Household use of pesticides, and particularly rodenticides, and particularly during pregnancy, is associated with an increased risk of death within the first five years for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Summary: https://scienceblog.com/fed-study-is-first-to-link-pesticides-and-death-in-kids/

Original paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/17/6/978

#Science #Leukemia #Pregnancy #Pesticides #Rodenticides

Lethal second-generation rat poisons are killing endangered quolls and Tasmanian devils

"...These potent poisons do not magically disappear after the rodent is dead. For example, it’s well known owls who eat poisoned rodents suffer the same slow death from internal bleeding."

"Half of the 52 animals we tested had these poisons in their bodies. Some had died from it. These species are already threatened by foxes and feral cats. Rat poison is yet another threat – and one they may not be able to survive. Other countries have moved to ban these poisons. But in Australia, they’re widely available."

"Four other threatened Australian species – the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, Tasmanian masked owl, powerful owl and Carnaby’s black cockatoo – have previously been found to be exposed to these rodenticides. Our research takes this tally to nine threatened species." >>
https://theconversation.com/lethal-second-generation-rat-poisons-are-killing-endangered-quolls-and-tasmanian-devils-250035
#Pesticides #rodenticides #bromadiolone #quoll #eagles #TasmanianDevil #cats #biodiversity

Dead owls are piling up in my freezer

"Australia is one of the last countries to ban or tightly regulate the use of first and second generation anticoagulant rodenticides...Rat and mouse baits containing second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides are commonly found in big-brand hardware stores."
>>
https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/dead-owls-are-piling-up-in-my-freezer-perth-scientists-take-a-stand-20240704-p5jr71.html
#birds #NonTarget #wildlife #owls #APVMA #regulation #toxins #pesticide #anticoagulant #rodenticides #harm #FoodChain

We found pesticides in a third of Australian frogs we tested.

"In our newly published research, we detected pesticides in more than one in three frogs we tested. We found a rodenticide in one in six frogs."

"Pesticides have been shown to be a major cause of worldwide declines in amphibians, including frogs and toads. In the case of the mass deaths in Australia, we don’t believe pesticides were the main cause, for reasons we’ll explain."

"We tested liver samples of 77 frogs of six species from across New South Wales for more than 600 different pesticides. We detected at least one pesticide in 36% of these frogs."

"Our most significant discovery was the rodenticide Brodifacoum in 17% of the frogs. This is the first report of rodenticides – chemicals meant to poison only rodents – in wild frogs."

"Two pesticides detected in frogs were organochlorine compounds dieldrin and heptachlor. A third, DDE, is a breakdown product of the notorious organochlorine, DDT."

"These pesticides have been banned in Australia for decades, so how did they get into the frogs? Unfortunately, these legacy pesticides are very stable chemicals and take a long time to break down. They usually bind to organic material such as soils and sediments and can wash into waterways after rain."
>>
https://theconversation.com/we-found-pesticides-in-a-third-of-australian-frogs-we-tested-did-these-cause-mass-deaths-228194

Broad-scale pesticide screening finds anticoagulant rodenticide and legacy pesticides in Australian frogs>
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004896972402672X?via%3Dihub
#amphibians #frogs #MassMortality #rodenticides #water #pesticides #chemicals #AnticoagulantRodenticide

“#Flaco… had a severe pigeon #herpesvirus from eating feral pigeons that had become part of his diet, and exposure to four different #anticoagulant #rodenticides that are commonly used for rat control in New York City”

https://abcnews.go.com/US/zoo-releases-final-necropsy-results-flaco-owls-death/story?id=108479170&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab

"A single owl family can kill 8,000 rodents each year."

"But there are also particular conservation problems for owls. As predators, often of rodents, owls are susceptible to the accumulation of persistent pesticides (notably anticoagulant rodenticides such as brodifacoum) that we use to control rats and mice around our houses or more extensively for rodent plagues in crops."

"In Australia, we are profligate in our use of such chemicals and lax in our regulation of them. Secondary poisoning of owls is thus common. One study from Western Australia detected anticoagulant rodenticides in 72% of boobook owls found dead or moribund."

"During recent Australian mouse plagues, the New South Wales government sought an emergency permit to make available large quantities of the rodenticide bromadiolone. This poison is known to have cumulative impacts across food chains, particularly to predators such as owls. Its proposed use was ultimately quashed by the Commonwealth regulatory agency, largely because of such concerns."

https://theconversation.com/spooky-stealthy-night-hunters-revealing-the-wonderful-otherworld-of-owls-209498
#pesticides #regulation #anticoagulant #rodenticides #brodifacoum #FoodChain #owls #birds