Pollinator, environmental advocates hail state's partial ban on pesticides

Doug Fraser Cape Cod Times

Published May 2, 2021 

Neonicotinoids were developed in the 1990s, when crop-destroying insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, beetles and caterpillars demonstrated increasing resistance to existing pesticides. This family of pesticides had the additional benefit of being less toxic to vertebrates, and were more easily absorbed by neurotransmitters in insect brains.

Neonicotinoids became the pesticide of choice, the most widely used and studied in the world, and they are found in approximately 300 insecticide products, according to Deirdre Cummings, legislative director for the public interest group MASSPIRG.

But concern about the affect neonicotinoids were having on non-targeted insects, pollinators in particular, led MASSPIRG, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association and dozens of other agricultural, environmental, climate and pollinator advocacy groups — as well as Massachusetts legislators and other state government officials — to campaign for a ban on their use except by licensed pesticide applicators.

Retail sale of pesticides containing neonicotinoids banned

After six years of advocacy, the Massachusetts Pesticide Board subcommittee responsible for certifying all pesticides in the commonwealth granted those groups a partial victory on Monday. It has banned retail sale of pesticides containing neonicotinoids and required that non-commercial use be conducted only by a licensed pesticide applicator.

The board did not address agricultural use, which may be the largest use of the products and includes coating agricultural seeds for major crops such as corn and soy in neonicotinoids.

“The move by the (pesticide) board is a very good move and a good first step in the right direction,” Cummings said Tuesday.

Two hundred and forty of the world’s flowering plants and 90 key U.S. crops rely on pollinators. The Environmental Protection Agency has cited pesticides as one of the five top reasons for an observed decline in pollinators.

Neonicotinoids are systemic and travel throughout the plant, including to nectar and pollen, where they affect pollinators such as bees and butterflies. The pesticides are believed to be one of several factors in bee colony collapse, which resulted in the loss of an estimated 40% of hives in a single year nationwide. 

“Pollinators are the poster child for the loss of biodiversity, habitat and the use of pesticides,” said Martin Dagoberto, policy director for the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s Massachusetts chapter, on Tuesday. 

“Within Barnstable County, there’s always been that concern about people losing hives because of pesticides, because of what people put on their lawns, flowers and trees,” said Michael Smith, a beekeeper from South Yarmouth who is president of the Barnstable County Beekeepers Association, which has over 400 members.

Products that say systemic annual treatment are neonicotinoids

County entomologist Larry Dapsis said Tuesday that he counsels homeowners to look at the label of the pesticide they are buying. 

“If you see a product that says systemic annual treatment, those are neonicotinoids,” he said. “The homeowner is not a trained pesticide applicator, and you can misuse these products.” 

Dagoberto also serves as a lobbyist in the state Legislature and said that legislation protecting pollinators, sponsored by state Rep. Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston), gained widespread bipartisan support, with 153 legislators and state Attorney General Maura Healey signing onto the bill. But the legislation still failed to make it out of committee.

Dagoberto blamed lobbyists whom he said told legislators that the matter should be handled by state regulators on the pesticide subcommittee. Dagoberto wants the subcommittee membership opened up to include more members of the public, representatives of environmental organizations and pollinator advocates.

Dagoberto and Cummings said that after six years, it was state legislators who finally forced the pesticide subcommitee’s hand. The role of neonicotinoids in pollinator decline is controversial, and back in 2019 the state Department of Agricultural Resources said it needed more scientific studies before imposing a ban. Legislators, led by Dykema, funded a $100,000 study that included a comprehensive review of scientific studies, and required the pesticide board subcommittee to act on their findings. 

After the scientific review revealed that 42 of 43 selected studies showed the negative impacts of neonicotinoids on bee populations, the subcommittee decided to execute the partial ban on consumer use. Massachusetts is one of only four states to restrict their use. Cummings sees the retail ban as a first step, with a focus on agricultural use to follow.

“I’m thrilled that the public and our broad coalition of voices have finally been heard. The adoption of these pollinator protection measures is an important step forward in protecting our precious natural ecosystems in Massachusetts, as well as our agricultural economy," Dykema wrote in an email Tuesday.

She also thanked Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides and the pesticide board subcommittee. "The measures adopted on Monday reflect a recognition of the harms these products pose and the broad support of the public for commonsense, science-based policies that protect our environment, our farmers, local agriculture and the consumer," Dykema said.

Because neonicotinoids are highly water soluble and have a long life span, Dagoberto and Cummings would like to see better accountability.

“One of the most important things for the (state) Department of Agriculture to do is to address the lack of information on how much of these chemicals (is) being used and where,” Cummings said.