[All] Fw: Alarming data re: The toxicity of a widely used pesticide

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Emailed this to the PM and others. Feel free to relay the info to anyone who might be interested in this. I've notified folks at CCOB seeing that this may be one of the chemicals that ends up concentrated in the quarry pit pools with aggregate rinses. 


Lulu


----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Louisette Lanteigne <butterflybluelu at rogers.com>
To: "stephen.harper at parl.gc.ca" <stephen.harper at parl.gc.ca>; "thomas.mulcair at parl.gc.ca" <thomas.mulcair at parl.gc.ca>; "bob.rae at parl.gc.ca" <bob.rae at parl.gc.ca>; "Elizabeth.May at parl.gc.ca" <Elizabeth.May at parl.gc.ca>; "stephane.dion at parl.gc.ca" <stephane.dion at parl.gc.ca>; "gerry.ritz at parl.gc.ca" <gerry.ritz at parl.gc.ca>; "Joe.Oliver at parl.gc.ca" <Joe.Oliver at parl.gc.ca>; "peter.braid at parl.gc.ca" <peter.braid at parl.gc.ca>; Peter Kent P.C. M.P. <minister at ec.gc.ca>; "Leona.Aglukkaq at parl.gc.ca" <Leona.Aglukkaq at parl.gc.ca>; "kwynne.mpp at liberal.ola.org" <kwynne.mpp at liberal.ola.org>; "dmatthews.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org" <dmatthews.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org>; "tabunsp-qp at ndp.on.ca" <tabunsp-qp at ndp.on.ca>; "cfife-co at ndp.on.ca" <cfife-co at ndp.on.ca>; "francis.scarpaleggia at parl.gc.ca" <francis.scarpaleggia at parl.gc.ca> 
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 11:18:16 PM
Subject: Alarming data re: The  toxicity of a widely used pesticide
 

Dear Hon. Prime Ministers and Ministers



A newly published report charges that US EPA ignored staff warnings, approved widespread use of dangerous pesticide that threatens birds, bees, and aquatic life.This regards impacts from the world’s most widely used 
class of insecticides, nicotine-like  chemicals called neonicotinoids, The 
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has called for  a ban on their use as 
seed treatments and for the suspension of all applications pending an 
independent review of  the products’ effects on birds, terrestrial and 
aquatic invertebrates, and  other wildlife. 
 “It is clear  that these chemicals have the potential to affect entire food chains." 

“A single  corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a songbird,”
 Palmer said. “Even  a tiny grain of wheat or canola treated with the 
oldest neonicotinoid -- called  imidacloprid -- can fatally poison a 
bird.  And as little as 1/10th of a neonicotinoid-coated corn seed  per 
day during egg-laying season is all that is needed to affect 
reproduction.”

Here is a link to a news article about this: 
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/130319.html


Here is the link to this 100 page report: 

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/toxins/Neonic_FINAL.pdf

In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority
 stated that neonicotinoids pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, and 
that the industry-sponsored science upon which regulatory agencies' 
claims of safety have relied may be flawed, concluding that, "A high 
acute risk to honey bees was identified from exposure via dust drift for
 the seed treatment uses in maize, oilseed rape and cereals. A high 
acute risk was also identified from exposure via residues in nectar 
and/or pollen."
Here is the link to that report. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/3066.pdf
 An author of a Science study prompting the EESA review suggested that industry science 
pertaining to neonicotinoids may have been deliberately deceptive, and 
the UK Parliament has asked manufacturer Bayer Cropscience to explain discrepancies in evidence they have submitted to an investigation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/16/insecticide-unacceptable-danger-bees

I would like to request that our government review this matter in order to assess what the appropriate course of action should be in order to protect our crops, public health, ecology and water supplies. 

Waterloo Region is the second largest food belt in Ontario and 90% of our municipal water is from a groundwater supply with recharge under farmlands. I believe our area may be a good location to do some studies on this issue to see how much is getting into our wells and tributaries. 

Thank you kindly for your time.

Louisette Lanteigne
700 Star Flower Ave.
Waterloo Ont.
N2V
 2L2
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