Database shows reported incidents of poisonings by supposedly safe pesticides

We love it when a news organization conducts an investigation, develops a database and then puts it online so journalists anywhere in the country can do a localized story about the issue. The latest example is the Center for Public Integrity's examination of supposedly "safe" pesticides that have caused thousands of poisonings, increasing nearly 300 percent in the last 10 years.

The data come mainly from reports chemical companies are required to make to the Environmental Protection Agency. "The EPA's pesticide incident-reporting system has not been public until now," Jim Morris and Pell report. "Called one of the "Ten Most Wanted Government Documents" by the Center for Democracy and Technology, the database was released under the Freedom of Information Act to the Center for Public Integrity in early 2008."

Since the law asks manufacturers to create potential problems for themselves, EPA also gathers data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Pushed by inquiries from the Center for Public Integrity, the EPA has begun reviewing how incident data are collected and analyzed," Morris and Pell report.

Thanks to Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute for the heads-up on this excellent resource.