Have You Ever Thought about the smell of Fertilizer? By Julie Peller Ph.D

Green Junction

On recent walks around my neighborhood, I noticed the smell of lawn fertilizers. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides – a choice to make lawns look more like carpet than natural grass/plant growth – exposes people, animals, and the environment to toxins. When the odor is detectable, the air is contaminated. We breathe and ingest these chemicals simply by being outside after applications of lawn “care.” Evidence that we are harming ourselves because of the desire for perfect lawns continues to rise.

A new study determined that 485 chemicals in US pesticide products are linked to breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, there has been a steady increase in breast cancer rates, about 1% per year, since 2012. The rate of increase is higher for women under age 50. Those who study disease risk factors note that known factors, such as genetics, obesity, or smoking, do not account for the rising rates of breast cancer. Over these years, the production and use of chemical pesticides have increased alongside the rise in cancers.

According to researchers and health advocates, methods for assessing chemical toxicity do not account for the effects of multiple chemical exposures. The process evaluates individual, pure chemicals, which do not reflect the formulations that are actually used. Experts insist that new methods are needed to effectively determine the risks of the increasing amounts of chemicals used in fertilizers, plastic additives,s and numerous other products. According to the National Institute of Health, “from 2010 through 2019, the incidence of 14 cancer types increased among people under age 50.” The rising rates of cancers in younger people should be reason enough to devote more resources and attention to better understand health risks associated with our rising use of stuff that contains lots of chemicals.

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University). She has written a weekly column, The Green Junction, for the past few years and is helping move the call of Laudato Si to action. Her research interests include advanced oxidation in aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, challenges along the Lake Michigan shoreline (including Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.