CECs

Pyrethroids—Gardeners Best Friend Versus Fishy Foe

Spring is underway, and across California, gardeners and farmers are combating the season’s annual pest problem: insects. But the pesticides that protect our roses and our lettuce may be harming more than just the bugs. Pesticides, in particular pyrethroids, are making their way from our gardens, farms, and houses into our watersheds, where they pose a serious threat to California’s aquatic populations. With annual pesticide use expected to peak in the coming months, now is the time to ask some questions. What are pyrethroids? How are they impacting our water systems? What is being done to mitigate the potential problems associated with their use?

Since the late 19th century, pyrethroids have been around and are similar to some naturally occurring insecticides, called pyrethrins, found in chrysanthemum flowers. But unlike pyrethrins, pyrethroids are manufactured chemicals designed to quickly incapacitate insect nervous systems and simultaneously resist environmental degradation. Their low toxicity to humans, mammals, and birds makes them ideal for a variety of agricultural, public health, and domestic purposes. Pyrethroid compounds are effective insecticides employed on farms and in homes across the US. In particular, pyrethroids are an efficient…

Portantino Leads Effort to Manage CECs in CA

Over the last decade, advancements in analytical testing technologies have revealed new categories of previously undetectable substances now dubbed as CECs—Constituents of Emerging Concern. This ever broadening group of chemicals and microorganisms pose unprecedented technical, legal, and financial challenges; but arguably, the biggest hurdle is the lack of available information about the persistence, prevalence, or toxicity of many substances referred to as CECs. In an effort to fill those data gaps, Senator Portantino introduced Senate Bill Number 230 (SB 230) to California’s State legislature this year. The bill, which seems to enjoy wide support from water agencies, would mark the first state-wide effort to address CECs as a category.

While information has grown over the past few years, most research has focused on high-profile chemicals or chemical families. This is partially because CECs are such an immense and diverse category; any new or newly detected and unregulated substance found in California’s waters is considered a CEC. This broad definition encompasses thousands of …

SWB Shows Renewed Focus on Constituents of Emerging Concern

Man-made chemicals are everywhere in our modern world—in pharmaceuticals, health care products, pesticides, and cookware. But a vast array of the same chemicals present in our household goods also contaminate our environment and aquatic ecosystems. These Constituents of Emerging Concern, or CECs, are gaining notoriety as potential hazards to marine environments, aquatic wildlife, and human health. In response to rapid advancements in testing and a growing body of literature surrounding emerging contaminants, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) was asked by the State Water Board (SWB) in April 2020, to reconvene the CEC Ecosystem Panel. The panel, tasked with updating previous recommendations for monitoring CECs, is on track to produce a new report by…