Should pregnant women who live and/or work around high levels of pesticide use, particularly on Kauai’s west side, be concerned about birth defects?
A Honolulu law firm has recently been running radio advertisements on Kauai and Maui, stating:
“If you worked on a farm or lived close to the fields where pesticides were sprayed while you were pregnant, and your child was born with a birth defect…then your child may be entitled to significant compensation. Call 1-866-988-TOXIC (6942.)” https://galiherlaw.com/service/birth-defects/
Several physicians at Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital (KVMH), located on Kauai’s west side, believe there may be up to “10 times the national rate” of certain rare heart defects in newborns. READ ACTUAL EMAIL FROM PHYSICIAN (name redacted to protect their privacy): https://tinyurl.com/y7djq7t2
The agrochemical companies that use, manufacture and sell pesticides will tell you there is no evidence of a higher incidence of birth defects on Kauai or anywhere in Hawaii.
The companies, of course, have a vested interest in ensuring their profits and protecting themselves from lawsuits. The law firm, if successful in their law suits, also gains financial benefit. And the physicians acknowledge they have not conducted long term peer reviewed studies.
So, whom do you believe?
The State Department of Agriculture (SDOA) and the Department of Health (SDOH), also state that there is no evidence of increased incidence of birth defects on Kauai.
However, the SDOA has no expertise dealing with complex health issues and neither agency has conducted any comprehensive studies regarding pesticides and birth defects in Hawaii.
Whenever SDOH testing is conducted, they always find evidence of pesticide drift.
When the SDOH tested streams on Kauai, they found atrazine and glyphosate. When they tested the air at Waimea Canyon Middle School, they found chlorpyrifos, a Restricted Use Pesticide and known neurotoxin. The amounts found are small but they should not be there at all. There is no consistent or comprehensive testing and the chronic health impacts have not been studied.
The SDOH maintains a “Birth Defect Registry.” The report presently posted online has not been updated since 2005. The SDOH is in the process of updating this data.
Multiple sources confirm a strong association between pesticide exposure and birth defects:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency: “Exposure to a variety of pesticides have been linked to increased risk of birth defects.”
American Pregnancy Association: “If you discover you are pregnant and you live near an agricultural area where pesticides are being used, it is advised you remove yourself to avoid exposure to these chemicals.”
National Institute of Health: “A significant association was found between the season of elevated agrochemicals and birth defects.”
American Academy of Pediatrics: “Chronic toxicity end points identified in epidemiologic studies include adverse birth outcomes including preterm birth, low birth weight, and congenital anomalies, pediatric cancers, neuro- behavioral and cognitive deficits, and asthma.”
International news sources have reported on the concerns of local physicians who believe the rate of birth defects is higher than normal on Kauai.
The May 25, 2016 State/County Joint Fact Finding Group concluded: “there is simply not enough information to definitively conclude if its [pesticides] use by the seed companies plays any adverse role in the health of Kauai’s residents or environment.”
The report recommends increased testing, studies, buffer zones and other common-sense measures, which the Governor, the legislature the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture have largely ignored.
In Hawaii, those who apply Restricted Use Pesticides in fields near communities, parks, schools and roadways, are not required to disclose which pesticides they are applying, the location, date, or time in which they are applied, thus making it impossible for any individual to make a truly informed decision.
My intention is not to instill fear, but to shed light on an important matter of public health. If you are pregnant, or considering becoming pregnant, and you live and/or work around areas with heavy pesticide use, you should consult a medical professional you trust, read the available literature, review the limited local data that is available and come to your own personal conclusions.
1 – DOH Stream Study: http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=dcf02b8d5dcf4e0d9ed56e51c19b433b
2 – DOH Waimea Canyon School Study: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Waimea-Canyon-Air-Study.pdf
3 – DOH Statewide Pesticide Survey: http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=dcf02b8d5dcf4e0d9ed56e51c19b433b
4 – Environmental Protection Agency: http://bit.ly/2AdzXNK
5 – American Pregnancy Association: http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/pesticides/
6 – National Institute of Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667895/
7 – American Academy of Pediatrics: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2012/11/21/peds.2012-2757.full.pdf
8 – International news about birth defects and pesticides in Hawaii: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/23/hawaii-birth-defects-pesticides-gmo
9 – Joint Fact-Finding Study: https://jffkauai.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/jff-kauai-final-report1.pdf
The above column was first published in The Garden Island newspaper “Hooser – Policy & Politics” on 11/29/2017
GaryHooser's Blog 
I was hit with retaliation by the WG Minami Family and the community association when I reported that WG Minami were polluting our Waimalu River on Oahu. They ran a commercial agriculture business deep in the forest on the river banks for years and years. And no one said a word, they were “grand-fathered” in, driving big rigs right down their community. These people made off, and when they finally did get shut down, they didn’t even bother cleaning up the place, and instead, they bought the neighboring 450 acres of land to secure their easement across my property, and then becomes President of the Neighborhood Board. That almost earned my respect. “Pollute the river, contaminate it’s soil, give us cancer, birth defects, then become the President of the Board!”. Just in case you want to know which board, it’s Newtown Estates Community Association, the one where David Ige, and Mark Takai (deceased) lived in. Now, Im fighting a lawsuit against them, cause they labeled me a “trouble maker” and trying to steal our families lands.
I forgot to mention that they used to also run a piggery slaughter house on the banks of this river, and soon was discovered to have leptospirosis. Same people, they going to do something else, to make money.
Poison the river, contaminate the banks, make lots of money, and then rise to be President. At least someone’s doing something about it, instead of just little ol me. Someone needs to go after these people, and check the soil. Cause they aint’ doing nothing, Nobody can even go back there now. And the State on the other side of the river, was leasing their lands to a Chicken Fighting farmers- hundreds of them. I tell you about the drug-dealing, and the drug-dealer, that they turned a blind eye too, until the DEA, FBI, or CIA got involved, then busted him, and put him in jail in which he died 1 year later from cancer.
Thats the end of the story.
I hope you go after these people who contaminate our rivers, our water drinking supply, as if it doesn’t exist. Because they getting away scotts free, and being praised to be the President of the Board. Disgusted, the reason why I ran for Mayor and Congress to get some public protection and let the rest of the state know what these people do. No regards for our health, they looking for money hungry thats why.