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Date: | Fri, 3 Mar 2023 14:56:31 -0500 |
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> On what basis and by whom was the material deemed "coumaphos contaminated."
Anyone with an HPLC/MS, even a 1980s-era mass spec or 1960s-era gas chromatograph can easily see the comb contamination.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-019-00724-6
"Beeswax that was newly constructed 5 months after removing the treatment strips contained up to 7.3 mg/kg of coumaphos, and up to 0.5 and 2.3 mg/kg was detected in the honeycomb and capping wax, respectively. These results suggest that beeswax exposed to CheckMite® should not be recycled in order to prevent elevated concentrations of coumaphos in new foundations and hence to prevent honeybee larvae from being exposed to detrimental residue levels."
So the contamination level is so acute, beeswax exposed to Coumaphos should be scrapped, and so should any combs constructed by that hive 5 months later.
The EU MRL for Coumaphos is 100 μg/kg (set 2010). The contamination of honey with coumaphos is widely documented in the scientific literature.
Martel, et al. found Coumaphos in honey in concentrations up to 2.02 mg/kg (mg/kg equals ppm) during the treatment while on the 30th day of treatment the concentration decreased to 0.05 mg/kg.
https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2007038 <https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2007038>
Karazafiris, et al. found concentrations to be the highest (0.131 mg/kg) “35 days after Coumaphos strips were placed into the hive”. “But 0.060–0.111 mg/kg of coumaphos was detected up to 103 days after strip removal.”
https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.1493
US EPA tolerances are 0.15 ppm in honey (150 μg/kg) and 45.0 ppm (45000 μg/kg) in honeycomb (per 40 CFR §180.189).
Regardless of what tolerance is set, and regardless of what levels are detected, the stuff **accumulates** in wax over time, so the residue levels will increase over time with repeated use.
Any beekeeper exposed likely also has a detectable level, just as any farmworker who might have sprayed the stuff has a detectable level.
Bob Harrison was the one that was present at the bonfire mentioned, I will refrain from naming names other than Bob's.
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