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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. All volunteers who gave samples live in urban areas, and none had handled or used glyphosate products in the run up to the tests. This is the first time monitoring has been carried out across Europe for the presence of the weed killer in humans. Because of the small sample, lifestyle conditions will not form any type of conclusion. Glyphosate is one of the most widely-used weed killers in the world, used by farmers, local government and gardeners, as well as being sprayed extensively on some genetically modified crops imported into Europe for use as animal feed. The biggest producer is Monsanto which sells it under the brand name “Roundup”. Despite its widespread use, its presence in food or water is rarely monitored by governments. Martin Galea De Giovanni from Friends of the Earth Malta said: “Most people will be worried to discover that there is weed killer in their bodies and will want to know why it is there and what effects it is having. These results suggest that we are being exposed to glyphosate in our everyday lives, yet we don’t know where it is coming from, how widespread it is in the environment, or what it is doing to our bodies. “This is the most widely used weed killer in Europe and it is surprising that public authorities rarely test our food or water for it. Now that Friends of the Earth Malta has discovered that it is widespread in people’s bodies, it is asking the Maltese Government to immediately step-up their monitoring to make sure we are not being put at risk.” The latest National Statistics Office figures for herbicide use (2007) show a possible increase in glyphosate usage in Malta (as compared to 2005). The high rates obtained from the Maltese sample demands an even more serious investigation into the source of these herbicides, FoE said. Fourteen glyphosate-resistant genetically modified crops are currently waiting for approval for cultivation in the European Union. Some estimates suggest that if given the go-ahead, glyphosate use could increase by as much as 800 per cent. See https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/bundn...in_analyse.pdf |
#2
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill
wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. 90% in Malta, 45% elsewhere? What sort of mirror are they using? Where does the water on Malta come from? http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/ground...ity/Malta.html All volunteers who gave samples live in urban areas, and none had handled or used glyphosate products in the run up to the tests. This is the first time monitoring has been carried out across Europe for the presence of the weed killer in humans. Because of the small sample, lifestyle conditions will not form any type of conclusion. Glyphosate is one of the most widely-used weed killers in the world, used by farmers, local government and gardeners, as well as being sprayed extensively on some genetically modified crops imported into Europe for use as animal feed. The biggest producer is Monsanto which sells it under the brand name “Roundup”. Despite its widespread use, its presence in food or water is rarely monitored by governments. Martin Galea De Giovanni from Friends of the Earth Malta said: “Most people will be worried to discover that there is weed killer in their bodies and will want to know why it is there and what effects it is having. These results suggest that we are being exposed to glyphosate in our everyday lives, yet we don’t know where it is coming from, how widespread it is in the environment, or what it is doing to our bodies. “This is the most widely used weed killer in Europe and it is surprising that public authorities rarely test our food or water for it. Now that Friends of the Earth Malta has discovered that it is widespread in people’s bodies, it is asking the Maltese Government to immediately step-up their monitoring to make sure we are not being put at risk.” The latest National Statistics Office figures for herbicide use (2007) show a possible increase in glyphosate usage in Malta (as compared to 2005). The high rates obtained from the Maltese sample demands an even more serious investigation into the source of these herbicides, FoE said. Fourteen glyphosate-resistant genetically modified crops are currently waiting for approval for cultivation in the European Union. Some estimates suggest that if given the go-ahead, glyphosate use could increase by as much as 800 per cent. See https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/bundn...in_analyse.pdf -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#3
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people inMalta
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:44:57 +0100, mogga wrote:
90% in Malta, 45% elsewhere? What sort of mirror are they using? A sample space of 10 is too small to be statistically significant. Still it's interesting in an anecdotal kind of way, and I'd hope it might spur someone to do a real study. The mayor of our village was just disciplined for using glyphosate to kill some weeds and grass in front of the cemetery and in the village square. Apparently it's no longer authorised, you're meant to do it with a blow torch. -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#4
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 13/06/2013 10:53, Emery Davis wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:44:57 +0100, mogga wrote: 90% in Malta, 45% elsewhere? What sort of mirror are they using? The analysis appears to be good down to around LOQ 100ppt and they have detected levels around 1ppb in a fair proportion of people. I would hazard a guess that most of them have self exposed at that level. That is they have used glyphosate and not washed their hands afterwards. Why didn't the lab also test drinking water samples? I would be very wary of reading too much into it without first having confirmed that there isn't a systematic high bias introduced by the messy chemistry of real urine samples. FOE would have us all starving and living in caves! Modern analytical chemistry has become so good that these days we can detected traces of anything in almost everything. There is for example usually about 2ppb of Uranium in everything you eat. WHO presently sets the safe limit for Uranium in drinking water at 15ppb. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_...nium290605.pdf (skip to last section for summary results and recommendations) A sample space of 10 is too small to be statistically significant. Still it's interesting in an anecdotal kind of way, and I'd hope it might spur someone to do a real study. The mayor of our village was just disciplined for using glyphosate to kill some weeds and grass in front of the cemetery and in the village square. Apparently it's no longer authorised, you're meant to do it with a blow torch. That is just silly. Glyphosate is far less environmentally damaging than the blow torch which will cause the production of dioxins in any plant material that is actually burnt by the flame. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#5
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people inMalta
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:33:06 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:
The mayor of our village was just disciplined for using glyphosate to kill some weeds and grass in front of the cemetery and in the village square. Apparently it's no longer authorised, you're meant to do it with a blow torch. That is just silly. Glyphosate is far less environmentally damaging than the blow torch which will cause the production of dioxins in any plant material that is actually burnt by the flame. Yes, we got a chuckle out of it. The blow torch is unlikely to do much against most of the pernicious weeds (couch, ground elder, nettles) that grow around there anyway. -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#6
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 13/06/13 12:38, Martin wrote:
A comparison between drinking water in Reading which is taken from the River Kennet and drinking water sampled in London after it has passed through most of the population of the Thames Valley would be interesting. If the filters are OK and not working at a greater rate than their capacity, I'd bet that their only difference would be in the proportions of minerals. There's not a lot that properly 'ripe' sand filter beds won't remove from the water which passes through them. I'd guess that you'd have to remove borax in some way. -- Rusty Hinge |
#7
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 13/06/2013 10:44, mogga wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. 90% in Malta, 45% elsewhere? What sort of mirror are they using? Where does the water on Malta come from? http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/ground...ity/Malta.html This may help you http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...c9 157e85.jpg And the survey says that the glyposate is ingested from food. |
#8
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 13/06/13 16:13, Martin wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:46:23 +0100, David Hill wrote: On 13/06/2013 10:44, mogga wrote: On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. 90% in Malta, 45% elsewhere? What sort of mirror are they using? Where does the water on Malta come from? http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/ground...ity/Malta.html This may help you http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...c9 157e85.jpg And the survey says that the glyposate is ingested from food. How can they know that? It's still got the brand label on. -- Rusty Hinge |
#9
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 15/06/13 22:55, Martin wrote:
It's still got the brand label on. You mean that they didn't pay a German lab to analyse the food? :-) They never do until someone suspects them of horsing around. -- Rusty Hinge |
#10
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
Martin wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. Do you really believe that 10 volunteers is a valid sample size? That reads as 10*18=180 volunteers. Because of the small sample, lifestyle conditions will not form any type of conclusion. Blindingly obvious. The study is ********. Not quite. It is sufficient to try to get funding for a larger study. (Assuming of course that there was no significant bias when selecting the volunteers). No point in being concerned, yet, unless you are a Daily Wail reader. |
#11
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 13/06/2013 11:35, Tom Gardner wrote:
Martin wrote: On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. Do you really believe that 10 volunteers is a valid sample size? That reads as 10*18=180 volunteers. Because of the small sample, lifestyle conditions will not form any type of conclusion. Blindingly obvious. The study is ********. Not quite. It is sufficient to try to get funding for a larger study. (Assuming of course that there was no significant bias when selecting the volunteers). No point in being concerned, yet, unless you are a Daily Wail reader. That Expresses my attitude as well. |
#12
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
Martin wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:35:27 +0100, Tom Gardner wrote: Martin wrote: On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. Do you really believe that 10 volunteers is a valid sample size? That reads as 10*18=180 volunteers. In 18 countries with a population of 300 million. You find that significant. 180 is potentially *far* more significant than 10. The 300 million is, as I'm sure you are aware, a red herring. You don't use volunteers for such tests, you pick people randomly and you pick a sufficient number to make the result representative of the population and statistically significant. Very little can be read into the word "volunteer", especially since the report is written by non-native speakers of English. It would, of course, be unethical if they had been "coerced" into taking part And see my parenthetical statement below, of course. Not quite. It is sufficient to try to get funding for a larger study. Nobody with any sense would take any notice of this so called study. People should take the right amount of notice, no more, no less. Nobody in his right mind would fund a Friend of the Earth Study. Close to an ad hominem attack. (Assuming of course that there was no significant bias when selecting the volunteers). How can you make such an assumption? What makes you think I am assuming anything about bias? No point in being concerned, yet, unless you are a Daily Wail reader. I find the whole thing is typical Friends of the Earth nonsense. Close to an ad hominem attack. Well, their heart is often in the right place, even if their thinking is wooly headed. Despite your attitude, I suspect we actually agree on the substantive issues. |
#13
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
Martin wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:42:22 +0100, Tom Gardner wrote: Martin wrote: On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:35:27 +0100, Tom Gardner wrote: Martin wrote: On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill wrote: Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of the Earth Malta show. The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found to contain traces of the chemical. Do you really believe that 10 volunteers is a valid sample size? That reads as 10*18=180 volunteers. In 18 countries with a population of 300 million. You find that significant. 180 is potentially *far* more significant than 10. In a population of 300 million? Go and learn a bit of statistics Sure you can divide 180 by 300 million, but the result of that division is meaningless in this context. If I was being rude I would suggest that you would benefit from understanding statistical significance is more subtle than a simple division. The 300 million is, as I'm sure you are aware, a red herring. Ah, I see you don't understand that it is a red herring. Very little can be read into the word "volunteer", especially since the report is written by non-native speakers of English. Maltese speak English often as a first language. So what? The analysis and report are by Germans, in Bremen! And I can't be bothered to reply to the rest of your posting. |
#14
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
Very little can be read into the word "volunteer", especially since the report is written by non-native speakers of English. Maltese speak English often as a first language. If people had bothered to read the final link you would have seen that the study was done in Germany See https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/bundn...in_analyse.pdf But it's makes you look much better to rubbish things without reading properly. If Glyphosate is so safe why do they say NOT to spray seed crops intended for human consumption? Just remember they said that Thalidomide was safe and they said the same about agent orange which when instructing American forces about it they actually drank the stuff. |
#15
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Weed killer traces in nine of 10 urine samples of people in Malta
On 2013-06-13 18:26:02 +0100, David Hill said:
If people had bothered to read the final link you would have seen that the study was done in Germany See https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/bundn...in_analyse.pdf But it's makes you look much better to rubbish things without reading properly. If Glyphosate is so safe why do they say NOT to spray seed crops intended for human consumption? Just remember they said that Thalidomide was safe and they said the same about agent orange which when instructing American forces about it they actually drank the stuff. It does no harm to err on the side of caution. None of this 'stuff' is supposed to nourish the human body, after all. The scientists rubbishing such findings are no better than those they rubbish, imo. An awful lot is unproven either way. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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