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EPA Pesticide Exposure Test Too Short, Overlooks Long Term E


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EPA Pesticide Exposure Test Too Short, Overlooks Long Term Effects, According To Expert

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817143610.htm

 

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2009) — The four-day testing period the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) commonly uses to determine safe levels of pesticide exposure for humans and animals could fail to account for the toxins' long-term effects, University of Pittsburgh researchers report in the September edition of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

The team found that the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan—a neurotoxin banned in several nations but still used extensively in U.S. agriculture—can exhibit a "lag effect" with the fallout from exposure not surfacing until after direct contact has ended. Lead author Devin Jones, a recent Pitt biological sciences graduate, conducted the experiment under Rick Relyea, an associate professor of biological sciences in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, with collaboration from Pitt post-doctoral researcher John Hammond.

 

The team exposed nine species of frog and toad tadpoles to endosulfan levels "expected and found in nature" for the EPA's required four-day period, then moved the tadpoles to clean water for an additional four days, Jones reported. Although endosulfan was ultimately toxic to all species ...

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