11. State failed to address harms from pesticide drift in farm communities
Issues: State agencies have failed to address toxic pesticide drift in the potato-growing areas of central and north central Minnesota and other farming areas. Pesticides sprayed on fields can get blown onto other properties. It is harmful both to human health and pollinators critical to agriculture and a healthy environment. Of the 35 pesticide residues found by the USDA, six are known or probable carcinogens, 12 are suspected hormone disruptors, seven are neurotoxins, six are developmental or reproductive toxins, and nine are honeybee toxins, according to Toxic Taters, an advocacy group. Collectively, they are called “neonics.” Pesticide is applied to millions of acres a year in Minnesota. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has detected neonics in 94% of deer tested across the state, with over two thirds at levels that have been linked with developmental harms.” A 2021 article in Science for the Total Environment looked at wildlife impacts of soybean pesticide drift, where Midwestern farms abut tall grass prairies. It found spray drift into prairies up to 400 meters (1,300 feet) from field edges. Levels of honeybee-killing chlorpyrifos were above limits up to 25 meters (82 feet) from field edges.
Minnesota’s limited action: The state is reacting to pesticide-related health problems, not leading the charge. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has a web page where people can report suspected pesticide drift. The Minnesota Department of Health has a fact sheet on what to do if you get hit with pesticide drift — including calling the Poison Control Center. But it’s been environmental groups — not state agencies responsible for our health — who have pushed for pesticide restrictions. The 2023 legislative session saw some progress, but more is needed. Increasingly, pesticides are being engineered to be more like PFAS products, the Pesticide Action Network said. These pesticides and their byproducts linger in the environment a long time, breaking down very slowly. In 2000, only nine percent of pesticides had a PFAS structure. Between 2015-2020, that increased to more than 70 percent.
Links:
Stressors to biological communities in Minnesota’s river and streams, MPCA, includes page on pesticides, November 2022
Toxic Pesticides Are Driving Insect ‘Apocalypse’ in the U.S., Study Warns, Smithsonian Magazine, August 2019
Revisiting pesticide pollution: The case of fluorinated pesticides, Environmental Pollution, Volume 292, January 2022
Pollinators Notch Big Wins in Minnesota, NRDC, May 2023