Pesticide threat to farmers' children

Pesticide threat to farmers' children

Children of agricultural families are at risk of exposure to multiple pesticides in potentially hazardous concentrations, according to a study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (US). The study, designed to compare pesticide risks to children of agricultural as compared to non-agricultural families, shows that household dust can accumulate significant concentrations of pesticides, and that these concentrations are highest in the homes of agricultural workers. Researchers analysed yard soil and household dust samples for four organophosphate insecticides widely used in the study area. Household dust in the homes of agricultural families was found to have three to five times higher median concentrations of azinphos-methyl, chlorpyrifos and phosmet, and 13 times higher median concentrations of ethyl-parathion than household dust in reference families' homes. The household dust in 62% of agricultural families' homes contained quantifiable levels of the four pesticides as compared with 9% in reference family homes. Azinphos-methyl (previously known as Guthion) was found in 100% of the dust samples from both agricultural and reference households. These insecticides present a range of potential health hazards. Azinphos-methyl and parathion are classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as Category I toxins, the most deadly category of substances. Parathion is one of PAN International's Dirty Dozen pesticides, and has been linked with reproductive and endocrine disrupting effects, according to Dr Theo Colburn (Environmental Health Perspectives, December 1995). Chlorpyrifos and phosmet are classified by EPA as Category II toxins, EPA's second most hazardous category of substances, and chlorpyrifos is one of the most frequently reported causes of insecticide poisonings in the US, according to the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP). Data for the study were collected during the 1992 growing season from 59 families living in the Wenatchee area of eastern Washington, an agricultural region that produces apples, pears and cherries. Families were categorised as agricultural if at least one member worked in a farming occupation. In non-agricultural families no-one in the household worked in the farm industry or with agricultural pesticides, and the household was more than 0.4 km from a commercial farm. All participating families had at least one child under six years of age. Indoor dust samples were found to contain much higher pesticide residue levels than outside soil samples. The highest concentration found inside was more than 15 times higher than the highest concentration found outside for agricultural families, and more than 30 times higher for reference families. The highest pesticide concentration found in any single sample was 17 ppm (parts per million) of phosmet in the household dust of an agricultural family. The greatest total organophosphate concentration in dust of a single household was 21.5 ppm, also in an agricultural family's home (the study does not specify if it was the same home with 17ppm of phosmet). Household dust and yard soil are significant sources of exposure to pesticide residues for small children and toddlers because children spend much of their time on the ground and are likely to ingest soil and dust by putting objects in their mouths. The authors point out that previous studies have shown household dust contains higher levels of pesticide residues than are found in air, water or food, both in terms of pesticide concentrations and number of pesticides found. According to the Environmental Health Perspectives study, pesticides can persist longer indoors than out because they are protected from degrading processes of sun, rain and microbial activity. The study suggested a range of practices for reducing children's pesticide exposure, including policy changes to encourage pesticide use reduction, precautionary measures such as use of protective gear, removal of gear and clothing that may have been exposed to pesticides before entering the home and frequently washing children's hands.
[From Pesticide Action Network North America Updates Service.]