Super Eco

Photo credit: Migraine Chick, flickr

From the Department of Things Other People Have Done That are Still Messing With Us Today: So you're rustling up a healthy meal in the kitchen, maybe using some fresh veggies from the garden or pick-your-own berries from a local farm ... And yum, you can top the whole thing off with a zesty dash of pesticides scuffed up from the kitchen floor. You don't use pesticides, you say? You don't have to. New research shows that pesticides linger in American homes much, much longer than previously suspected.

A little dab'll do you ... and do you, and do you, and do you. An Environmental Protection Agency study published in Environmental Science & Technology shows that toxic pesticides, some which have been banned in the United States for decades, continue to show up current tests of American homes. Floors seem to be a particular danger point, meaning that children (who spend a lot of time in contact with floors and carpeting) could be at particular risk.

"High detection frequencies observed for chlordane, chlorpyrifos, and permethrin suggest these compounds are essentially ubiquitous in our living areas," noted the study's authors, "and that popular use, both past and present, has a major influence on their occurrence in homes." A 2000-2001 National Home and Garden Survey found that about three-quarters of U.S. households use pesticides. The new EPA study, however, shows that even homeowners who avoid pesticides are likely to still be living under their effects.

Bing bugged by bugs? Consult Beyond Pesticides' list of least toxic pest control alternatives.