Sustainability Science

Only three of the seven pesticides that produced a positive link are still registered for use with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and those are currently being reviewed by the EPA. But while those pesticides may be phased out—Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer, three of the largest pesticide producers, say they don’t currently make them—mental health problems could be connected to newer chemicals, such as neonocotinoids, widely connected with bee dieoffs in recent years by interfering with bees’ brains and nervous systems. No studies have been done on the effect of neonocotinoids on humans. Matt Peters was using neonocontinoids when he committed suicide.

This is particularly interesting and an increasing venue for exploring ecotoxicity.  Our historic approach of looking for PAHs or some other substance has often missed the big story that persistent compounds can have effects upon populations and ecosystems long after the compound itself my have decayed or broken down to sub-detection levels.  Population and genetic structure is the natural place to look for this.  But even so, being able to detect impacts from seven decades ago is impressive.