In regard to insecticides most of them now are neurotoxins which also kill whole bee hives because it makes the bees not know where they are so they get lost (literally and die) when they go out to pollinate flowers and fruits and vegetables. Also, I believe there likely is a connection between Neurotoxins and an increase in senile dementia and Alzheimers in humans. So, if you can afford it only eat organic food that isn't sprayed with neurotoxins to kill all insects including bees. Also, birds who eat insects including bees and other bugs likely are affected by the sprays too and from landing on insecticide laden fruit and vegetables on the ground and in trees.
One other interesting story about Sodium Bromide I believe it is called. There were several 16,000 gallon tank cars full of it on the Canterra Loop in between Dunsmuir and the little city of Mt. Shasta. I heard a crash in the distance which was incredibly loud considering I was 5 to 10 miles from the crash in my home on one acre of land then around 1990 or so.
Then after a while I smelled something bad so I closed the windows. By then I could hear fire engines and police cars all over the place heading in the sound of the crash. By the original sounds I knew likely railroad cars had derailed on Canterra loop as happens periodically (every few years time) because of the steepness and the hairpin turns sometimes derail tank cars or other railroad cars going up or down this grade and loop combined.
To make a long story short 16,000 gallons of sodium bromide went into the Sacramento River there right above Dunsmuir and it killed (everything that had ever lived in the river for about 35 or 40 miles until it dumped into Shasta Dam near Redding California. It turned out that Sodium bromide was safe to travel on rails as long as it didn't interact with water, because then it just killed everything in water for miles and miles. Slowly other life from up stream over the months and years repopulated the stream after literally every plant insect, fish or bird died that had been living there for thousands of years already died for about 35 to 40 miles or so of the river to Shasta Dam.
In California where I live we grow strawberries among other things. Sodium bromide is used when they cover the strawberry plants with plastic and spray sodium bromide over the top of the plastic and ground to kill every competing plant without question. But, the strawberry plants are okay under the plastic when they do this. One reason is that strawberries are a very low lying plant and farmers don't want any competition from weeds or any other plants. Also,within a week or so it dissipates into the air and is gone after it has killed seeds or plants to any other living thing around there.
begin quote from:
Watering after use of pesticide kills 4
Texas pesticide deaths: Chemical may have sickened, but cleanup was fatal
Story highlights
- Police: A resident tried to wash the pesticide away after family members got sick
- Aluminum phosphide mixed with water creates toxic phosphine gas
(CNN)The act of watering the ground after applying pesticide may seem innocuous, but it was enough to kill four children in Texas.
One
was a high school senior on the brink of graduation. The other three
were her little brothers; the youngest was 7 years old.
On
Tuesday, Amarillo police explained what went wrong: Some of the family
members started feeling sick Monday after the pesticide was applied
under their mobile home. So one of the residents tried to dilute it with
water.
It was fatal mistake.
How exactly did the children die?
Authorities respond to the home where four children were fatally poisoned.
After
someone applied the pesticide -- aluminum phosphide -- under the mobile
home, a family member tried to wash it away, said Capt. Larry Davis of
the Amarillo Fire Department.
But
aluminum phosphide mixed with water creates toxic phosphine gas, which
can cause excess fluid in the lungs and respiratory failure.
There
were 10 people inside the mobile home at the time, Davis said.
Emergency crews arrived at the home just after 5 a.m. Monday after
receiving a call that people there were sick.
In addition to the four children killed, five other people from inside the home were hospitalized.
Who were the victims?
Family
friend Terry Rodriguez identified the four siblings as 17-year-old
Yasmeen Balderas and her younger brothers Johnny, Josue and Felipe
Balderas.
"Yasmeen was a senior at Palo Duro HS. She was a quiet simple girl, looking forward to graduation," Rodriguez wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help the family.
"Josue
wanted to be a priest and was an alter server at St Lawrence. He was a
gentle soul, slow to anger and quick to provide comfort," Rodriguez
wrote.
"Johnny was a comic. So
smart and so aware of his strengths and weaknesses. He was the first to
laugh at himself and never met a stranger who wasn't just a friend in
the making."
Felipe "was everyone's friend," Rodriguez said.
Who is responsible?
What is methyl bromide? Have you been exposed? 02:04
The
Amarillo Police Department is investigating and will turn over its
findings to the local district attorney's office to see whether any
criminal charges should be filed, Officer Jeb Hilton said.
But so far, this appears to be a case of accidental poisoning, Davis said.
He
said the man who lives at the mobile home and who applied the aluminum
phosphide on the ground got the pesticide from a friend.
Aluminum
phosphide is used to kill insects and burrowing rodents, especially in
grain stores. But it can be deadly to humans when mixed with water.
The
Environmental Protection Agency lists aluminum phosphide in "Toxicity
Category I" -- the most toxic category. Specifically, the EPA points to
the "acute effects via the inhalation route."
How common are pesticide deaths?
Pesticide puts teens in coma 02:48
An
estimated 1 million to 5 million cases of pesticide poisoning occur
every year, "resulting in several thousand fatalities among agricultural
workers," the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said.
"Most
of these poisonings occur in the developing world where safe health
standards can be inadequate or non-existent," the FAO said.
But
pesticide deaths have also happened in developed countries. Last year,
an 8-month-old Canadian girl died after her mother used phosphine
tablets as a pesticide in their home, CNN partner CBC reported.
Pesticides are also a very common method of suicide, especially in low-income, agricultural parts of the world, according to a World Health Organization report.
"In
attempted suicide, which is considerably more frequent than completed
suicide, pesticide poisoning results in temporary or permanent
disability," the WHO said.
What precautions should you take with pesticides?
In addition to following the label's instructions exactly, the National Pesticide Information Center recommends:
-- Mixing pesticides outside or in well-ventilated areas
-- Making sure children and pets are away from the area where you're mixing and applying pesticides
-- Removing personal items, such as toys, clothing, or tools from the spray area to avoid contamination
-- Mixing only what you need immediately to avoid storing or disposing of excess pesticide
--
Having a plan in case of a pesticide spill. Have paper towels, sawdust
or cat litter, garbage bags and non-absorbent gloves nearby to contain
the spill. "Avoid using excessive amounts of water, as this may only
spread the pesticide and could be harmful to the environment."
Have there been other high-profile pesticide cases?
Family sues Terminix after pesticide poisoning 04:13
Yes. The family of 10-year-old Peyton McCaughey sued the pest control company Terminix
after doctors said that Peyton was suffering from severe brain damage
caused by exposure to sulfuryl fluoride, a pesticide used to fumigate
his home.
"His arms would fly around. They had to pad the bed. His head was going back and forth, non-stop," Peyton's mother said.
In a separate case, Terminix agreed to pay $10 million for illegally using a pesticide containing a toxic chemical in the US Virgin Islands, federal officials said.
The
plea deal came more than a year after a Delaware family of four
vacationing in the US Virgin Islands fell seriously ill when the unit
below their villa was fumigated.
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