Three widely used neonicotinoids—thiamethoxam, clothianidin and imidacloprid—are threatening more than 200 endangered species’ existence, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency. Used on farms and in urban landscapes, these pesticides are absorbed by plants, often present in pollen and nectar, and are blamed for killing pollinators or changing their behaviors.
The pesticides “jeopardize the continued existence of” more than 1 in 10 endangered fish, insects, crustaceans, plants, and birds across the United States, according to the analysis conducted by the division in the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs.
“These are likely the most ecologically destructive pesticides we’ve seen since DDT,” Dan Raichel, acting director of the Pollinator Initiative at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group that works to “safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends,” said.
Some of the 200 endangered species threatened include the Attwater’s greater prairie chicken, Alabama cave shrimp, the American burying beetle, and the slackwater darter. The star cactus and four-petal pawpaw are among the 160 at risk plants.
“We don’t need to be using nearly as much of these as we’re using,” Christian Krupke, a professor of entomology at Purdue University, said. “This is an avoidable problem. In most cases, it’s not helping crops, yields or farmers.”
Jan Matuszko, director of the environmental fates and effects division in the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, said the analysis was released with the intention to put into place mitigations of the harm being caused, with plans for the EPA to re-register the neonicotinoids in September in an interim decision.
“The reason we’re doing this is to get mitigations in place for listed species much earlier,” Matuszko said. “We want to be able to protect those species before we go through the entire consultation process.”
Aside from environmental harm, scientists said neonicotinoids’ also have harmful effects on human health, including neurotoxicity and neurodevelopmental issues for children.
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