toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 20 – Toxic ShockThere's a whole lot more to this story, however, but to follow it,you need to understand these terms:ppm = parts per million = 10 (-6) = number of parts out ofa millionppb = parts per billion = 10 (-9), which is 1,000 timessmaller than ppmppt = parts per trillion = 10 (-12), which is 1,000 timessmaller than ppb and 1,000,000 times smaller than ppmThe study found that breast cancer cell proliferation isaccelerated by glyphosate in extremely low concentrations:ppt to ppb. The greatest effect was observed in the ppbrange, including single-digit ppb such as 1 ppb.This news, all by itself, sent shockwaves across the 'net allweekend. Women were asking things like: "You mean totell me that glyphosate residues on crops in just ppt or ppbconcentrations can give me breast cancer?" It doesn'texactly translate like that. It depends on how much you eatvs. your body mass (nanograms of glyphosate per kilogramof body weight). But with ridiculously small amounts ofthis chemical now being correlated to cancer cellproliferation, you don't have to eat much at all in order toput yourself at risk.But it's not just eating glyphosate that's the problem.You're also DRINKING it.California allows 1,000 ppb of glyphosate in drinkingwaterIn December of 1997, California released its Glyphosate inDrinking Water California Public Health Goal (PHG)document. You can view the document yourself at:http://oehha.ca.gov/water/phg/pdf/glypho_c.pdfThe document openly admits:Glyphosate is a non-selective systemic herbicide used inagriculture, rights-of-way and aquatic systems. Exposure toglyphosate may occur from its normal use due to drift,residues in food crops and from runoff into potentialdrinking water sources.It then goes on to state something borrowed straight fromMonsanto's quack science team: "Glyphosate is notmutagenic or teratogenic and there is no evidence forreproductive toxicity in multigeneration studies in rats."Based on this blatant lie, California set an upper limit of"1.0 mg/L (1,000 ppb) for glyphosate in drinking water."Yes, that's 1,000 times higher than the amount now shownto cause a 500% to 1300% increase in cancer cellproliferation.What's even more shocking is that California's allowableexposure level was nearly 50% HIGHER than thefederal (EPA) level -- 700 ppb.Yes, California -- the state where more people areconcerned about GMOs than seemingly anywhere else --actually used Monsanto-sounding language in its"official" report that set a higher water contaminationlevel than the federal government!Glyphosate carcinotoxicity was documented yearsearlierEven though California released this document in 1997,the state was already willfully ignoring a growing body ofscientific evidence documenting glyphosate toxicity. Forexample, a study published two years earlier -- in 1995 --in the Journal of Pesticide Reform (Volume 15, Number3, Fall 1995) written by Caroline Cox concluded:Glyphosate-containing products are acutely toxic toanimals, including humans. ...In animal studies, feedingof glyphosate for three months caused reduced weightgain, diarrhea, and salivary gland lesions. Lifetimefeeding of glyphosate caused excess growth and death ofliver cells, cataracts and lens degeneration, and increasesin the frequency of thyroid, pancreas, and liver tumors.Glyphosate-containing products have caused geneticdamage in human blood cells... reduced sperm counts inmale rats... an increase in fetal loss...In other words, California knew -- or should have known-- that glyphosate was harmful to humans. But theCalifornia government willfully ignored this evidence andseemingly went out of its way to incorporate deceptiveMonsanto spin into its "Public Health Goal" documents,thereby allowing 1,000 times higher levels of glyphosatein drinking water than we now know to cause cancer cellproliferation.Ten years later, California lowers its level by just 10%Fast forward to 2007. After a public comment periodwhich was no doubt dominated by disinfo-spewingMonsanto trolls, the state of California issued an updatedPublic Health Goal (PHG) document.You can view that document here:http://oehha.ca.gov/water/phg/pdf/080406dglyphosate.pdfIt concludes that the allowable glyphosate exposure for allCalifornians should be lowered to 900 ppb -- still ninehundred times higher than the amount needed toaccelerate cancer cell growth as we see in the studyreleased last week.This 2007 document from the California government alsoborrows language that sounds like it's right out ofMonsanto's P.R. department: "Based on the genotoxicityContinued on page 2221-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013