Using poisonous pesticides without protection

Many U.S. residents carry unhealthy levels of pesticides in their bodies, with children, women and Mexican Americans disproportionately exposed to the toxic chemicals, according to a study to be released Tuesday. The Pesticide Action Network analyzed data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a study of more than 2,648 people tested for levels of 34 pesticides, the environmental group said.

According to a study, cinnamon oil was found to be an effective environmentally safe pesticide that also exuded a pleasant odor. Although it hasn't been tested for use against adult mosquitoes, researchers are hopeful that cinnamon oil will act as an effective mosquito repellant. The serious health and environmental concerns that arose from the use of unsafe conventional pesticide applications have prompted the search for natural and healthier chemicals to control mosquito larvae.

Researchers report that nepetalactone, the essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET — the compound used in most commercial insect repellents.

Several pressures have accelerated the search for more environmentally and toxicologically safe and more selective and efficacious pesticides. Most commercially successful pesticides have been discovered by screening compounds synthesized in the laboratory for pesticidal properties. The average number of compounds that must be screened to discover a commercially viable pesticide has increased dramatically, so that new discovery strategies must be considered. Increased emphasis on reduced-tillage agriculture will make adequate control of weeds more dependent on chemical control. New herbicides will be needed to fully meet this challenge. The increasing incidence of pesticide resistance is also fueling the need for new pesticides. Furthermore, most synthetic chemicals that have been commercialized as herbicides are halogenated hydrocarbons with relatively long environmental half-lives and more suspect toxicological properties than most natural compounds. Thus, natural compounds have increasingly become the focus of those interested in discovery of pesticides. - Stephen Duke