Laundering of Unapproved Chemicals and Its Potential Risks.

Pesticide Laundering of Non-Registered Sources, Impurities Profile, Substandard and with No Consistent Quality.

Pesticides registration is the process through which EPA examines the ingredients of a pesticide; the site, or crop on which it is to be used; the amount, frequency and timing of its use; storage and disposal practices. The EPA evaluates the pesticide to ensure that it will not have unreasonable adverse effects on humans, the environment and non – target species. Once registered, a pesticide may not legally be used unless the use is consistent with the approved directions for use on the pesticide’s label or labeling.

Changes to unregistered source of an active ingredient, change in source of Inert Ingredients, changes should not result in:

• An increase in the upper limit of any existing impurity.
• The formation of any new impurity, at a level greater than 0.1 percent by weight of the technical grade active ingredient.
• The formation of other impurities of toxicological significance that have not been previously been reported to, or that occur above levels previously permitted by the agency.
• Any change to the formulation of an existing product, including changes in source of the active substance.

Illegal pesticide laundering are all the products that are not from the registered source and are sold under the registered source or undergo laundering in a formulation plant, used as a laundering machine, were it easily can lose the identity of its source. Illegal registration by using non-authentic sample for passing the tests.

Laundering and using of unregistered sources of pesticides under the registration of pesticides of another source and also white washing them in formulations can have unimaginable and unpredictable dire consequences on many aspects of life! Many implications on our health, the environment and our wellbeing.

The mystery of the disappearing bees; Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is only one example of many, where the influence of unknown composition of chemicals can be significant. There may be a possibility that the problem lies also in unknown impurities which the bees are very sensitive too, that may contribute to the beemageddon.

Thousands of scientific sleuths have been on this case for the last 15 years trying to determine why our honey bees are disappearing in such alarming numbers. A massive pollinator dies – off would imperil world food supplies and devastate ecosystems that depend on them.

“This is the biggest general threat to our food supply!” According to Kevin Hackett, the national program leader for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bee and pollination program.

Honey bees have been likened to the canaries in the coal mine. If that’s so no one can even comprehend the extent and the depth of the problem, if the rules of the Agency are not strictly obeyed, kept and enforced;

Last year I had a dubious “honor” to eat together with many other Israelis eggs contaminated with dioxins. The Health ministry silenced the event by claiming that there was no hazard to man. It’s very strange and smells of a cover-up to me, considering that dioxins are the most toxic chemicals known. They act at the level of few molecules and the effect can come many years after exposure.
I don’t think anyone could tell the root cause why eggs suddenly contained dioxin. But no possibility can, or should be neglected; where pesticides are only one of the possible sources!

The possibility that laundering, may exist, such as of certain chemicals like, within formulations; a rather easy outlet to low quality and non-registered sources for technical materials may have adverse effects. So far, it wasn’t studied very seriously. In my opinion it should be studied in depth! What’s the point in making analysis to 100%, numerous toxicity and thorough field tests, if in practice the product in use, may differ from the one that passed the tests, because it may have a different impurities profile. There might be impurities much more toxic than the pesticide itself, with high acute toxicity (short term toxicity), or high chronic toxicity (long term toxicity). Uncontrolled changes in the impurities profile may lead to new, unexpected, unexplained severe symptoms that can appear suddenly and cause immense health and economic damage; without us ever knowing the real cause of the problem.

The pesticide issue in itself is much more complex than we may have led to be believed. It’s a lot more complicated than just one product, which means of course the solution may not lie in just banning one product or class of products. Outlawing a type of pesticides is not a panacea.

In my opinion those issues shouldn’t be ignored! Lack of total control over the level and complete knowledge about the impurities profile can be a potential danger to us all. In such situation, anything can happen, without ever knowing the real reason. It should also be taken into account that the adverse effects may appear many years later.

I would highly recommend that the relevant authorities shall periodically audit all the companies in the pesticide field in order to confirm their full compliance with the registration conditions.

And that science should take a deeper look into the existing possibility of the out of control impurities issue.

Dr. Aharon Liebersohn- email, themightywhys@hotmail.com