr. Graham wrote that his book was one Carson 'should have written to rebut the all-out attack on her work and person.' He attributed the modest success of 'Since Silent Spring' to readers who were 'reluctant to let Carson go' and who had 'remained eager to see how her work and reputation had survived the assaults of the exploiters.' Frank Graham Jr. was born March 31, 1925, in Manhattan to Lillian (Whipp) Graham and Frank Sr., a prominent sports reporter and columnist for The New York Sun and The New York Journal-American. Frank Jr. grew up mostly in suburban New Rochelle, N.Y., where his interest in nature was sparked. Advertisement During World War II, he served in the Navy aboard the escort aircraft carrier Marcus Island as a torpedoman's mate. He saw action throughout the Pacific, fighting in the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. After being discharged, he studied English at Columbia University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1950; he had worked as a copy boy at The Sun during the summers. With help from his father, Mr. Graham was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers and promoted in 1951 to publicity director. He left the job in 1955, after the Dodgers beat the Yankees for the first time in the World Series. Mr. Graham went on to become an editor and writer at Sport magazine, where he stayed for three years, and then worked as a freelance writer for various publications, including The Saturday Evening Post, The Atlantic Monthly, Sports Illustrated, and Reader's Digest. He was also the author of 'Casey Stengel: His Half Century in Baseball' (1958), a biography of the Yankees' idiosyncratic and immensely successful manager; collaborated with Mel Allen, one of the Yankees' star broadcasters, on 'It Takes Heart' (1959), a book about heroic athletes; and wrote 'Margaret Chase Smith: Woman of Courage' (1964), about the trailblazing independent Republican US senator from Maine. In 1981, Mr. Graham wrote 'A Farewell to Heroes,' which he called a 'dual autobiography' of his father and himself. The cover photograph shows Mr. Graham as a child at Yankee Stadium -- dressed in a jacket, tie, overcoat and Lou Gehrig's Yankees cap -- standing in a dugout beside Gehrig, the Yankees' slugging first baseman, who was a friend of Frank Sr.'s and a neighbor in New Rochelle. Advertisement Mr. Graham married Ada Cogan in 1953. An author herself under the name Ada Graham, she and her husband wrote several children's books together about the natural world. She is his only immediate survivor. In 2013, Mr. Graham wrote in Audubon about the epiphany he once experienced in Central Park in New York when, using powerful new binoculars, he saw a black-and-white warbler. It was a warbler 'as I had never seen one: resplendent in its fresh nuptial plumage, every detail clear and sharp,' he wrote. 'It was a revelation. The memory of that long-ago bird has never left me; it amplifies my pleasure every time I see one of its descendants.' This article originally appeared in
