[Pollinator] USGS Study Finds Neonicotinoids Are Common in Streams Throughout the Midwest

[Hilburger, Steven]

This release can be found in the USGS Newsroom at:
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3941.


*News Release*
 ------------------------------

July 24, 2014

Alex Demas

703-648-4421

apdemas at usgs.gov

Kathy Kuivila

503-251-3257

kkuivila at usgs.gov
     ------------------------------

*Insecticides Similar to Nicotine Widespread in Midwest*

Insecticides similar to nicotine, known as neonicotinoids, were found
commonly in streams throughout the Midwest, according to a new USGS study.
This is the first broad-scale investigation of neonicotinoid insecticides
in the Midwestern United States and one of the first conducted within the
United States.


Effective in killing a broad range of insect pests, use of neonicotinoid
insecticides has dramatically increased over the last decade across the
United States, particularly in the Midwest. The use of clothianidin, one of
the chemicals studied, on corn in Iowa alone has almost doubled between
2011 and 2013.


“Neonicotinoid insecticides are receiving increased attention by scientists
as we explore the possible links between pesticides, nutrition, infectious
disease, and other stress factors in the environment possibly associated
with honeybee dieoffs.” said USGS scientist Kathryn Kuivila, the research
team leader.


Neonicotinoid insecticides dissolve easily in water, but do not break down
quickly in the environment. This means they are likely to be transported
away in runoff from the fields where they were first applied to nearby
surface water and groundwater bodies.


In all, nine rivers and streams, including the Mississippi and Missouri
Rivers, were included in the study. The rivers studied drain most of Iowa,
and parts of Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and
Wisconsin. These states have the highest use of neonicotinoid insecticides
in the Nation, and the chemicals were found in all nine rivers and streams.


Of the three most often found chemicals, clothianidin was the most commonly
detected, showing up in 75 percent of the sites and at the highest
concentration. Thiamethoxam was found at 47 percent of the sites, and
imidacloprid was found at 23 percent. Two, acetamiprid and dinotefuran,
were only found once, and the sixth, thiacloprid, was never detected.

Instead of being sprayed on growing or full-grown crops, neonicotinoids can
be applied to the seed before planting. The use of treated seeds in the
United States has increased to the point where most corn and soybeans
planted in the United States have a seed treatment (i.e., coating), many of
which include neonicotinoid insecticides.


“We noticed higher levels of these insecticides after rain storms during
crop planting, which is similar to the spring flushing of herbicides that
has been documented in Midwestern U.S. rivers and streams,” said USGS
scientist Michelle Hladik, the report’s lead author. “In fact, the
insecticides also were detected prior to their first use during the growing
season, which indicates that they can persist from applications in prior
years.”


One of the chemicals, imidacloprid, is known to be toxic to aquatic
organisms at 10-100 nanograms per liter if the aquatic organisms are
exposed to it for an extended period of time. Clothianidin and thiamethoxam
behave similarly to imidacloprid, and are therefore anticipated to have
similar effect levels. Maximum concentrations of clothianidin, thiamethoxam
and imidacloprid measured in this study were 257, 185, and 42.7 nanograms
per liter, respectively.


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified all detected
neonicotinoids as not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.


The paper, “Widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams
in a high corn and soybean producing region, USA” and has been
published in *Environmental
Pollution* <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2014.06.033>. Learn more
about the study and the long-term USGS effort to gather information on the
environmental occurrence of new pesticides in different geographic,
climatic, and use settings here
<http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/neonics.html>. To learn more about USGS
environmental health science, please visit the USGS Environmental Health
website <http://www.usgs.gov/envirohealth/> and sign up for our GeoHealth
Newsletter <http://www.usgs.gov/envirohealth/geohealth/index.html>.
  ------------------------------

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###




Steve Hilburger
Ecosystems Mission Area
Wildlife Program
703-648-4036
shilburger at usgs.gov
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