Common Pesticide Suspected Of Killing Birds, Manufacturer Denies Allegations

The American Bird Society has called for a ban of a commonly used compound in insecticide out of fears that it is polluting the entire food chain, but the government and corporate manufactures are not readily accepting the study.

A recent study of neonicotinoids, nicotine-like chemicals commonly used in insecticides, reports the compound to be lethal to birds and the aquatic systems on which they depend.

"It is clear that these chemicals have the potential to affect entire food chains. The environmental persistence of the neonicotinoids, their propensity for runoff and for groundwater infiltration, and their cumulative and largely irreversible mode of action in invertebrates raise significant environmental concerns," said Cynthia Palmer, co-author of the report and Pesticides Program Manager for the American Bird Society.

"A single corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a songbird," Palmer said in a press statement. "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."

The report concludes that neonicotinoid contamination levels in surface water and groundwater are already beyond the threshold found to kill many aquatic invertebrates.

Much attention has already been given to neonicotinoid poisoning in bees and other insects which are vital the food chain for their ability to pollinate.

But the American Bird Society suggests that the full environmental impact of neonicotinoids goes far beyond bees and needs to be regulated.

Bayer, a chemical and pharmaceutical company and major neonicotinoid manufacturer dismissed the claims. "This report relies on theoretical calculations and exposure estimates that differ from accepted risk assessment methodologies, while disregarding relevant data that are at odds with its claims," the company said in a statement, as reported by Wired.

According to Wired, the Environmental Protection Agency said the report "uses a method to compare risks across chemicals that differs from the long-standing peer-reviewed approach EPA uses. The agency will carefully consider the report's studies, analytic methods and conclusions."

The report, "The Impact of the Nation's Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds" is available here.