A Pittsburgh sportscaster has filed a lawsuit against Monsanto, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Syngenta, Dow Agroscience, Deere and Company, and John Deere Landscapes after his father, a golf course superintendent, died from cancer in 2009.
Sportscaster Rich Walsh is suing Monsanto, Bayer CropScience, BASF, Syngenta, Dow Agroscience, Deere and Company, and John Deere Landscapes after his father’s untimely death from cancer in 2009, Pittsburgh-based WTAE Channel 4 reported.
Rich’s father, Tom Walsh, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2008, after a career as a golf course superintendent. “He loved golf. He loved working outside. He loved to take care of golf courses,” Rich said.
Genetic testing from Tom’s oncologist showed chromosomal alterations as a result of years of working with pesticides, the only chemicals he had ever worked with. Part of the log books he kept throughout his career included the pesticides he applied, which included the insecticides Dylox and Dursban, active ingredients trichlorfon and chlorpyrifos respectively, and the fungicides Daconil and Chipco, active ingredients chlorothalonil and iprodione. All of these chemicals have been shown to be likely carcinogens, according to Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide Gateway or Pesticide Induced Diseases Database, WTAE reported.
“The complaint provides no evidence or rationale for asserting that Monsanto products were in any way responsible for Mr. Walsh’s condition,” a representative for Monsanto told WTAE. On Tom Walsh’s oncologists work, Bayer CropScience wrote in one document that, “On its face, that ‘methodology’ is at best, novel science, and, at worst, no science at all.”
Beyond Pesticides’ executive director Jay Feldman was interviewed by WTAE, and noted on pesticide manufacturer’s allegations that, “When you call these types of conclusions junk science then you’re basically ignoring the body of scientific literature. You see incredible connections between brain cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, with a lot of these chemicals that are used in turf management.”
Rich Walsh said that his father took the proper precautions, including wearing the required personal protective equipment, around the pesticides he used, WTAE reported.
“You do what the chemical companies tell you to do but it still didn’t save my dad’s life,” he said. Under current statutes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows a certain amount of risk, which they deem “reasonable,” even when pesticide labels are followed as directed, WTAE reported.
In light of these statistics and rising awareness of the hazards associated with pesticide use in golf, many courses in Pittsburgh and across the country are transitioning to organic practices. Rich Walsh now owns one of the courses employing safer, organic methods of turf maintenance in his Rolling Fields Golf Course in Murrysville, Pa., WTAE reported.
Rich told WTAE that he hopes something positive will come from the lawsuit. When asked whether he was trying to send a message with his lawsuit, Rich responded, “Yeah. I don’t know if one person can do it but I’m going to try.”
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