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FAN Index to
US EPA CHEERS study in Duval County, Florida
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The
Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS)
See
Table below:
Fluorinated pesticides selected to be monitored in CHEERS
study.
See also: Documents and media
reports relating to the CHEERS study in Duval County, Florida.
The
plans to conduct this highly controversial 2-year study were
formally ended on
April
8, 2005.
Update
from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
(PEER):
EPA
Embraces Human Testing Without Safeguards
Infamous CHEERS Study Returns and Multiplies Under
Different Names
On
Friday, April 8, in the midst of Senate hearings on
his nomination to head the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Stephen Johnson issued a defensively worded
statement announcing the cancellation of the CHEERS
study in which parents would be paid to spray pesticides
in the rooms occupied by their infant children under
age 3. Johnson did not admit any ethical problems
with the study but nonetheless concluded the study
could not go forward due to an atmosphere “of
gross misrepresentation and controversy.”
In
fact, Johnson is expanding the use of human pesticide
dosing studies by EPA. While CHEERS will not
proceed with EPA funding, the same study can take
place with private sponsors. In fact, the
American Chemistry Council, representing 135 companies
including pesticide makers, already pledged $2 million
toward the study’s $9 million overall cost.
The
reason Stephen Johnson clung so stubbornly to CHEERS
is that it serves as a model for industry
on how to conduct similar experiments for submissions
to EPA. The pesticide industry has been pressing
the Bush Administration to liberalize rules on human
testing of pesticides and other chemicals since the
1996 Food Quality Protection Act. That Act set ten-fold
stricter exposure standards for children absent reliable
data showing no harm. Industry needs actual human
experimental data to trump animal studies in order
to justify relaxed exposure limits.
In
February, EPA published a draft policy that opens
the door for accepting any experiments conducted by
pesticide companies and chemical manufacturers using
human subjects without establishing any safeguards
to ensure that the studies are conducted ethically
and without harm to the subjects... - Read
more
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This study generated an enormous amount of controversy. The
Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER) and the Environmental
Working Group (EWG) took the lead on exposing the issue.
EWG called the study unethical and scientifically questionable.
PEER agreed. In a November
1, 2004, press release they stated
... the study will monitor developmental changes in babies,
from birth to age 3, who are exposed to pesticides in their
homes. Set in Jacksonville, Florida (Duval County), the study
looks at 60 infants and toddlers. Agency scientists not connected
with the study are expressing concerns about –
• Financial Incentives. The study makes payments
to families totaling $970 for participating throughout the
entire two-year period. Families who complete the study
also get to keep the camcorder they are provided to record
their babies’ behavior. In addition, families are
given bibs, t-shirts and other promotional items. Families
are recruited from public clinics and hospitals;
• Lack of Treatment. The study makes no provision
for intervening if infants or toddlers show signs of developmental
problems or register alarmingly high exposure levels in
their urine samples. Instead, families continue in the study
so long as researchers are notified when each pesticide
application occurs; and
• Lack of Education. Unlike other EPA programs in
this area, the study does not provide participants information
about the safe or proper ways to apply or store pesticides
around the home. Nor does the study furnish participating
families with information about the risks of prolonged or
excessive exposure to pesticides ...
The
first public notice on the CHEERS-Duval County study was published
October 3, 2003, in the Federal
Register. This Notice stated that the co-principal investigators
were Nicolle S. Tulve and Roy Fortmann both with the EPA's National
Exposure Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, NC.
In
a document attached to the second Notice of the CHEERS study
published in the March 3, 2004 Federal
Register, a short abstract of the study was presented:
Characterization
of the CHEERS study in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida
:
The
US EPA's Office of Research and Development's National
Exposure Research Laboratory (ORD/NERL) proposes to
conduct a two-year longitudinal field measurement study
of young children's (aged 0 to 3 years) potential exposures
to current-use pesticides and selected phthalates, polybrominated
diphenyl ethes, and perfluorinated compounds that may
be found in residential environments. The study will
be conducted in Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida
over a two-year period from 2004-2006. Sixty young children
will be recruited into this study in two cohorts: (1)
infants recruited into the study soon after birth, and
, (2) children recruited into the study at approximately
12 months of age. The study involves up to six data
collection events at each home during the two-year study
period. During each event, environmental and biological
samples will be collected to measure chemical concentrations
and questionnaires will be administered to collect data
that will be used to estimate aggregate exposures and
to analyze the measurement data. Aggregate exposures
will be estimated for the current-use pesticides and
selected phthalates in the study. The data collected
on the polybrominated diphenyl ethers and the perfluorinated
compounds will be used to evaluate the potential magnitude
for exposure and to determine the temporal and spatial
variability of these chemicals in residences. The
study will collect data to fill critical gaps in our
understanding of very young children's exposure to chemicals
in their residences. The study will help the
Agency reduce uncertainty in exposure and risk assessments
for children by providing data on exposure factors and
validated tools for estimating children's expsure to
contaminants, as well as providing much needed measurement
data for model refinement. The exposure factors generated
in this study will be included in the National Center
for Environmental Assessment's (NCEA) Child Specific
Exposure Factors Handbook. Additionally, the information
will apear in the form of final EPA reports, journal
articles, and will also be made publicly available in
an electronic database for use by the scientific community,
risk assessors, and risk managers.
Ref: Part
A: Supporting Statement for Information Collection Request
2126.01 -
Docket No. ORD-2003-0011-0006 attached to the March
3, 2004, Federal Register.
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Of
interest to FAN's Pesticide Project are the chemicals identified
for monitoring in this study. They are:
•• 4 of 16 pesticides are the fluorinated
Bifenthrin,
Fipronil,
lambda-Cyhalothrin,
and Cyfluthrin
I, II, III, IV, total;
•• one breakdown product of Cyfluthrin -4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic
acid- (CAS No. 77279-89-1)
will be analyzed in biological media. It's molecular structure
is
[Note:
the CDC's "Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental
Chemicals," expected to be released sometime in 2005, includes
4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic acid
in its list of chemicals.]
•• and the perfluorinated
chemicals PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic
acid)
and PFOS (Perfluorooctane
sulfonate).
Note: PFOA and PFOS chemicals were used as "Inerts"
in pesticides up until 2000. Since 2000, EPA removed most
of these chemicals from the
"Inert" lists, but there are still some, such as
Sulfluramid
(used in ant baits) which EPA has approved for use up until
the year 2016.)
The
PFOA derivative of greatest concern and most wide spread use
is the ammonium salt (commonly known as C8, C-8, or APFO)
-
CAS No:
3825-26-1. The molecular structure is:
For more information see:
Environmental Working Group series on
Pesticide Testing on Humans at http://www.ewg.org/
Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
at http://www.peer.org/
US EPA's CHEERS website at
http://www.epa.gov/cheers/basic.htm
or http://www.epa.gov/cheers/
Fluorinated pesticides selected to be monitored in CHEERS
study. |
Pesticide |
Activity |
Adverse
Effects |
Environmental
Effects |
Approved
for use on food in the US |
CAS
No.
Code of Federal Regulation |
Bifenthrin |
Insecticide,
Acaricide (pyrethroid) |
•
See
effects
Ataxia
Bladder
Body Weight Decrease
Cancer: Possible Human Carcinogen: URINARY BLADDER
Endocrine: Ovary/Estrus
Endocrine: Suspected Disruptor
Endocrine: Thyroid
Liver
Lung
Tremors/Convulsions |
•
See
effects
Very
Highly Toxic to Fish and Zooplankton |
Yes
As of
September 25, 2003: US EPA Maximum residue tolerance levels
in or on 116 food commodities.
See
tolerances |
2657-04-3
(Cis)
83322-02-5 (Trans)
CFR
180.442 |
Fipronil |
Acaracide,
Insecticide (Pyrazole),
Wood
Preservative (to control termites) |
•
See
effects
Body Weight Decrease
Bone
Brain
Cancer: Possible Human Carcinogen - THYROID
Cholesterol
Clastogenicity
CNS
Dermal
Endocrine: Altered Sex Ratio
Endocrine: Pituitary - (disruption in the thyroid-pituitary
status)
Endocrine: Suspected Disruptor
Endocrine: Testicular
Endocrine: Thyroid
Kidney
Liver
Reproductive
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•
See
effects
-- Highly toxic to rainbow trout and very
highly toxic to bluegill sunfish
-- The sulfone metabolite is 6.3 times more toxic to rainbow
trout and 3.3 times more toxic than the parent compound
to bluegill sunfish.
-- High toxicity to freshwater aquatic invertebrates. The
sulfone metabolite is 6.6 times more toxic and the desulfinyl
photodegradate 1.9 times more toxic on an acute basis to
freshwater invertebrates than the parent compound.
-- Highly toxic to upland game birds.. The sulfone metabolite
is more toxic than the parent compound to certain bird species.
This metabolite has shown a very high toxicity toward upland
game birds ...
-- Highly toxic to bees, lizards, and gallinaceous birds
Contamination
incident:
2001: Crawfish farmers in Louisiana file Class Action against
the makers of the fipronil insecticide ICON, Rhone-Poulenc/Aventis,
for killing crawfish.
2004: Farmers and landowners in Class Action awarded $45
million. |
Yes
As of
September 30, 2003, US EPA Maximum residue tolerance levels
in or on 30 food commodities.
See
tolerances |
120068-37-3
CFR
180.517 |
lambda-Cyhalothrin |
Insecticide
(Pyrethroid) |
• See
effects
Ataxia
Body Weight Decrease
Cholesterol
CNS
Endocrine: Breast
Endocrine: Suspected Disruptor
Endocrine: Thyroid
Eye
Liver
Salivary Glands
Tremors/Convulsions |
•See
effects
Highly
Toxic to Fish, Aquatic Invertebrates, and Honeybees |
Yes
As of
September 3, 2003, US EPA Maximum residue tolerance levels
in or on 79 food commodities.
(In 2002 there were 60 tolerances).
See
tolerances |
91465-08-6
CFR
180.438 |
Note
on Cyfluthrin: We do not, at this time, have the information
on the various species of Cyfluthrin (I, II, III, IV, total) |
Cyfluthrin |
Insecticide
(Pyrethroid) |
• See
effects
Ataxia
Blood
Body Weight Decrease
Bone
Brain
Endocrine: Adrenal
Endocrine: Ovary
Endocrine: Thymus
Eye - Microphthalmia
Kidney
Lung
Salivary Glands
Sciatic nerve
Tremors |
•
See
effects
Acute Toxicity to Fish and Saltwater Life |
Yes
As of
January 24, 2004: US EPA Maximum residue tolerance levels
in or on over 100 food commodities.
See
tolerances. |
68359-37-5
CFR
180.436 |
Beta-cyfluthrin |
Insecticide
(Pyrethroid) |
•See
effects
Body
Weight Decrease
Bone
CNS
Eye
Lung
Beta-cyfluthrin
has an approximately 2 to 5 times higher acute toxicity
than cyfluthrin. |
•
See
effects
-- Highly
toxic to Fish, Aquatic Invertebrates.
-- High
risk to Honey Bees and other Arthropod species. |
Not
available
According
to Pesticide
Action Network, this pesticide is used for:
-- Structural
Pest Control
-- Landscape
-- Vertebrate Pest Control
-- Commodity Fumigation |
68359-37-5 |
See
also: Documents and media reports
relating to the CHEERS study in Duval County, Florida.
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