Thomas Backhaus

Where do we stand, and what shall we do? In this follow-up to my interview with Martin Wagner in the previous episode, I discuss some recent reviews on microplastic pollution and environmental risks. I also provide some personal assessment on… Read more: Our Chemicalized World, episode 4: Microplastics in the environment II

This is the first of a two-part episode on environmental pollution with microplastics. In this episode, I have a chat with Martin Wagner, an Associate Professor from the University of Trondheim in Norway who was visiting our University a couple… Read more: Our Chemicalized World, episode 3: Microplastics in the environment I

In this episode I critique a recent video on glyphosate that was produced for the Austrian television. I find the clip heavily biased and explain why. Afterwards I talk a bit about some details in a new report that summarizes… Read more: Our Chemicalized World, episode 2: A chat about Glyphosate

I talk a bit about pesticides, what they are and how they are regulated and risk assessed in Europe. Hopefully not too dry and boring, but it’s essential background for discussing potential pesticide impacts on human health or the environment.… Read more: Our Chemicalized World, episode 1: European pesticide authorization and chlorothalonil ban

This is the introductory episode of “Our Chemicalized World”, a podcast about chemicals and their impacts on human health and the environment. So, this is about chemical hazards, exposures, about risks and safety. About using chemicals and about avoiding them.… Read more: Our chemicalized world, episode 0: Intro

I recently came across an article published by Dan Gardner, an environmental consultant for Tactix in Ottawa, with the provocative title “There are harmful chemicals all around us. And this is fine“. Gardner’s basic line of reasoning is that “the… Read more: “There are harmful chemicals all around us. And this is fine” No, it’s not.

A study on glyphosate residues in Californian wines caught my eye because Kevin Folta from the University of Florida (@kevinfolta on twitter) tweeted about it. He provided my with a link to the study that seems to have published by… Read more: Glyphosate in wine: some comments

The Guardian published an article a couple of days back (on the 15th of December 2018) titled “Legal plastic content in animal feed could harm human health, experts warn”. As a reaction, I tweeted the following: Anja Leetz, then asked… Read more: “Legal plastic content in animal feed could harm human health, experts warn” – Really?

The final version of our microplastic debate (“much ado about nothing?”) is now online: https://peerj.com/preprints/26507v6/ This is the sixth incarnation of the preprint, which now includes the final statements from Martin and myself. Make sure that you don’t miss Therese… Read more: Final version of microplastic debate published

I have the dubious honor of having caught the attention of the “American Council of Science and Health”, in the Form of Alex Berezow & Co. They are trying to claim that I have “rampant financial conflicts of interest” that… Read more: My “rampant financial conflicts” of interest

We have just published a rebuttal to a recent debate article on “the cocktail effect” that Martin Larsson (toxicologist from Bayer Crop Sciences in Denmark) published in Svenska Dagblad a couple of days back. In case you are also struggling… Read more: Rebuttal to a Swedish debate article published in Svenska Dagblad

I’ve gotten involved in quite a few glyphosate debates recently, in very different contexts (online, with colleagues, regulators, industry representatives, friends, etc.). It’s certainly an interesting and relevant subject. But I wonder why the discussions derail so often. Some thoughts… Read more: Some comments on recent glyphosate discussions

In the wake of the recent glyphosate discussion, it became clear that there are some misconceptions on what “Maximum Residue Levels” (MRLs) for pesticides actually are, and whether or not they have any toxicological basis (see comments to this post).… Read more: What are Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for pesticides? A short explanation.

Michael Clark and David Tilman recently compared organic and conventional agriculture (Clark & Tilman, 2017). The analysis was taken up and republished by “Our World in Data” in a post titled “Is organic really better for the environment than conventional… Read more: A comparison between organic and conventional agriculture: you’re missing the point.

The discussion on Glyphosate & RoundUp (or other Glyphosate containing pesticide products) on Twitter continues. A quite interesting one, actually. I would like to take the opportunity to reply to a few comments made. I’m aware that it is a… Read more: Comments on a recent discussion on the toxicity of Glyphosate and RoundUp

I have recently complained about the use of LD50 values (the amount of a compound that kills half the exposed organisms after a short exposure) to compare and rank the toxicity of glyphosate. Maybe it’s pure coincidence, or maybe I… Read more: Glyphosate: a stupid comparison of toxicity data (vol 2)

For some reason, I recently managed to get into a discussion on glyphosate (the active ingredient of Roundup and other herbicidal products) on twitter. 140 characters might be sufficient for exchanging quick comments (and, obviously, for discussing US politics). But… Read more: Glyphosate: a stupid comparison of toxicity data

Ok, after deleting all old posts, let’s start with a blank slate… The major content has been moved to the different sections of the site (see the entries in the menu above). Thomas