Posted from an environmental journalism listserv. Not that I have an axe to grind about pesticides, but the point at which mainstream media coverage probably intersects the most closely with beekeepers and their interests is in environmental coverage. Maneb is a fungicide. Paraquat is an herbicide that (I think) is banned in the U.S., but may still be in use in the U.K., among commonwealth nations and especially in the developing world. PESTICIDE SYNERGISM LINKED TO PARKINSON'S DISEASE More than one million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease. New studies are suggesting an environmental cause. When mixed together, two commonly used pesticides can trigger irreversible symptoms in mice nearly identical to early symptoms of Parkinson's, according to researchers at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. When tested alone, the individual pesticides, paraquat and maneb, have not shown the same effect. Areas where both paraquat and maneb are used on the same fields mesh with areas of high death rates for Parkinson's disease (Pacific Coast, Northeast, Great Plains, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Texas). Researcher Deborah Cory-Slechta says this study (in the Dec. 15, 2000, Journal of Neuroscience), and others the team has not yet published, suggest that synergistic effects of chemicals may be a major health concern. Nationally, researchers have completed only a few synergism studies. Some are listed at http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/synergy/mixtures.htm. -- Other background: "Chemical cocktails: Are mixed pesticides more potent?" March 2000 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, http://www.sej.org/go/010207-7.htm; "Strange brew: Assessing risk of chemical mixtures," February 1995 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1995/103-2/focus.html