Central Chemical Corp.

History of Central Chemical Corp.
In important ways, the circumstances surrounding Thomas’s entry into the fertilizer business were not propitious. First, Thomas began business near the end of a half-century-long relocation of the fertilizer industry’s center. Though fertilizer use continued to increase in the Mid-Atlantic states and elsewhere during the period from 1870 to 1920, the manufacture of fertilizer began to shift to the Southern states in the late nineteenth century. By 1902, Charleston had replaced Baltimore as the fertilizer capital of the country. The Mid-Atlantic states’ share of total fertilizer use decreased from 34% in 1880 to 14% in 1920. By contrast, in 1920 the South-Atlantic states used about 50% of all fertilizers consumed in the U.S. Thus, Hagerstown could no longer enjoy proximity to the major centers of fertilizer-material production, and, while previously situated between the two highest-fertilizer-use regions of the country, it now found itself on the northern edge of a region that now dwarfed all others.

Second, Thomas’s decision to continue in the practice (apparently favored by Hagerstown companies) of making fertilizer primarily from bone and organic materials came at the start of a rapid increase in the demand for mixed fertilizers, but also at the beginning of a precipitous decline in the use of bone and bone products as a source of phosphorous in fertilizers. With the growing use of potash and phosphate rock, consumption of mixed fertilizers grew from 46% of the total in 1880 to around 70% in 1920. During the period from 1890 to 1910, when Thomas was focusing on his presumably unmixed “dissolved bone” fertilizers, mixed fertilizers were capturing market share.

Furthermore, the period from 1880 to 1920 is also characterized by the decreasing use of organic materials in general. Though organic materials provided about 91% of the total nitrogen in 1900, by 1917 the total nitrogen contribution from organics had dropped to 46.5%. With regard to phosphates, bone meal, dissolved bones and boneblack, and phosphoro-guano use peaked in 1890, but their use dropped to a negligible amount by 1910 as the use of superphosphates from phosphate rock increased dramatically..

Third, even as Thomas had begun his business trading fertilizer for livestock from relatively distant places, the fertilizer industry was increasingly turning to local distribution. Though mid-nineteenth-century fertilizer plants typically were situated in East Coast harbor cities, twentieth-century plants were dispersed to be closer to areas of consumption.

Finally, even though the name “Thomas’ Dissolved Bone” suggests that Thomas produced his own superphosphates initially, the use of bone in the production of superphosphates was on its way out as described above. For all practical purposes, then, Thomas had set his business on the track of the second, smaller type of fertilizer company, which only mixed fertilizer and did not produce superphosphates. For the next 90 years, even when Central Chemical had affiliates across the nation, it would remain in this “smaller” category – relying on large suppliers for its materials. For reasons noted above, this was not a problem at the turn of the century vis-à-vis the larger companies. Starting in the 1890s, however, many agricultural societies began to advocate home mixing of fertilizer materials by farmers. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, the fertilizer industry fought this effort successfully by insisting on the value of industrial mixing processes and the farmer’s comparative disadvantages in mixing.

Though in its early years, Central Chemical advertised itself as “Exporters – Manufacturers – Importers,” by the 1970s it had become little more than a middle-man between larger suppliers and farmers. It did not import its own materials, but purchased granulated materials from suppliers. There is no evidence that Central Chemical was exporting products out of the country anymore. And its manufacturing capacity consisted of mixing pre-processed granulated materials in various proportions. At this point, its consulting capacity became equally important to its factory processes.

Though Central Chemical and its subsidiaries were taking in a combined $25 million in sales by the late 1970s, an employee remembers that there was always a sense of trouble on the horizon. The vulnerability of a company that adds very little value to its product and relies entirely on contracts with larger suppliers requires no explanation. It appears that not long after Central Chemical became a bulk blender, its large suppliers began pushing their advantages. In the early 70s, Central Chemical’s supplier, Agrico Chemical Company, put pressure on Central Chemical to enter into a long-term contract. When Central Chemical refused, Agrico withheld di-ammonium phosphate and granular triple super phosphate at a time of national shortage in these materials. Central Chemical responded by filing an antitrust lawsuit against Agrico in federal court. For most of the next decade much of the time, resources, and energy of what was still a closely-held corporation would be consumed in this litigation. Ultimately the lawsuit proved unsuccessful.

All of this came at the same time that local, state, federal regulators were investigating the Hagerstown plant for its pesticide-disposal practices. In the 1970s the State of Maryland ordered two separate cleanups of the site; the EPA was just getting started.

Ultimately the push to eliminate the middle man that drove the switch to bulk blending began to turn on the blenders themselves. The larger companies and farmers wised up, and realized that they could both save money by dealing directly with each other. Farmers began buying direct-application materials from the same suppliers used by Central Chemical. By the early 1980s, Central Chemical’s network of fertilizer blenders had contracted substantially. Blending operations like those of the Hagerstown plant could no longer make the case for themselves. Crushed under the weight of increasingly serious environmental liability for its mid-century disposal practices, the Central Chemical Corporation contracted its operations substantially. The Hagerstown plant ceased operations in 1984 and the office headquarters moved from the old Thomas building to an office outside Hagerstown.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Air drone pics of the Central Chemical Hagerstown MD

Superfund Site was taken on April ‎25, ‎2018

Monday, August 27, 2018

Association of Maternal Insecticide Levels With Autism in Offspring From a National Birth Cohort

August 16, 2018

Abstract

Andre Sourander

Objective:

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with a largely unknown etiology. To date, few studies have investigated prenatal exposure to toxins and risk of autism by using maternal biomarkers of exposure. Persistent organic pollutants are lipophilic halogenated organic compounds and include the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), as well as its metabolite p,p′-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The objective of this study was to test whether elevated maternal levels of persistent organic pollutants are associated with autism among offspring.

Method:

The investigation was derived from the Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism, a national birth cohort study based on a nested case-control design. Cases of autism among children born between 1987 and 2005 were ascertained by national registry linkages. In cases of childhood autism and matched control subjects (778 matched case-control pairs), maternal serum specimens from early pregnancy were assayed for levels of p,p′-DDE and total levels of PCBs.

Results:

The odds of autism among offspring were significantly increased with maternal p,p′-DDE levels that were in the highest 75th percentile, with adjustment for maternal age, parity, and history of psychiatric disorders (odds ratio=1.32, 95% CI=1.02, 1.71). The odds of autism with intellectual disability were increased by greater than twofold with maternal p,p′-DDE levels above this threshold (odds ratio=2.21, 95% CI=1.32, 3.69). There was no association between total levels of maternal PCBs and autism.

Conclusions:

These findings provide the first biomarker-based evidence that maternal exposure to insecticides is associated with autism among offspring. Although further research is necessary to replicate this finding, this study has implications for the prevention of autism and may provide a better understanding of its pathogenesis.

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17101129

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Breakfast With a Dose of Roundup?

August 15, 2018

Weed Killer in $289 Million Cancer Verdict Found in Oat Cereal and Granola Bars

Report by the numbers
	Conventional	Organic
Samples Tested	45	16
Glyphosate Detects	43	5
Detects Above EWG’s Health Benchmark (160 ppb)	31	0

Popular oat cereals, oatmeal, granola and snack bars come with a hefty dose of the weed-killing poison in Roundup, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by EWG.

Glyphosate, an herbicide linked to cancer by California state scientists and the World Health Organization, was found in all but two of 45 samples of products made with conventionally grown oats. Almost three-fourths of those samples had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. About one-third of 16 samples made with organically grown oats also had glyphosate, all at levels well below EWG’s health benchmark.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, the Monsanto weed killer that is the most heavily used pesticide in the U.S. Last week, a California jury ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a man dying of cancer, which he says was caused by his repeated exposure to large quantities of Roundup and other glyphosate-based weed killers while working as a school groundskeeper.

EWG tested more than a dozen brands of oat-based foods to give Americans information about dietary exposures that government regulators are keeping secret. In April, internal emails obtained by the nonprofit US Right to Know revealed that the Food and Drug Administration has been testing food for glyphosate for two years and has found “a fair amount,” but the FDA has not released its findings.

Glyphosate Was Found on Most Samples of Oat-Based Foods
Type of Food	Product Name	Glyphosate (ppb)*
Type of Food	Product Name	Sample 1	Sample 2	Sample 3
Granola	Nature's Path Organic Honey Almond granola	ND**	ND
	Back to Nature Classic Granola	620	170
	Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey, Raisins & Almonds	430	400
	Back to Nature Banana Walnut Granola Clusters	30	30	340
	Nature Valley Granola Protein Oats 'n Honey	220	170
	KIND Vanilla, Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds	50	60
Instant Oats	Giant Instant Oatmeal, Original Flavor	760
	Simple Truth Organic Instant Oatmeal, Original	ND	ND
	Quaker Dinosaur Eggs, Brown Sugar, Instant Oatmeal	620	780
	Great Value Original Instant Oatmeal	450
	Umpqua Oats, Maple Pecan	220	220
	Market Pantry Instant Oatmeal, Strawberries & Cream	120	520
Oat Breakfast Cereal	Kashi Heart to Heart Organic Honey Toasted cereal	ND	ND
	Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal	490	470	530
	Lucky Charms****	400	230
	Barbara's Multigrain Spoonfuls, Original, Cereal	340	300
	Kellogg’s Cracklin’ Oat Bran oat cereal	250	120
Snack Bar	Cascadian Farm Organic Harvest Berry, granola bar	ND	ND
	KIND Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut	ND	120
	Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats 'n Honey	340	120
	Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip granola bar	120	160
	Kellogg’s Nutrigrain Soft Baked Breakfast Bars, Strawberry	30	80
Whole Oats	365 Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats	ND	ND
	Quaker Steel Cut Oats	530	290
	Quaker Old Fashioned Oats	390	1100	1300
	Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats	300	ND
	Nature's Path Organic Old Fashioned Organic Oats	30	20
	Whole Foods Bulk Bin conventional rolled oats	10	40
	Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (4 samples tested)	ND	10	20, 20***

Source: EWG, from tests by Eurofin Analytical Laboratories

*EWG's child-protective health benchmark for daily exposure to glyphosate in food is 160 ppb.

** ND = none detected

*** Two product samples tested both had 20 ppb glyphosate concentration.

**** Lucky Charms Frosted Toasted Oat Cereal with Marshmallows. Marshmallows were manually removed from the samples prior to shipping to the lab and testing for glyphosate.

Each year, more than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are sprayed on American crops, primarily on “Roundup-ready” corn and soybeans genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide. But when it comes to the food we eat, the highest glyphosate levels are not found in products made with GMO corn.

Increasingly, glyphosate is also sprayed just before harvest on wheat, barley, oats and beans that are not genetically engineered. Glyphosate kills the crop, drying it out so that it can be harvested sooner than if the plant were allowed to die naturally.

Get Glyphosate Out of Our Food!

Join EWG and tell General Mills, Quaker and Kellogg’s to get glyphosate out of their products!

Roundup was produced for decades by Monsanto, which this year merged with the German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG. In the case decided last week, the jury found that Monsanto knew for decades of the product’s hazards and not only failed to warn customers, but schemed to publicly discredit the evidence. The California case that ended Friday was the first of reportedy thousands of lawsuits against Monsanto. These suits have been brought by farm workers and others who allege that they developed cancer from years of exposure to Roundup.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, reviewed extensive U.S., Canadian and Swedish epidemiological studies on glyphosate’s human health effects, as well as research on laboratory animals. The IARC classified the chemical as probably carcinogenic to humans, and has steadfastly defended that decision despite ongoing attacks by Monsanto.

In 2017, California listed glyphosate in its Proposition 65 registry of chemicals known to cause cancer. The state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or OEHHA, has proposed a so-called No Significant Risk Level for glyphosate of 1.1 milligrams per day for an average adult of about 154 pounds. That level of exposure is more than 60 times lower than the safety level set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

California’s level represents an increased lifetime risk of cancer of one in 100,000 for an average adult. But for many cancer-causing drinking water contaminants, OEHHA’s lifetime risk factor is set at one in 1 million. Additionally, because children and developing fetuses have increased susceptibility to carcinogens, the federal Food Quality Protection Act supports including an additional 10-fold margin of safety. With this additional children’s health safety factor, EWG calculated that a one-in-a-million cancer risk would be posed by ingestion of 0.01 milligrams of glyphosate per day.

To reach this maximum dose, one would only have to eat a single 60-gram serving1of food with a glyphosate level of 160 parts per billion, or ppb. The majority of samples of conventional oat products from EWG’s study exceeded 160ppb, meaning that a single serving of those products would exceed EWG’s health benchmark. As part of a glyphosate risk assessment, the EPA estimated potential highest dietary exposure levels for children and adults. The EPA has calculated that 1-to-2-year-old children are likely to have the highest exposure, at a level twice greater than California’s No Significant Risk Level and 230 times EWG’s health benchmark.

Studies suggest that glyphosate-sprayed crops such as wheat and oats are a major contributor to glyphosate in the daily diet. In EWG lab tests, 31 of 45 samples made with conventionally grown oats had 160 ppb or more of glyphosate.

Oat-Based Samples that Exceeded 400ppb on Average.

The highest levels, greater than 1,000 ppb, were detected in two samples of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. Three samples of Cheerios had glyphosate levels ranging from 470 ppb to 530 ppb. Twelve of the food samples had levels of glyphosate lower than EWG’s health benchmark, ranging from 10 ppb to 120 ppb. Only two samples had no detectable glyphosate.

Glyphosate was also detected at concentrations of 10 ppb to 30 ppb in five of 16 samples made with organic oats. The five samples came from two brands of organic rolled oats: Bob’s Red Mill and Nature’s Path. A third brand of organic rolled oats and all other organic oat products tested did not contain detectable concentrations of glyphosate.

How does glyphosate get into organic foods? It could come from glyphosate drifting from nearby fields of conventionally grown crops, or by cross-contamination during processing at a facility that also handles non-organic crops. Nature's Path explains:

While organic farming certifications prohibit the use of glyphosate, organic products do not always end up completely free of glyphosate residue. While this news may come as disappointing, it is not entirely surprising. Glyphosate use has skyrocketed in the past decade, and it maintains the ability to adhere to water and soil particles long enough to travel through the air or in a stream to nearby organic farms.

The problem of glyphosate contamination of organic foods underscores the need to restrict pre-harvest uses of glyphosate and the need for more data on glyphosate levels in products, an area where U.S. federal agencies are falling short.

Two years ago, under pressure from the Government Accountability Office, the FDA began testing for glyphosate in a limited number of foods. At the 2016 North American Chemical Residue Workshop, an FDA scientist presented data showing that glyphosate has been detected in several oat-based food products.

After a Freedom of Information Act request by US Right to Know, earlier this year the FDA released documents that said the agency has found “a fair amount” of glyphosate in several processed foods. The results have not been released, but could be made public later this year or in early 2019.

The EPA has calculated that 1-to-2-year-old children are likely to have the highest exposure, at a level 2x greater than California’s No Significant Risk Level and 230x EWG’s health benchmark.

In 2016, the non-profit Food Democracy Now tested for glyphosate in single samples of a variety of popular foods. “Alarming levels” of glyphosate were found in a number of cereals and other products, including more than 1,000 ppb in Cheerios. More recently, the Center for Environmental Health tested single samples of 11 cereal brands and found glyphosate levels ranging from about 300 ppb to more than 2,000 ppb.

EPA has denied that glyphosate may increase the risk of cancer, and documentsintroduced in the recent California trial showed how the agency and Monsanto worked together to promote the claim that the chemical is safe. EWG has been urging the EPA to review all evidence linking glyphosate to increased cancer risk and other adverse health effects in human and animal studies. The EPA should limit the use of glyphosate on food crops, including pre-harvest application.

Oat-based foods are a healthy source of fiber and nutrients for children and adults, and oat consumption is linked to health benefits such as lowered cholesterol and decreased cardiovascular risk. Parents should not have to wonder whether feeding their children these heathy foods will also expose them to a pesticide that increases the risk of cancer.

Glyphosate does not belong in cereal. Act and urge the EPA to restrict pre-harvest applications of glyphosate and tell companies to identify and use sources of glyphosate-free oats.

https://www.ewg.org/childrenshealth/glyphosateincereal/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=201808GlyphRelease&utm_medium=email#.W3SK6C3MwQ4

Friday, March 11, 2016

Review links Agent Orange to bladder cancer, hypothyroidism

Since there were chemicals at Central Chemical , like the ones used to make Agent Orange

I decided to post this information:

USA TODAY NETWORKPatricia Kime, Military Times4:39 p.m. EST March 10, 2016

A new review of Agent Orange research found evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are more strongly linked to exposure to the herbicide than previously thought, but the science does not support a previously held belief that spina bifida occurs in the offspring of exposed veterans at higher rates.

A report released Thursday by the Institute of Medicine on the health effects of Agent Orange also recommended the Department of Veterans Affairsgrant service-connected presumption to veterans with “Parkinson’s-like symptoms,” not just those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease related to Agent Orange exposure.

“There is no rational basis for exclusion of individuals with Parkinson’s-like symptoms from the service-related category denoted as Parkinson’s disease," members of the Institute of Medicine panel wrote in the report.

The 1,115-page review is the final in a series conducted by the Institute of Medicine on health problems related to Agent Orange and other herbicide use during the Vietnam War.

The panel, chaired by Kenneth Ramos, professor of medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona, looked at the scientific literature on Agent Orange released between October 2012 and September 2014 for its review.

The decision on bladder cancer and hypothyroidism was tied to results of a large study of Korean War veterans who served in the Vietnam War and suggested an association, while the choice to downgrade spina bifida was based on a lack of data, panel members said.

“(The inclusion of) spina bifida in the limited or suggestive category of association was based on preliminary findings from (an ongoing Air Force study). However, to date, a complete analysis of the data from that study for neural tube defects has not been published … (and) no subsequent studies have found increases in spina bifida with exposure to components of the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam," they wrote.

The upgrade for bladder cancer and hypothyroidism from the category “inadequate or insufficient evidence” to “limited or suggestive evidence," of a link, as well as the recommendation to include Parkinson’s-like symptoms to the service-connected list could pave the way for thousands of veterans to receive health care and disability compensation from VA.

The downgrading of spina bifida marks only the second time the Institute of Medicine Agent Orange committee has demoted a health outcome related to the herbicide.

Roughly 2.6 million U.S. veterans served in Vietnam, and many of them may have been exposed. The herbicide, named for the color of the metal containers used to store it, was sprayed over 20% of the country to strip the jungle of its vegetation where enemy troops could hide.

Veterans who served in Vietnam on the ground or on boats that patrolled the country's inland waterways are eligible for health care and compensation for certain conditions presumed to be connected to their service.

Other groups of veterans, including those who served after the war on aircraft that had been used to spray Agent Orange, have won recognition for illnesses they say are related to exposure to chemical residue.

Some veterans continue to seek recognition and presumption for exposure to the herbicide, including those who served on ships in the bays, harbors and territorial seas of Vietnam. Attorneys for Military-Veterans Advocacy and the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association on Thursday presented oral arguments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to recognize that the court has jurisdiction to decide whether the VA should not have excluded these veterans from the presumption.

Retired Navy Cmdr. John Wells, executive director of Military-Veterans Advocacy, said the sailors who served on these ships should be included because the vessels' distillation systems used water contaminated with Agent Orange to produce drinking water as well as water used for their boilers.

In their report, the Institute of Medicine panel made several recommendations to the VA to address illnesses in Vietnam veterans, to include recommending that VA continue to study their health, develop protocols to investigate transmission of adverse effects to offspring by exposed fathers and design a study on the health consequences of dioxin exposure on humans.

They also recommended that the Defense Department and VA monitor potential service-related health effects in military personnel, to include creating and maintaining rosters of individuals deployed on missions and linking Defense Department and VA databases to identify, record and monitor trends in diseases.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/03/10/review-links-agent-orange-bladder-cancer-hypothyroidism/81605808/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories

Friday, March 4, 2016

Hagerstown Water Contaminated with High Trihalomethanes Levels prior to 2015

Sunday, February 21, 2016

HAGERSTOWN, MD - With recent media attention to Flint, Michigan and Crystal City, Texas, local residents may be wondering if their own drinking water is safe.

The Safe Water Drinking Act requires public utilities to distribute on a yearly basis a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) listing the results for EPA regulated and unregulated contaminants.

According to the 2014 consumer confidence report, the City of Hagerstown found a level of 98 ppb Trihalomethanes, which exceeds the EPA requirements of 80 ppb.

The report states:

Currently, the City of Hagerstown is operating under a consent agreement with the State of Maryland while it undergoes significant upgrades to the R.C. Willson

Water Treatment Plant. Some people who drink water containing halo acetic acids or trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems

with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

The City of Hagerstown provides water to Williamsport, Smithsburg, and Funkstown.

The 2015 CCR report was not available at the time of writing this article, nor was any data on how long the consent agreement has been in place. However, documents reaching as far back as 1980 show Hagerstown with a traditionally high concentration

of trihalomethanes (THMs). The Herald-Mail wrote an article about the City's water in 2001, in which it was recommended that pregnant women only drink bottled water. Additionally,

test data between 2004 and 2007 shows repeated high levels of THMs.

According to the World Health Organization, THMs are formed in drinking-water primarily as a result of chlorination of organic matter present naturally in raw water supplies.

THMs include Chloroform, Bromoform, Dibromochloromethane, and Bromodichloromethane.

Chloroform is a known carcinogen, while Bromodichloromethane is known to cause reproductive effects, including stillbirth.

Interestingly enough, the City of Hagerstown has posted a notice on its website that in August 2015, water treatment processes were to switch from chlorine to chloramines "

in order to comply with new federal regulatory standards." The notice states that Kidney Dialysis Patients, Businesses using water for food or beverage manufacturing, commercial laundering operations, laboratory procedures, seafood handling or any other processes, or Fish, Pond, and Amphibian Owners, should take special precautions and steps for dealing with the chloramines in the water supply.

Residents interested in learning more should contact the Hagerstown Utilities Department.

Ken Buckler is the editor of the WashCo Chronicle.

Monday, January 18, 2016

The Pesticide on Your Fruit May Lead to Parkinson’s

Alexandra Sifferl in @acsifferlin

Feb. 3, 2014A new study links likelihood of the brain disease to a combination of chemicals and genetics

Following a study that showed that the banned chemical DDT was linked to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, new research out this week shows that pesticides are associated with the development of Parkinson’s disease.

It’s not the first time the chemicals have been linked to the brain disease, but the latest study from UCLA researchers shows that the effect is exacerbated by genetics. Since Parkinson’s is known to be determined by a variety of factors, including family genetics, this new study shows how the two factors could be intimately involved.

In the study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers looked at 360 people with Parkinson’s from three California farming communities that used pesticides. They compared these people with 816 from the same regions who did not have the disease.

Prior research has shown that the pesticide benomyl (which has been banned in the U.S.) interferes with processes in the brain and contributes to the development of Parkinson’s. In this new study, the scientists developed a test targeting other chemicals that could contribute to Parkinson’s, and found that 11 other pesticides contribute to the disease in the same way as benomyl.

(MORE: Study Links DDT to Development of Alzheimer’s Disease)

Here’s how it works: the pesticides inhibit an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), which is supposed to keep a naturally occurring toxin in the brain called DOPAL in check. When ALDH is inhibited, the detoxifying doesn’t happen, and this causes DOPAL to build up and contribute to Parkinson’s development.

Mostly interesting was that the population from the farming communities who had the gene variant ALDH2 were six times more likely to develop the disease, indicating that the gene variant made them especially vulnerable.

“We were very surprised that so many pesticides inhibited ALDH and at quite low concentrations, concentrations that were way below what was needed for the pesticides to do their job,” study author Dr. Jeff Bronstein, a professor of neurology and director of the Movement Disorders Program at UCLA, said in a statement. “These pesticides are pretty ubiquitous, and can be found on our food supply and are used in parks and golf courses and in pest control inside our buildings and homes.”

Building evidence of pesticide-related brain disorders is supporting the case for the dangers of pesticides, and giving researchers more insight into what treatments may be best for people who develop the disease from these chemicals.

http://time.com/4139/the-pesticide-on-your-fruit-may-lead-to-parkinsons/