Lawn Fertilizer Toxicity and Your Pets

Information taken in part from Eartheasy.com

See also: Alternatives to Lawn Fertilizers and Pesticides

Some 100 million pounds of pesticides are used by homeowners in homes and gardens each year, and concern is growing about the potential hazards associated with their use. Studies show that these hazardous lawn chemicals are drifting into our homes where they contaminate indoor air and surfaces, exposing children at levels ten times higher than pre-application levels.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a study of 9,282 people nationwide, found pesticides in 100% of the people who had both blood and urine tested. The average person carried 13 of 23 pesticides tested.

What are lawn care chemicals?
They include more than just fertilizers. Chemicals that kill weeds, insects and a variety of diseases are sold separately and in combination with fertilizers such as 'weed and feed'. These formulations may include organophosphates, carbamates, phenoxy and benzoic acid herbicides like 2,4 D, MCPP, and MCPA, pyrethroids and organchlorines.

Do lawn care chemicals pose a health threat to my family?
Yes. Pesticides used in controlling weeds, insects, etc., are toxic. These chemicals have been created to kill pests and most are broad-spectrum biocides. This means they are poisonous to a wide variety of living organisms, including garden plants, wildlife, pets, your neighbors, your family and you. Inert ingredients, which may comprise 50 to 99% of a pesticide formula may actually be more toxic than the active ingredients.

Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 19 are linked with cancer or carcinogencity, 13 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 26 with liver or kidney damage, 15 with neurotoxicity, and 11 with disruption of the endocrine (hormonal) system. Of those same pesticides, 17 are detected in groundwater, 23 have the ability to leach into drinking water sources, 24 are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms vital to our ecosystem, 11 are toxic to bees, and 16 are toxic to birds.

How are we exposed to lawn care chemicals?
Poisons are absorbed through the skin, by the mouth, or by breathing sprays, dusts, or vapors. You or your children can be poisoned if you apply or are present during application of the chemical. Also if you touch contaminated grass, shoes, clothing, lawn furniture, etc., or put contaminated objects (toys, golf tees, blades of grass etc.) or fingers in the mouth.

Children and pets are at higher risk for health effects from exposure to pesticides than adults because their internal organs are still developing and maturing. Children are often more exposed to pesticides than are adults because they play or crawl on grass or floors where pesticide powders and granules normally settle. A recent government report states, until new guidelines for conducting exposure studies are developed, the EPA will not know how much exposure is associated with lawn care pesticides and associated health risks, especially for children.

Why doesn't my doctor diagnose pesticide poisoning?
Pesticide manufacturers are not required to release health information to the medical profession. Doctors are not knowledgeable about pesticide poisonings and often misdiagnose these symptoms as allergies, flu, or some other illness. Doctors often state that the symptoms are psychosomatic. They are also afraid of a large chemical company taking them to court over a pesticide poisoning diagnosis - taking a toll on their time and finances.

Are lawn chemicals safe when dry?
No. Many chemicals remain active from a month to over a year. During this time, they can release toxic vapors. Breathing these vapors, even from neighbors lawns or while playing on or mowing contaminated grass, can cause illness.

What are the symptoms of lawn care pesticide poisoning?
They are deceptively simple and similar to those of other illnesses. Pesticides attack the central nervous system and other vital body centers. Some symptoms include: sore nose, tongue, or throat, burning skin or ears, rash, excessive sweating or salivation, chest tightness, asthma-like attacks, coughing, muscle pain, seizures, headaches, eye pain, blurred or dim vision, numbness or tingling in hands or feet, nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, tissue swelling, anxiety, suicidal depression, irritability, angry outbursts, disturbed sleep, learning disabilities, fatigue, dizziness, unexplained fever, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, stroke, death.

Even without apparent symptoms, exposure may still be harmful. Long term problems may include: lower male fertility, miscarriage, birth defects, chemical sensitivity, immune suppression, cataracts, liver and kidney dysfunction, heart disturbances, and cancer.

Is the government allowing unsafe chemicals on the market?
Yes. The EPA makes no claims to protect us from harmful pesticides. In fact, it is a violation of federal law to label any pesticides as "safe", "harmless", or "non-toxic to humans or pets". The US Congress states, 90% of pesticides in current use lack health and safety tests required for registration, yet they continue to be sold and used. Of the most widely used products on lawns, most are lacking health and safety data required for registration.

Can lawn care chemicals contaminate my drinking water?
Yes. Pesticides and fertilizers can and do leach into private and public wells and water supplies. Unfortunately, there currently is no program to monitor our drinking water for this type of contamination. Many of the most widely use lawn care chemicals have been detected in ground water (e.g., 2,4-D, Sevin, Diazinon, and RoundUp).

Are there alternatives to toxic lawn care chemicals?
Yes. Natural landscape maintenance programs can achieve a healthy, pest-free landscape using the latest scientific developments in organic agriculture and horticulture. For example, corn gluten is a natural pre-emergent weed killer and fertilizer now available to home owners. Lawns can be enriched naturally by thin spreading of compost in the spring and fall. Also, natural lawn care practices will lead to a healthy vigorous lawn which resists pests and disease.

Lawn Pesticide Facts and Figures

http://www.toxicsinfo.org

Pesticide Usage

67 million pounds of pesticides are used each year on lawns. 1

Suburban lawns and gardens receive far heavier pesticide applications per acre than most other land areas in the U.S., including agricultural acres. 2

Homeowners apply 3.2-9.8 lbs per acre of lawn pesticides. 3

On average, 2.7 lbs per acre of pesticides are applied on agricultural land. 4

275 pesticide applications took place on a single block in Buffalo, NY during one season. 5

55 out of 60 households on that Buffalo, NY block utilize lawn pesticides. 6

Annual sales of professional lawn care industry: $1.5-2 billion. 7

10 million consumers purchase lawn care services annually. 8

Pesticide Risks and the Flawed Registration System

A child in a household using home and garden pesticides has a 6.5 times greater risk of developing leukemia. 9

Dog owners who use the herbicide 2, 4-D* four or more times per season increase their dog's chances of suffering lymphoma by two times. 10

* 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is a common systemic herbicide used in the control of broadleaf weeds. It is the most widely used herbicide in the world, and the third most commonly used in North America. ^[1] 2,4-D is also an important synthetic auxin, often used in laboratories for plant research and as a supplement in plant cell culture media such as MS medium.

2,4-D is sold in various formulations under a wide variety of brand names. 2,4-D can be found in lawn herbicide mixtures such as "Weed B Gon MAX", "PAR III", "Trillion", "Tri-Kil", "Killex" and "Weedaway Premium 3-Way XP Turf Herbicide". All of these mixtures typically contain three active ingredients: 2,4-D, mecoprop and dicamba. Over 1,500 herbicide products contain 2,4-D as an active ingredient.

2,4-D is most commonly used for:

• Weed control in lawns and other turf
• No-till burndown
• Control of weeds and brush along fences and highway and railroad rights of way
• Conifer release (control of broad-leaf trees in conifer plantings)
• Grass hayfields and pastures
• Cereal grains
• Corn and sorghum (occasionally)
• As a synthetic auxin analogue

2,4-D continues to be used, where legal, for its low cost. However, where municipal lawn pesticide bylaws exist, such as in Canada,^[2] alternatives such as corn gluten meal and vinegar based products are increasingly being used to combat weeds.

Of the 36 Most Commonly Used Lawn Pesticides:

• 14 are probable or possible carcinogens

• 15 are linked with birth defects

• 21 with reproductive effects

• 24 with neurotoxicity

• 22 with liver or kidney damage

• 34 are sensitizers and/or irritants 11

Myth: Pesticides must undergo 120 safety tests before registration. 12

Facts: The U.S. General Accounting Office has told Congress on several occasions that the public is misled on pesticide safety by pesticide applicator statements characterizing pesticides as "safe" or "harmless". 13

EPA believes that no pesticide can ever be considered perfectly 'safe'. 14 Pesticide testing protocol was developed before science fully understood the human immune and/or hormonal system. Therefore, adverse adverse effects on these human systems were not considered before pesticide products were licensed ("approved"). 15

The Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) relies on tests of active ingredients alone without consideration of potential additives or synergistic effects with other substances. 16

Myth: Pesticide exposure is only a problem where the pesticides are applied.

Facts: An EPA study found 23 pesticides in indoor dust and air- many of which had not been used on the premises. 17

Another found 26 different chemicals in dust and 19 in air samples of Cape Cod residences. 18

Herbicides are easily tracked indoors, contaminating the air and surfaces inside residences and exposing children at levels ten times higher than pre-application levels. 18A

Children are Particularly Vulnerable to Pesticides

Children are the sector of the public most likely to be exposed to lawn pesticides. 19

Children take in more pesticides relative to body weight than adults and have developing organ systems that are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify toxic chemicals. 20

Between 1973 and 1991, the overall incidence of childhood cancer increased 10%. Soft tissue sarcoma and brain cancer incidence increased more than 25%. 21

A study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute indicates that household and garden pesticide use can increase risk of childhood leukemia as much as seven-fold. 22

Lawn Pesticides Threaten the Environment

Of the 36 most common lawn pesticides:

• 14 have been detected in groundwater

• 6 have the potential to leach

• 11 are toxic to birds

• 21 to fish and aquatic organisms

• 12 to bees  23

50 chemicals are on EPA's list of unregulated drinking water contaminants, including herbicide ingredients such as Diazinon, Diuron, Naphthalene, and various Triazines, including the most common: Atrazine. 24

Trade Secret Ingredients Are Not Inert

Myth: Inerts are just fillers, like water, of no health significance.

Facts: "Inerts" is a soothing term for ingredients that go generally unregulated and untested by EPA due to their "Trade Secret" status, however, many are cited as hazardous to human health by state, federal and international agencies. Despite their name, these ingredients are neither chemically, biologically nor toxicologically inert. Oftentimes these secret ingredients are more toxic than the active ingredient. 25

Notable Secret Ingredient Facts Include:

Xylene and Toluene (nerve Poisons linked to birth defects, bone marrow and kidney damage.) 25A

Monochlorobenzene (nerve poison and carcinogen, links to birth defects.) 25B

Ethylene Chloride (nerve poison, linked with damage to heart, eyes, liver and adrenal glands.) 25C

Secret ingredients make up 95% of almost three-fourths (72%) of over-the-counter pesticide products. 26

Of the over 2300 substances EPA believes are used as “inerts”, most (over 1700) are classified as “of unknown toxicity,” 27

50 as highly toxic with known carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, adverse reproductive effects, birth defects or other chronic effects, and 60 as potentially toxic. 28

More than 200 chemicals used as inert ingredients are considered hazardous pollutants and/or hazardous waste under federal environmental statutes. 29

NOTE:  In a 1995 list of inert ingredients, 394 chemicals were listed as active ingredients in other pesticide products. 30

Lawn Fertilizer Footnotes

Information provided by: Beyond Pesticides, 701 E Street, SE, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20003. Tel. 202-543-5450; Email: info@beyondpesticides.org