SEATTLE, Washington, April 21, 2009 (ENS) – Three pesticides – carbaryl, carbofuran, and methomyl – jeopardize the existence of protected salmon and steelhead, the National Marine Fisheries Service said in a formal biological opinion released Monday. All three of the pesticides assessed are neurotoxins. Exposure either immediately kills salmon or impairs their feeding, predator avoidance, spawning, homing, and migration capabilities. Recent research has found that these pesticides can have “synergistic effects” on salmon, which means that exposure to mixtures of carbamates and other chemicals is more dangerous than exposure to the carbamates alone. The 609-page document prescribes measures to keep these pesticides out of waters inhabited by salmon and steelhead in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. “Salmon runs all along the west coast are collapsing, and our rivers becoming a toxic soup of pesticides is surely one of the causes,” said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. …
Three Common Pesticides Declared Toxic to Salmon
