EPA Pesticide Approvals Pose Threat to Species, Report Says

Pesticides are jeopardizing several hundred endangered species throughout the country -- including California frogs and fish -- and federal officials are failing to protect them when they approve the chemicals for use, according to a report to be released today by an environmental group.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “displays a stunning lack of initiative in complying with the Endangered Species Act” and “has shown reckless disregard for the impact of its pesticide regulation program on wildlife, and most importantly, endangered species,” the Center for Biological Diversity said in its report.

The Center for Biological Diversity, which is known for repeatedly suing the government to secure stronger protection for imperiled animals and plants, took aim at the EPA after analyzing reports from various scientific and federal institutions.

The findings by the Arizona-based activist group echo long-standing concerns of many biologists, including scientists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has warned that a variety of vanishing species are threatened by pesticides.

The group concluded that about 375 animals and plants -- nearly one-third of the species listed under the Endangered Species Act -- are exposed to and potentially harmed by pesticides. Every year, more than 2 billion pounds of chemicals are applied to U.S. crops, lawns and gardens to control insects and weeds, and much of it flows or blows into the waters and lands that are inhabited by endangered animals and plants.

In the past, some pesticides have had disastrous effects on wild animals. Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, pelicans and other birds nearly went extinct when the pesticide DDT, which was banned in the United States more than 30 years ago, had weakened their eggs. Other pesticides, which now are banned by the EPA, also caused reproductive problems and birth defects in wildlife.

Although bald eagles and other animals still die occasionally from pesticide poisoning, wildlife experts believe that more subtle problems are posed by the low exposures that are common in the environment today.

Studies indicate that many popular pesticides can alter sex hormones that affect animals’ ability to reproduce and can suppress their immune systems. In a statement issued Monday, EPA officials said that they now perform a “comprehensive ecological effects evaluation” for each pesticide they register for use, but that they are “strengthening review of potential risks to federally listed threatened and endangered species” and would look over the group’s findings.

Everett Wilson, chief of environmental quality at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the effects of pesticide use vary greatly, depending on the chemical and species’ sensitivity. Wilson said pesticides are meant to be toxic -- they are designed to kill insects or weeds -- but problems arise “when they are applied to habitats where endangered species, or any non-target species, exist, and if the species is sensitive to the pesticide, it can have detrimental effects.”

Amphibians, including the California tiger salamander, red-legged frog and mountain yellow-legged frog, are among the most vulnerable.

“Amphibians appear to be sensitive to a number of pesticides,” Wilson said. “Their skin is built so that it takes in almost anything in the environment. They receive a heavy dose of pesticides that wind up in the water.”

Frogs and other amphibians have been disappearing worldwide and some scientists theorize that pesticides are at least part of the reason. Studies have shown that amphibians are more likely to die if they are exposed to organophosphate pesticides such as malathion at the same time that they are under stress from predators.

Two frogs -- the California red-legged frog in ponds in areas including San Diego and the Bay Area, and the mountain yellow-legged frog of the Sierra Nevada -- are exposed to pesticides, according to both the report and the fish and wildlife service.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed 150 pesticides used within the same 1-square-mile areas inhabited by red-legged frogs. The agency reported that the chemicals may be a factor in their decline but also listed many other threats, including habitat destruction and introduced predators. The largest frog in California, the red-legged frog is widely believed to have inspired Mark Twain’s story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”

Also, some of California’s rarest fish -- salmon, steelhead, delta smelt and Santa Ana suckers -- are exposed to pesticides, largely from agricultural and urban runoff, that might disrupt their sexual development and their growth or feeding.

A law that regulates pesticides requires the EPA to consider adverse effects on the environment before it registers a pesticide for use. Also, the Endangered Species Act requires that whenever a federal agency takes an action that “may affect” a listed species, it must consult with federal wildlife officials to avoid jeopardizing the species.

The EPA has been trying since 1989 to develop a policy that will avoid separate consultations for each individual species and pesticide. In the interim, EPA has not conducted consultations except in cases, such as salmon in the Pacific Northwest, in which courts ordered pesticide protections after environmental groups had filed a suit.

The Center for Biological Diversity singled out atrazine, the nation’s most popular herbicide, in its criticism of the EPA.

The EPA last year approved unrestricted use of atrazine, which is used primarily on corn, as long as its manufacturer, Syngenta, monitors areas where drinking water wells are at risk.

UC Berkeley scientist Tyrone Hayes found that atrazine demasculinizes male frogs at concentrations lower than the EPA allows.

Other studies, however, did not replicate his results. Last fall, the EPA concluded that there is insufficient scientific evidence that atrazine “produces a consistent, reproducible effect on amphibian development.”