Quoted from
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pollinators/ChronologyofaCoreRequiredStudy.clothianidin-1.pdf
"The issue here is not whether one can attribute one pesticide as the cause of colony collapse disorder (CCD). That claim has not been made by anyone. The critical issue is that we know that this is a highly toxic pesticide to bees and, given the EPA’s inability to identify the cause(s) of CCD, it must not and does not have the legal authority to allow a pesticide to be used without “required” data that enables the agency to answer this critical question relating to the health of honeybees"
Well said I think!
Can anyone tell me who applys the Clothianidin to the seeds before they are planted? Is it applyed by the seed manufacture? Is their any oversight to guarantee it was applied correctly? If not how do we know the "rare application errs" are rare?
From EPA
"Application using hopper-box, slurry-box, or similar seed treatment applications used at planting is prohibited.In addition, the proposed label specifically prohibits on-farm seed treatment, which would likely usethe least efficient equipment and result in higher exposures per lb ai handled"
What does the EPA have to hide?
http://www.celsias.com/article/epa-killing-honey-bees-and-keeping-silent-colony-c/
"Now, with U.S. honeybee deaths climbing to more than 36 percent year-over-year (and some die-offs in Texas exceeding 70 percent), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a U.S. non-profit environmental advocacy group, has filed a suit against the EPA. The suit demands the release of documentation the EPA used to approve Bayer's clothianidin submission five years ago.
In its conditional 2003 approval to Bayer, the EPA asked for additional studies on the effects of clothianidin on the complete life cycle of the honeybee, including peripheral effects on a queen bee's ability to reproduce. No one knows if the studies were actually performed, or if they met EPA - and scientific - standards for completeness and accuracy.
NRDC's first request for this information, filed under the Freedom of Information Act (which requires a response within 20 business days), was ignored. The EPA did, however, issue a self-serving press release which purports to deal with the issue.
NRDC then filed the aforementioned lawsuit (dated Monday, August 18). The EPA, which says it has not seen the lawsuit, has declined to comment on the legal action as well. For its part, the NRDC continues to believe that the EPA does, in fact, have evidence from these studies which would show the connection between neonicotinoid pesticides and honeybee deaths, and charges that the EPA has, willfully or simply negligently, failed to make it public.
"Pesticide restrictions might be at the heart of the solution to this growing crisis, so why hide the information they should be using to make those decisions?" NRDC attorney Aaron Colangelo asks."
Yeah, Yeah, with that title Im sure many wont even give any credit to the article. I dont care who wrote it, what the title is, I am concerned with the facts given in the body of it.
All this said if the EPA is not going to do their job and protect the public then we need to put presure on out own states to require tighter restrictions and regulations on studies before pesticieds gain useage rights and to garantee proper application to seeds.
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/
"EPA and the states (usually that state's agriculture office) register or license pesticides for use in the United States. EPA receives its authority to register pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
States are authorized to regulate pesticides under FIFRA and under state pesticide laws. States may place more restrictive requirements on pesticides than EPA. Pesticides must be registered both by EPA and the state before distribution."