Comments to Emails between Steve Tvedten, and Scott Dideon, pesticide guy
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Everyone,
This might even get interesting! If anyone wants to comment on the fact Dr. Scott Dideon told Linda that he does
not know anyone who was ever poisoned, you now have his e-mail address. My Mother died at 1:20 PM today,
1/4/01, so she can no longer write him. But by G-d, I can, and I was also POISONED by the "industry" he wants to
promote! Truth is not something you sell, it is something you are willing to die for.
Steve
Dear Scott,
I have received some of your correspondence with Steve
Tvedten. It appears that you have
not been introduced to the walking wounded - those of us who, for various
reasons, have bodies that cannot withstand the foreign chemicals in pesticides.
I say "walking wounded" yet some of us have been or still are
wheelchair-bound. We are in all
walks of life. We have many
different levels of education, many different religious beliefs, and used to
practice many different professions before pesticide poisoning stole our lives.
So, let me introduce myself. Before pesticide poisoning (BPP), I was a minister, had
founded a church, and was doing workshops in jails and prisons for former
substance abusers. Working with two
other churches, we were putting together a non-profit to help the folks in the
welfare to workfare programs learn how to be successful in making the transition
our government was insisting they make.
BPP, I had no idea RoundUp herbicide existed.
I refused to use things like that on general principals because I care
about the legacy we are leaving future generations, and because a 1994 allergy
test showed I had an allergy to organophosphates.
Unfortunately, the lawn maintenance contractor was not as
concerned about his legacy. He
inundated our former townhouse community with Roundup without telling anyone.
I worked out in our back yard the following day, and chewed on some of
the vegetation that had been sprayed. Our
cat ate some of the grass that had been sprayed.
To make a long story short, our cat died from this
exposure. I had to go on oxygen
round the clock just to be able to walk because of it. Between April and late July 1996, I sustained four more
exposures via inhalation of the drift of the RoundUp used in our former
community. After the last exposure,
I could no longer stand or walk without assistance.
I was bed-bound and in a wheelchair for the next four months.
The first time I was told I was dying was because the RoundUp had caused
my pseudocholinesterase to drop precipitously.
Fortunately, I found a researcher who had found a way to reverse
pseudocholinesterase loss in rats, but not before calling all over the US and
being told there was no way to help me. I
was also told that RoundUp could not possible do this.
A wonderful EI doctor helped me beat the Grim Reaper the
second time I was at his doorstep. From
her testing I have learned that RouundUp caused Toxic Encephalopathy, Seizure
Disorder, Toxin Acquired Porphyria, Mastocytosis, Wilson's Syndrome, Impaired
Tissue Perfusion, chemical sensitivity to petrochemicals, and damage to my
liver's P-450 enzyme system. I have
now been on oxygen since 1996 when this happened.
Getting help for Roundup poisoning has been an uphill
battle because of the misinformation put out by its manufacturer.
Even the initial registration for the product was fraudulent.
It has also been advertised by its manufacturer as "safe as table
salt." You would not believe
how many people, when I was calling to find help for RoundUp poisoning, offered
to drink it to prove to me how "safe" it supposedly is.
(They would be singing that song in a different choir if they had
actually done it.)
I recently wrote a paper on all that I had learned about
RoundUp since my experience with it turned my life upside down.
FYI, you will find it below, along with some new information that shows
that RoundUp is an endocrine disruptor.
I am not an unusual member of the "walking
wounded." I was more
susceptible to pesticide poisoning because I had a chronic disease when it
happened, and because I was taking Axid and estrogen.
But, I am by no means an isolated incidence. You might also find some good information at
www.home1.gte.net/revision/disposable.htm - another article that shows that over
50% of our population is in the category of being more susceptible to pesticide
poisoning. It is a Find law document that gets a lot of traffic.
I think what Steve was attempting to bring to your
attention is the fact that pesticides kill more than bugs or weeds, and
seriously harm a lot of people. You
said in your post that you are a scientist, so I would assume you are open to
new information. If that is the
case, you will probably enjoy the articles below.
If not (a closed mind gathers no facts), then just delete the post.
Steve Tvedten has a lot of credibility with a lot of
people. He is not the only former pesticide applicator I know who was harmed by
the products he used, but he is certainly one of the most knowledgeable when it
comes to IPM.
Peace and Light
Suzanne Fisher
The Toxicity of RoundUp Herbicide by S.
Suzanne Fisher
RoundUp Herbicide has been touted by its maker, Monsanto,
as safe and environmentally friendly. As
such, it has become the most popular herbicide in use today.
Advertising by Monsanto has led the public to believe that RoundUp is
"safe as table salt," a phrase used quite often by its proponents to
describe it.
Studies used for RoundUp's initial registration were
fraudulent. There is no indication that these studies have been replaced with
other, more valid, studies. The
public perception of RoundUp as safe, environmentally friendly, and no more
harmful than table salt has impeded the normal scientific study to which a
pesticide would normally be subjected. Research
grants have been concentrated in the areas of pesticides perceived to be more
detrimental to humans.
New York State's Attorney General has sued Monsanto for
claiming that RoundUp is "safe" and "environmentally
friendly." This suit ended in
a settlement with Monsanto in which Monsanto agreed to cease and desist from
using these terms in advertising RoundUp in the state of New York.
Monsanto, while not admitting any wrongdoing, paid the state of New York
$250,000 in settlement of this suit. When
Monsanto violated the first settlement agreement by advertising within New York
that RoundUp is "safe," a second agreement was negotiated.
Most of the studies identifying RoundUp's true toxicity are
recent, and certain areas of RoundUp's toxicity have yet to be thoroughly
studied. Case law involving RoundUp
victims is almost non-existent due to this lack of scientific information with
which to prove causation. It is for
these reasons that it is important to also look to anecdotal information about
RoundUp's toxicity to humans in order to develop a full picture of the
symptomology it causes.
The narrative below offers the following information about
RoundUp Herbicide:
I. Ingredients in RoundUp
II. Anecdotal evidence of RoundUp's toxicity to humans
III. Research evidence of RoundUp's toxicity to humans
IV. Additional factors affecting the toxicity of RoundUp
I.
RoundUp herbicide by Monsanto contains the following ingredients:
A.
In a letter forwarded to Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to
Pesticides, Monsanto identified RoundUp's ingredients as:
1. Isopropylamine salt of glyphosate (active ingredient)
2. Water
3. The ethoxylated tallowamine surfactant
4. Related organic acids of glyphosate
5. Excess isopropylamine
B.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency in a letter dated
April 30, 1999, in response to a Freedom of Information Request, the following
inert ingredients are in RoundUp Super Concentrate Weed & Grass Killer:
1. Polyoxyethylene alkylamine (CAS #61791-2)
2. Water (CAS #7732-18-5)
3. FD&C Blue No. 1 (CAS #3844-45-9)
C.
David H. Monroe, and Industrial and Environmental Toxicologist, stated in
an October 16, 1989 letter to the National Campaign Against the Misuse of
Pesticides (NCAMP) that most polyalkoxylated surfactants such as the
polyoxyethylene alkylamine in RoundUp are contaminated with 1,4-dioxane.
A study done by Monroe on Vision, a glyphosate product by Monsanto,
revealed that it contained 1,4-dioxane at a level of 350 ppm.
(Monroe D, 1989. Letter
to NCAMP.)
1,4-dioxane is carcinogenic, and is known to damage the
liver, kidney, brain and lungs.
II.
Anecdotal evidence of RoundUp's toxicity to humans:
A.
From July 1987 edition of The Progressive, and article entitled 'Weed
Killer':
Eduardo Neaves, a 12-year-old, went swimming in a canal in
Coral Gables, Florida that was contaminated with four times the recommended
amount of RoundUp herbicide. The child became completely paralyzed, and five
years after the incident suffers residual nervous system damage.
The EPA, according to this article, in 1985 reported on the
case of a 59-year-old woman in Tennessee who has suffered central nervous system
damage after exposure to RoundUp.
Monsanto's original neurotoxicity studies on RoundUp were
ruled invalid by the EPA due to "extensive gaps in the raw data supporting
study findings and conclusions. There
has been no requirement for a new study on the neurotoxicity of RoundUp.
Other persons have experienced swelling in legs, arms, and
joints after exposure to RoundUp.
Still others have experienced the following after exposures
to RoundUp: central nervous system damage,
body swelling in legs, face and abdomen. Other RoundUp overexposure
symptoms reported include visual, hearing, taste, and smell disturbances;
balance disorder; body-wide muscle twitches and tics; seizure disorder; muscle
paralysis; peripheral neuropathy; loss of gross motor skills and loss of fine
motor skills.
B.
From a paper entitled 'Glyphosate' prepared by Pesticide Action Network -
Asia and Pacific
"Glyphosate is the most frequent cause of complaints
and poisoning incidents recorded by the Health and Safety Executive in the
UK." (Pesticides Trust 1996)
Dr. Ricky Goring of New Zealand estimates that 1 in 20
people in New Zealand are sensitive to glyphosate, with the most common symptoms
including: fatigue, headaches, spaciness, rashes, and unexplained drops in blood
pressure. Dr. Gorringe states these
symptoms are the result of inhalation exposures.
In 1980 the EPA reported that among 94 people reporting
exposures to glyphosate in the US, "the following symptoms were noted:
bronchial constriction, pleuritic chest pain and nasal congestion; blurred
vision, corneal erosion, and conjunctivitis; contact dermatitis; headache;
nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal pain; irritability; excessive sweating; vertigo;
malaise; swelling of the extremities; and nervous system disorders."
III. Research
evidence of RoundUp's toxicity to humans
A. Ingestion of RoundUp has been shown
to cause "irritation of the oral mucous membrane and gastrointestinal
tract…pulmonary dysfunction, oliguria, metabolic acidosis, hypotension,
leukocytosis and fever."
Monsanto's own toxicologist, Rebecca Tominack, participated
in this study.
(Tominack RL, Yang GY, Tsai WJ, Chung HM, Deng JF, 1991.
Taiwan National Poison Center survey of glyphosate-surfactant herbicide
ingestions. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 1991; 29 (1): 91-109)
Many people report experiencing severe digestive problems
related to irritation of their gastrointestinal tract after overexposure to
RoundUp, limiting the foods their bodies will tolerate to a very few bland
foods.
B.
Cholinesterase Inhibition of RoundUp
1.
Monsanto states that glyphosate is not a cholinesterase inhibitor. The
MSDS on RoundUp also says that glyphosate is not a cholinesterase inhibitor.
Yet, glyphosate is a an organophosphorus, and the "toxic effects of
organophosphorus (OP) compounds are predicated on their irreversible inhibition
of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and other serine hydrolases."
(Viragh C, Kovach IM, Pannell L, 1999. Small Molecular
Products of Dealkylation in Soman-Inhibited Electric Eel Acetylcholinesterase.
American Chemical Society, June 11, 1999.)
2.
Merely saying glyohosate is not a cholinesterase inhibitor, however, does
not define whether RoundUp itself in full formulation is a cholinesterase
inhibitor, and there are no published studies that purport to answer this
question.
In 1988, Yusuke Sawada, et al. did a study in which they
concluded that the surfactant in RoundUp (POEA) is more toxic than RoundUp's
main ingredient, glyphosate. A
study by Servizi et al in 1987 found that POEA is two to three times more toxic
than glyphosate, and that the synergy of the two ingredients may even be more
acutely toxic than the two ingredients combined.
The answer to whether RoundUp in full formulation is a
cholinesterase inhibitor can only be determined by looking at anecdotal evidence
such as Suzanne Fisher's experience. Many
doctors, based on Monsanto's advertising that glyphosate is not a cholinesterase
inhibitor, refuse to test RoundUp poisoning victims for cholinesterase
inhibition, so even anecdotal evidence is not readily available.
(Sawada Y, Nagai Y, Ueyama M, Yamamoto I, 1988. Probable
toxicity of surface-active agent in commercial herbicide containing glyphosate.
Lancet. 1988 Feb 6;1(8580):299.)
(Servizi JA, Gordon RW, Martens DW, 1987. Acute toxicity of
Garlon 4 and Roundup herbicides to salmon, Daphnia, and trout. Bull Environ
Contam Toxicol. 1987 Jul;39(1):15-22. )
3.
An October 27, 1999 article by PANUPS (Pesticide Action Network Updates
Service) offers the information that according to a European Community report on
glyphosate (not released at that time), glyphosate poses a significant risk to
certain beneficial insects.
(PANUPS, 1999. Glyphosate May Harm Beneficial Organisms,
October 27, 1999)
In a 1993 article on organophosphate poisoning, British
researcher, T. C. Marrs, indicated that "certain OPs are exploited for
their anticholinesterase effects, including defoliants such as 'DEF', herbicides
such as glyphosate." The
article goes on to say that the cholinergic syndrome is "caused by
acetylcholinesterase inhibition."
(Marrs, TC, 1993. Organophosphate
poisoning. Pharmacol Ther 1993;
58(1): 51-66.)
4.
An area that has yet to be explored is the impact of the degradation
process for glyphosate on the serine cycle. The serine cycle plays a strong part
in cholinesterase inhibition in humans. From
available research, it is easy to conclude that, while glyphosate itself might
not technically be anticholinergic, the degradants of glyphosate might very well
be cholinesterase inhibitors.
Glyphosate degrades into sarcosine and formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is not only carcinogenic, but impairs the serine cycle, an
important part of the human metabolic process.
According to a document on the ESTHER database, "cholinesterases are
readily phosphorylated at the active site serine by a variety of
organophosphorus agents (OP) and carbamates."
(www.ensam.inra.fr/cholinesterase/chem/chemInhibition2.html.
The ESTHER "Chemical Mechanism of Acetylcholinesterase
Inhibition" introduction.)
(Goldberg I, Mateles RI , 1975. Growth of Pseudomonas C on
C1 compounds: enzyme activities in extracts of Pseudomonas C cells grown on
methanol, formaldehyde, and formate as sole carbon sources. J Bacteriol 1975
Apr;122(1):47-53)
5.
There is reported evidence of a patient who, after exposures to RoundUp,
showed a depressed pseudocholinesterase. SmithKline Beecham's Normal Values
reference range is 3200 - 6600. On
6/4/96, after three major exposures to RoundUp, this patient’s
pseudocholinesterase was 2887. On
7/8/96, after an additional major exposure to RoundUp, this patient’s
pseudocholinesterase was 2700. The
last reading during the period of this patient’s exposures to RoundUp was 2733
on 8/7/96. Only with the assistance of successful drug therapy (large
doses of dextromethorophan) was this reading reversed to 3586 on 10/22/96.
C.
RoundUp causes damage to the liver that inhibits the liver's ability to
process toxic substances.
1.
Research subject animals injected with glyphosate evidenced a depressed
function of the liver. "Glyphosate
decreased the hepatic function of cytochrome P-450 and monoxygnease activities
and the intestinal activity of aryl hydrocarbon hydrolase." (Heitanen et
al, 1983). The P-450 enzyme system
is one of the main body systems for detoxifying harmful chemicals.
When it becomes impaired by those same chemicals it is supposed to be
detoxifying, the effects of a given chemical on the body increase dramatically.
(Heitanen, et al., 1983.
Effects of phenoxyherbicides and glyphosate on the hepatic and intestinal
biotransformation activities in the rat. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol (Copenh) 1983 Aug; 53(2):103-12.)
2.
Testing of patients suffering RoundUp overexposure has indicated damage
to their P-450 enzyme system.
D.
Roundup produces significant increases in sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE),
albeit in higher concentrations over those used for other pesticides.
This suggests that it should be evaluated in other genetic tests
measuring mutations and chromosome aberrations, although few studies of this
nature have yet been done.
1.
A 1980 study by Vigfusson and Vyse noted sister-chromatid exchanges in
human lymphocytes in vitro. This
lymphocyte disturbance correlates with the swelling experienced by persons
poisoned by RoundUp. (Vigfusson, N.V. and Vyse, E.R. (1980), "The effect of
the pesticides, Dexon, Captan, and Roundup, on sister-chromatid exchanges in
human lymphocytes in vitro". MUTATION RESEARCH, v.79 p.53-57.)
2.
William Meggs, M.D., Ph.D., School of Medicine, East Carolina University:
In patients who have been chemically injured, Meggs has
noted significant lymphatic hyperplasia, lymphatic tissue that is swollen and
engorged. He has also found significant cobblestoning in upper airway passages.
This represents chronic inflammation caused by lymphocytes migrating out
of the blood stream and seeping into the tissues. Meggs has also noted
thickening of the structure called the basement membrane, the structure on which
the lining of cells that lines the interior of the nose sits.
Meggs' study also found a defect in the tight junctions (the joining of
cells together) and a proliferation of nerve fibers.
"Chemicals bind to receptors on nerve fibers and
produce something called neurogenic inflammation. These chemicals bind to these
receptors and cause the release of potent substances that produce inflammation
in tissue.
When chemicals bind to nerve fibers, they can produce
inflammation. Inflammation, in
turn, produces other changes in the tissue, and it brings in these lymphocytes.
We believe that inflammation causes these barrier cells to open up and sometimes
even come off the basement membrane. Below
the basement membrane is the nerve fibers, so we have a process whereby a
chemical exposure will damage the lining of the nose.
What happens is people have a large chemical exposure, they
breathe in noxious chemicals, and this damages the epithelium.
This huge exposure is able to penetrate this barrier we have between the
chemicals we breathe in and these nerve cells beneath the lining layer that
react to chemicals by producing inflammation. The inflammation, in turn,
produces substances that cause further damage to the lining cell, and actually
produce the substances which cause the tight junctions between these cells to
open up. In some cases the cells
actually come off and just leave these bare nerves exposed.
Once you have the bare nerves exposed, low levels of chemicals that we
all experience every day are enough to produce inflammation which in turn keeps
the epithelium damaged."
E.
RoundUp was found to cause significant DNA damage to erythrocytes (red
blood cells) in a study done in 1997 by Clements, Ralph and Petras. RoundUp's surfactant, POEA, is known to cause haemolysis.
(Clements C, Ralph S, Pertas M, 1997.
Genotoxicity of select herbicides in Rana catesbeiana tadpoles using the
alkaline single-cell gel DNA electrophoresis (comet) assay. Environ Mol Mutagen
1997; 29(3):277-288.)
(Sawada Y, Nagai Y, Ueyama M, Yamamoto I, 1988. Probable
toxicity of surface-active agent in commercial herbicide containing glyphosate.
Lancet. 1988 Feb 6;1(8580):299.)
1.
In haemolysis, hemoglobin leaks from the red blood cells, leaving them
unable to transport sufficient supplies of oxygen to the body's tissues.
2.
The chest pains, difficulty breathing, and impaired cognitive skills
reported by persons who have sustained RoundUp poisoning also point to
impairment of the blood's oxygen transport system, hemoglobin, as being
responsible for these symptoms. This
impairment of the erythrocytes' ability to deliver adequate oxygen to both brain
and body results in impaired tissue perfusion and hypoxia.
3.
"The brain is particularly vulnerable to hypoxia, and exposure to
toxins that interfere with the intake, transport and utilization of oxygen
provoke rapid and major neuronal damage. Compounds
crossing the blood-brain barrier may induce both general and extremely localized
neurotoxic effects."
(Kyvik KR, Morn BE, 1995.
Environmental poisons and the nervous system. Tidsskr Nor
Laegeforen 1995. June 10;
115(15):1834-8.)
4.
According to both the EPA and the World Health Organization in 1993 and
1994, glyphosate appears to mimic adrenaline.
This would explain the sleeping problems encountered by many persons
exposed to RoundUp, as for them, cortisol appears to no longer be properly
regulated by their bodies' adrenal glands.
(US EPA, 1993. EPA Reregistration Eligibility Document,
Glyphosate, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, Washington,
D.C., September 1993.)
(IPCS, 1994. Environmental
health criteria 159: Glyphosate. International Programme of Chemical Safety, World Health
Organization, Geneva.)
5.
The paralytic seizures that began for one patient in August 1996, right
after the patient’s last exposure to RoundUp herbicide, involve impaired
erythrocytes. In a blood test done
in December 1996, five months after the patient’s exposures to RoundUp
herbicide, over 90 per cent of this patient’s erythrocytes were damaged,
showing up as either flat or misshapen. This
patient also experienced reduced cognitive capacities, and a vast assortment of
neurological symptoms since sustaining RoundUp overexposure.
The first year and a half after the patient’s exposures to RoundUp,
this individual got between 0 - 2 hours of sleep per night.
IV.
Additional factors affecting the toxicity of RoundUp
A.
From http://www.safe2use.com/ca-ipm/00-03-02.htm.
Pesticides and Deadly Tagamet Synergism by Steve Tvedten
(former pesticide applicator).
1.
Tagamet and other H-2 Blockers such as Axid and Pepcid, all now readily
available over the counter, increase the vulnerability of persons taking these
drugs to pesticide poisoning. Taken
by millions, these drugs vie for the same detoxification pathways in the body as
pesticides do, making people taking the drugs more susceptible to the
devastating effects of pesticide poisoning.
B.
Estrogen can also an important factor in the severity of the impact
RoundUp has on people.
1.
Iris Bell, M.D., Ph. D., University of Arizona Health Sciences Center:
"In the sensitization process, we know that female
animals are more likely to sensitize than are male animals, and, in research
that has been done, picking apart the hormonal factors that may contribute, they
found that a higher ratio of estrogen to progesterone seems to make the female
animal more vulnerable for sensitization. Testosterone appears to protect the male animal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RoundUp works in plants by damaging the P-450 enzyme
system. Its effect on me was quite
similar in that it damaged my liver's detoxification system.
I could never prove the hormonal disruption caused by RoundUp until now
even though I suffered the consequences of it.
This is the first study I have seen that addresses the fact
that RoundUp damages the P-450 enzyme system in humans also.
It goes even further, and says, "StAR protein mediates the
rate-limiting and acutely regulated step in steroidogenesis, the transfer of
cholesterol from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane where the
cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage (P450scc) enzyme initiates the synthesis of
all steroid hormones."
AND
"Roundup inhibited steroidogenesis by disrupting StAR
protein expression, further demonstrating the susceptibility of StAR to
environmental pollutants."
(See below also a definition of steroid hormone.)
Additional Information is available at
http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/4S03/hd4.html in an
article by by:
Leela Marie D'Cruz reporting on the Hormone Disrupters in
the Environment:
Human and Wildlife Health Issues Conference with Speaker:
Keith R. Solomon, Ph.D., Centre for Toxicology, University of Guelph on March
10, 1995, entitled 'Hormone Disrupters in the Environment, Environmental levels
and Effects'.
***************************
My Conclusion: RoundUp has just been conclusively
identified as an Endocrine Disruptor, and as such needs to be banned.
***************************
Balance
of Report is located at: http://www.safe2use.com/ca-ipm/00-12-10a.htm
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