Pesticides All Around Us--
What Are The Real Dangers?
*Aerial/Ground Spraying For Mosquitos
*Bug/Termite Spraying In Homes, Schools, Businesses
*Herbicides On Lawns & Gardens
*Pesticides Used In Agriculture -- In Air, Water, Soil & Food Products
Keep In Mind...
[Combinations In The Air Of A City/Town, In The Home, In The School Can Increase The Potency/Toxicity Of Pesticides 100 - 1000 Times The Levels Of Single Pesticides]
What Can I Do?
City Level
Call/Write The Mayor, City Council, Parks & Recreation -- Ask About Policies Regarding Pesticide Use Over and Within The City Limits -- Are Private Groups Allowed To Spray From The Air Or In Their Local Areas For Mosquitos?
Schools
Ask Your Local School Its Pesticide/Herbicide Policies --
Rally Support For Alternatives (see article below)
At Home
*Larval Control Instead Of Pesticide Spraying
*Mowing/Watering/Removing Weeds By Hand
*Find Alternate Ways To Control Insects/Pests
Pesticide Updates
Children Face Danger On School Grass From Pesticides
Pesticide Residue On Produce--Children Vulnerable
Heavy Metals In Pesticides Said Can Lead To Youth Violence
Chemicals, Pesticides May Lead To Infertility In Women
83 Pesticides Found In Ag/Urban US Water
Pesticides Are Far Worse Than Previously Realized
Gulf War Syndrome Findings--Neuro Damage Due To Pesticides
UPDATE: Genetic Causes For GWS -- Implications For General Population
Parkinson's Linked To Residential Pesticide Use
***********************
On School Grass From Pesticides
By Daniella Brower
3-3-00
(WebMD) -- With the coming of spring, children are
venturing outdoors again -- for soccer games, track and
field events and lunches on the schoolyard grass. But
according to three U.S. senators, those fields and lawns
may be dangerous for children.
Schools spray herbicides and pesticides on their grounds
every year to control pests of all kinds, from yellow
jackets to ants. But no one is paying enough attention to
the harmful effects that such chemicals may have on
schoolchildren, says Sen. Joseph Lieberman of
Connecticut, one of the concerned legislators.
Like public areas anywhere, classrooms and playgrounds
are inviting places for pests and annoyances: weeds,
fleas, mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, ants, wasps, mold
and mildew, bacteria, rodents and more. So schools use
herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodent baits,
disinfectants, wood preservatives, soil sterilants and other
chemicals. Although some schools have set their own
standards, there is no overarching authority regulating
what substances are used around school children, and
this has caused mounting concern among parents,
environmentalists and government officials.
QUESTIONS FOR CONDERNED PARENTS
Here's what to ask school administrators about use of
pesticides and herbicides:
1. Does the school district have a written pesticide
policy? If so, ask to see a copy. 2. What method of pest
control goes on at the school? Is there a regular schedule?
3. Is pest control a contracted or an in-house function? 4.
If control is contracted, is the company licensed? 5. What
chemicals are used and in what ways? 6. What kinds of
records are kept on pesticide applications? 7. Is there a
file kept on product labels and Material Safety Data
Sheets for the substances used? 8. Are nonchemical
alternatives considered? 9. What is the school's policy on
advance notification of spraying and application? 10. Are
treated areas posted, before and after application? 11.
Have there been any reported cases of illness attributed
to pest control? 12. Does the school's emergency plan
address possible pesticide accidents or exposure?
For more information about pesticides and herbicides at
schools, contact the <http://www.ncamp.orgNational
Coalition Against Misuse of Pesticides.
Lieberman is a sponsor of a U.S. Senate bill to make
school districts accountable for the pesticides and
herbicides they use in and around schools. Workplaces
have far stricter standards, he says, than do schools, and
he is also urging the Environmental Protection Agency to
step up surveys of what's used in and around the places
where children spend most of their days.
According to a report released just over a month ago by
the U.S. Government Accounting Office,
<http://www.gao.gov/new.items/rc00017.pdf"Use,
Effects, and Alternatives to Pesticides in Schools," most
states have no procedures for tracking or regulating
pest-control procedures in schools. And in the past few
years there have been sufficient numbers of children
exposed to pesticides on school grounds to warrant
concern. The Government Accounting Office has tracked
more than 2,000 instances of pesticide exposure in
schools over three years -- including more than a dozen
cases requiring hospitalization.
Controlling pest controllers
Children, because of their smaller bodies and developing
systems, are more vulnerable to pesticides than adults.
The General Accounting Office notes that its figures are
probably understated since there is still no national
system for collecting data on pesticide exposure among
schoolchildren.
That's part of the problem, Lieberman says. "What we
don't know can indeed hurt us."
Dr. Marion Moses, director of the Pesticide Education
Center in San Francisco, California, notes that at least
one commonly used class of pesticides,
organophosphates, can adversely affect the heart -- and
this effect is just the tip of the iceberg. That kind of
danger, says Moses, is reason enough to remove these
pesticides from schools. The long list of other substances
commonly used in and around schools includes
chlorpyifos (Dursban), an insecticide that, in large doses,
is also a nervous-system poison; synthetic pyrethroids,
including cypermethrin, which the EPA lists as a possible
carcinogen; and Diazinon, frequently used on lawns,
which can trigger nausea, dizziness, headaches and
aching joints, and, in large doses, can act as a
nervous-system poison. Some chemicals can do damage
with minimal exposure; others require direct or prolonged
exposure to cause harm.
It's often difficult to determine that an illness is a direct
result of pesticide poisoning, yet many studies link a wide
variety of health problems to such exposure. According
to the National Coalition Against the Misuse of
Pesticides, studies of pesticide harm point to everything
from elevated rates of childhood leukemias, soft-tissue
sarcomas (aggressive tumors), and brain cancers to
childhood asthma and other respiratory problems. In a
1987 study published in the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute, children whose parents used pesticides
in their homes and gardens were seven times more likely
to get leukemia.
To address these issues, Lieberman and colleagues Sens.
Robert Torricelli of New Jersey and Patty Murray of
Washington have introduced the School Environmental
Protection Act . That bill would create national guidelines
for school pest-management programs.
Among other requirements, the bill stipulates that schools
look for the least-toxic treatment available for problems.
According to Joan Clayburgh of Californians for Pesticide
Reform, nontoxic pest-control options are often
overlooked. "People have to ask, Will soap and water or
caulking up the cracks work?, before they apply toxic
pesticides."
Another significant requirement of the bill is a mandatory
72-hour notice to all parents and school staff before
pesticide use. Notification would include the name of the
pesticide used, any potential adverse effects, and
information on where and why it is being applied. Parents
would have the option of keeping their children away
from areas where herbicides or pesticides were being
applied.
The bill, co-written by Kagan Owens of the National
Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, is in the
Committee on Agriculture, awaiting action by the U.S.
House of Representatives. Its passage would be a step in
the right direction, says Owens.
"Unfortunately, we don't have an activist in every corner
of the country to fight tooth and nail for the safety of
children," Owens says. "We need to establish some
federal laws so that every child is protected, whether they
live in a so-called progressive place or not."
© 2000 Healtheon/WebMD. All rights reserved.
============
Pesticide Residue On Produce--Children Vulnerable
ATLANTA (CNN) -- Recent reports about pesticide residue on
produce -- and the effects of those residues on children -- may leave
consumers confused. Health experts remind the public to
always wash fresh produce thoroughly, using a lot of water, or
peel or cook fruits and vegetables. If anyone is still concerned, there is
always the option of organic produce, which contains virtually no
pesticides at all.
Recent reports indicate that children are particularly susceptible to the low
levels of pesticide that sometimes remain on domestic and imported
produce.
"Children eat 10, 20, 30 times greater in amount than adults, and
they have smaller bodies. So in a milligram-per-pound body weight,
they are exposed to much, much more of the pesticide placed on these
products compared to an adult," said Dr. Michael Shannon of the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
However, most doctors still emphasize the benefits of fruits and vegetables in
children's diets. Those benefits far outweigh potential harm, they say,
because they provide essential vitamins and nutrients that growing bodies
need.
Fruits and vegetables put to the test
A Consumers Union study of 27 foods found that some of the residual
pesticide levels were too high to be safely consumed by young children.
The study, released February 18, was one of the largest ever to examine
pesticide residues on produce. Consumers Union said it didn't want to scare
parents, but sought to help them make more informed decisions.
The Environmental Working Group, an environmental lobby, has urged the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the pesticide methyl
parathion, which is used largely on fruits and vegetables children eat
frequently.
The group's report, issued Thursday, said the chemical's residues can remain
-- even on washed fruit -- in levels that will exceed EPA standards in
children.
The studies have drawn criticism from the produce industry. The Produce
Marketing Association called the reports about pesticide residues
alarmist and irresponsible.
"Those who argue that consumers are at risk from the minuscule pesticide
residues on fresh fruits and vegetables are simply ignoring the facts and are
doing consumers a grave disservice," the association said in a statement.
Children eat more fruit and vegetables than adults, and they're smaller.
Therefore, according to the National Academy of Sciences, laboratory tests
on pesticide residue that are used to set limits for adult tolerance are not
strict enough for children.
"Children are being exposed to large amounts of pesticides daily throughout
their diet -- cumulatively, over the first 5, 10, 15, 20 years of their lives,
when they are trying to have their brains, their kidneys, and their liver
become perfectly functioning organs," Shannon said. "These chemicals can
interrupt this process."
EPA studying pesticides as well
The EPA is in the middle of a multiyear review of allowable pesticide levels,
a survey mandated by a 1996 law. The agency faces an August deadline to
recommend new standards for the first third of the 9,000 chemicals on its
list.
Although most of the produce tested today falls within legal limits, some
experts argue that experts don't take into account the long-term, cumulative
exposure children face.
"If an effect were to occur in 30 years, for many adults, that might not be
that important," said Dr. Gina Solomon of the Natural Resources Defense
Council. "But a child of 5 years old -- in 30 years they will be 35, and that is
something that would be of great concern."
EPA Administrator Carol Browner says the agency is reexamining exposure
levels deemed safe for children as part of its review.
"We are reviewing whole categories of pesticides, particularly when it relates
to the diet of our children and what's on their dinner plate," Browner said.
"In the meantime, a balanced diet is extremely important to raising healthy
children."
Health Correspondent Holly Firfer contributed to this report.
=============
Said Can Lead To Youth Violence
8-11-99
(ENN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency's ban on one
pesticide and restricted use of another for fruits and vegetables does
little to address the link between pesticides and youth violence,
according to a university researcher.
"A rapidly expanding body of research shows that heavy metals such
as lead and pesticides decrease mental ability and increase
aggressiveness," Robert Hatherill, a researcher at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, wrote in an editorial for the Chicago
Tribune.
On August 2, EPA banned the use of methyl parathion and
restricted the use of azinphos methyl for fruits and vegetables
because the pesticides can damage the brain and nervous system.
Young children are especially susceptible.
While environmental groups applaud this step, they say it does not
go far enough to address the threats pesticides pose to youth.
Environmental groups filed suit August 3 to force the agency to
comply with the Food Quality Protection Act, which requires the
agency to consider the risk pesticides pose to children.
Under the act, August 3 was the deadline for the agency to
implement a program to screen and test 3,200 pesticides to
determine their risk to children under the act. The lawsuit alleges the
agency has only issued a timeline for implementation.
"Our actions today will protect children from the adverse effects of
exposure to pesticides commonly used on foods," said Carol
Browner, the EPA administrator. "The agency also is on schedule to
meet all deadlines for ensuring safer pesticides use under the new
Food Quality Protection Act."
Pesticide use has increased 33-fold since 1942.
Green groups beg to differ. "EPA actions up to now have reduced
the risk from only two out of the 125 riskiest pesticide uses on food,
and have actually allowed more risk in seven cases. This is a
pathetic record," said Edward Groth, a policy director at Consumers
Union, one of the groups that filed suit.
According to Hatherill, pesticide use has increased 33-fold since
1942 and since children eat, drink and breathe more pesticides
pound per pound than adults, they are at high risk to health
impairments.
"Recent studies show that trace levels of multiple pesticides cause
increased aggression. Trace pesticide mixtures have induced
abnormal thyroid hormone levels, which are associated with
irritability, aggression and multiple chemical sensitivity," he wrote.
Hatherill believes that the increased use of pesticides in combination
with a diet of low-fiber, processed foods has led to high levels of
pesticides in children and may be the root cause of the trend of
youth violence in the United States.
"Rather than directing all our attention to bitter debates on gun
control and the violence in the entertainment industry, let's also
consider the pressing need for a cleaner environment and more
nutritious food," concluded Hatherill.
Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved
============
Chemicals, Pesticides May Lead To Infertility In Women
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Women whose jobs expose them to solvents, chemical
dusts, pesticides, and video display terminals (VDTs) may be putting their fertility
on the line, a new study shows. Such occupational exposures may double or even
triple the risk of infertility, say Iowa researchers.
They found that women who were exposed to volatile organic solvents,
pesticides, or chemical dusts had a higher risk than normal of having problems
with their fallopian tubes, a higher risk of ovulation failure, and a higher risk of
endometriosis. Endometriosis was also more common in women exposed to
video display terminals, and these women also had higher rates of cervical-factor
infertility.
"This is one of the first female-occupational risk studies that has examined
medically defined infertile women whose spouses had been medically diagnosed
as fertile," says lead study-author Dr. Elaine M. Smith, professor of preventive
medicine and environmental health at the University of Iowa College of
Medicine, Iowa City.
In a report published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
Smith and her colleagues point to previous studies linking a higher prevalence of
spontaneous abortion among dental assistants exposed to nitrous oxide and
anesthetic gases, and among women exposed to non-ionizing radiation from
VDTs.
Results of the current study were based on a comparison of 281 women
diagnosed with infertility and 216 fertile women. Study participants came from
both rural and urban areas of Iowa and Illinois.
Women who were exposed to solvents (paint-related solvents, cleaners, resins,
and hair sprays) while on the job had at least a 1.74 times greater likelihood of
being infertile due to ovulation problems. Job exposure to pesticides was linked
with a 3.02 times greater risk of ovulatory problems, and the risk was 2.66 times
greater in women who had been exposed to chemical dusts.
"Solvents and dusts (mostly wood and agriculturally related dusts) were also
associated with a higher risk of tubal-factor infertility," the researchers note.
Solvents increased the risk by 1.95 times and chemical dusts by 2.87 times.
The authors note that much of the commercial wood in this country is treated
with preservatives, primarily pesticides, to protect against mold, fungi, and
insects. Other chemicals added to wood include arsenic.
Agricultural dusts contain a variety of chemicals including pesticides and
aflatoxins, toxic chemicals found in grain dusts that previous studies have linked
to birth defects.
In terms of endometriosis, women with occupational exposure to solvents had a
2.13 times higher risk, and women exposed to chemical dusts had a 3.63 times
greater risk.
The Iowa researchers say VDT exposure "was more likely to be found among
women diagnosed with endometriosis and cervical-factor infertility," compared
with women with no occupational history of such exposures. Women working
around VDTs had a 3.69 times greater risk of endometriosis and a 2.65 times
greater likelihood of having cervical-factor infertility.
Smith and her co-authors also note that hobbies involving painting, woodworking,and gardening can be linked to significantly increased infertility risks. Thesehobbies often involve exposure to solvents or pesticides.
"Thus, the significant findings from chemical agents used in hobbies are
consistent with those identified for occupational exposures," the researchers state.
But they point out that having these hobbies did not boost the chances of
infertility among women who were exposed to solvents and pesticides on the job.
The Iowa team says more studies are needed that measure amount and duration
of exposure to see if these factors play significant roles in occupational risks to
fertility. SOURCE: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
(1997;39(2):138-146)
=============
83 Pesticides Found In Ag/Urban US Water
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service www.panna.org
9-20-99
Pesticides in U.S. Water
Streams in areas with significant agricultural or urban development
almost always contain complex mixtures of nutrients and pesticides,
according to a report released by the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS). The report, "The Quality of Our Nation's Waters," looks at
water quality in 20 of the largest and most important river basins in
the United States. Researchers found 83 pesticides and breakdown
products in water and 32 pesticides in fish or streambed sediment.
Although the study targeted the broadest and most complete range
of pesticides ever measured in a single assessment, researchers were
not able to test for many important pesticide compounds because of
analytical and budget constraints. Pesticides not measured include
glyphosate, acephate, dimethoate, methomyl and thiodicarb.
The report documents that concentrations of individual pesticides in
samples from wells and as annual averages in streams were almost
always lower than current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) drinking-water standards and guidelines. However, more than
one half of the streams sampled had concentrations of at least one
pesticide that exceeded a guideline for protection of aquatic life.
According to USGS, the potential risk to people and to aquatic life
can only be partially addressed based on available standards and
guidelines. The health picture is made more complex by the lack of
standards or guidelines for many pesticides and their breakdown
products or metabolites. Currently EPA has established standards
and guidelines for only 46 of the 83 pesticides and breakdown
products measured in this study. Of the thousands of possible
pesticide breakdown products, few have been looked for in streams
or ground water.
Adding to the complexity is the fact that existing standards were
developed for individual chemicals and do not take into account
exposure to mixtures of chemicals and seasonal pulses of high
concentrations. The USGS analysis detected two or more pesticides
in almost every stream sample and about one-half of the well
samples. Some of the most frequently detected pesticides are
suspected endocrine disrupters that may affect reproduction or
development of aquatic organisms or wildlife by interfering with
natural hormones.
Some of the highest concentrations of nitrogen and herbicides,
including those most heavily used (such as atrazine, metolachlor,
alachlor and cyanazine) were detected in USGS samples collected
from streams and shallow ground water in agricultural areas. Some
of the highest concentrations of phosphorus and insecticides
(including diazinon, carbaryl and malathion) were found in urban
streams. Of the urban streams studied by the USGS, nearly every
one had concentrations of insecticides that exceed guidelines for
protection of aquatic life.
Contaminants found in the USGS study include chemicals that are
no longer in use, such as DDT, which was banned in the early
1970s. Persistent insecticides, such as the organochlorines DDT,
dieldren and chlordane, are still found at elevated levels in fish and
streambed sediment in many urban and agricultural streams across
the United States. Although still present, there has been a reduction
in concentrations of dieldrin and chlordane insecticides in whole fish
since the 1980s, and concentrations of DDT in sediments have also
decreased.
The USGS report shows that understanding patterns of
contamination in relation to land use, pesticide use and the natural
characteristics of hydrologic systems can potentially help reduce the
amounts of pesticides that reach streams and ground water. It calls
for local and regional management strategies to account for
geographic patterns in land use, chemical use and natural factors.
"The Quality of Our Nation's Waters--Nutrients and Pesticides,"
USGS Circular 1225, is available as a PDF file on the USGS Web
site: http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/ circ/circ1225/ or in printed form
(single copies free) from: Branch of Information Services, P.O. Box
25286, Denver, CO 80225 or fax request to (303) 202-4693. Please
specify USGS report C-1225.
For more information, visit the USGS pesticide home page at
http://water.wr.usgs.ogv/pnsp -- includes pesticide data, maps and
other pesticide publications.
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey News Release, June 28, 1999, and
"The Quality of Our Nation's Waters," USGS, May 1999.
============
Pesticides Are Far Worse Than Previously Realized
By Alex Kirby
BBC Online Environment Correspondent
10-10-98
A leading American scientist says he believes pesticides may be a far
more serious public health threat than anyone has realised.
Nicholas Ashford, Professor of Technology and Policy at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says he thinks chemicals are
the most serious environmental problem facing industrialised
countries today.
Professor Ashford - who is also an advisor to the United Nations
Environment Programme - is known for his work on the theory of
multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).
The theory suggests people can become sensitised by exposure to
one form of contamination so that they are then liable to be affected
by a whole range of other pollutants, including detergents, traffic
fumes and tobacco smoke.
There is no known cure for MCS.
Evidence in the UK
It may sound a far-fetched theory. But the experience of many
British sheep farmers gives it credence.
Hundreds of them have become ill after dipping their animals in
organophosphate (OP) sheep dips. The symptoms range from the
fairly mild sneezing and runny eyes of 'dipping 'flu' to muscle
spasms, insomnia and overpowering fatigue. Some farmers say they
have been driven to the brink of suicide.
OPs are highly toxic, derived from the same group of chemicals that
the Nazis used in World War Two to manufacture nerve gases.
Crucially, many farmers report that after exposure to OPs, they find
that their symptoms can then be triggered off by exposure to a range
of other chemicals.
And Professor Ashford thinks that OPs may be one of the most
common initiators of MCS.
Patients become sensitised
OPs are not used exclusively in sheep dips. They are also used for
fumigating public transport vehicles, in shampoos, and in flea collars.
So they are widely available.
The other chemical which Professor Ashford believes may be a
principal cause of MCS is a compound called permethrin, which is
used as a woodworm treatment. It is sprayed in about 5,000 British
homes every week.
He and his colleagues have found that some patients, once sensitised
by exposure to a chemical, react to subsequent levels of exposure so
low that the techniques available in most laboratories cannot detect
them at all.
Doctors baffled
And the baffled doctors, he says, unable to find a clear cause for the
problem, tend to assume that it is all in the mind.
Professor Ashford believes the huge rise in pesticide use over the last
half century could explain many illnesses, ranging from skin rashes
and breathing problems to cancers and birth defects.
Other research in the United States suggests that about one-third of
the population -- sixty million people -- may be affected in some
way.
Professor Ashford says: 'Pesticides are nerve poisons; they damage
the brain and they are also known to be endocrine disruptors'
(synthetic chemicals which interfere with naturally produced
hormones).
He wants to see an immediate reduction in pesticide use until the
effects are better understood, and is pressing for the formation of a
European Union environment unit to study the problem.
The Health and Safety Executive has commissioned a British study
of MCS from the Institute of Medicine. A report on OP sheep dips,
by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, is due to be published in November.
==========
Neuro Damage Due To Pesticides
=============
Research Scientists At The University Of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Have Found That Pesticides -- Especially In Combinations Cause Neurological Damage To The Brain Stem and Basal Ganglia
Which Could Account For A Major Portion Of Symptoms Suffered By Gulf War Vets And Others Exposed To Pesticides.
There appears to be a genetic predisposition or vulnerability to damage to these areas of the brain with a lowering of a necessary protein. Many Gulf War Vets wore pesticide collars on their ankles and were sprayed with pesticides in an attempt to control sandflies...and along with other neurotoxin exposures made certain individuals highly susceptible to brain damage.
Symptoms range from memory loss to pain syndromes to ataxia and coordination problems. The suffering has been great.
New tests have been developed using MRS technology and vertigo testing which will help in establishing this "syndrome" which affects thousands...perhaps millions of Americans...(some unaware of the cause of their ailments)...as a disorder or disease
.The US Government has now funded research in this area...giving new hope to those suffering the devastating and painful effects of pesticide exposure. The most effective cure for this and other untoward effects of pesticides is the elimination of these neurotoxins from our environments.
============
Parkinson's Linked To
Residential Pesticide Use
From PANUPS <panupdates@panna.org>
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
8-5-00
A recent study of people newly diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease has found that home pesticide use
and exposure is associated with an increased risk of
developing the disease. The study, led by Lorene Nelson,
Ph.D., a neuroepidemiologist at Stanford University's
School of Medicine, in Palo Alto, California, is the largest
ever of individuals with newly diagnosed Parkinson's,
and the first to show an association between home
pesticide use and the risk of developing Parkinson's
disease. The study's findings were presented in May
2000, at the American Academy of Neurology's 52nd
Annual Meeting in San Diego, and the full report is
expected to be released in early 2001.
Nelson and her colleagues questioned 496 people who
were first diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1994 and 1995
about their past use of pesticides in their homes or
gardens. The subjects were each asked detailed questions
about types of pesticides used, frequency of use, and
when they were first exposed to household and garden
pesticides. The researchers also asked subjects about
their cigarette, alcohol and coffee consumption. A control
group of 541 people without the disease were asked the
same questions.
When researchers compared the life histories of the
subjects and the control group, they found that people
exposed to in-home insecticides were 70% more likely to
develop the disease than those who had not been
exposed. The average amount of time that people
reported being exposed to products in this category was
77 days. Exposure to garden insecticides carried a 50%
increased risk of the disease, according to the study.
Among herbicide users, risk of developing Parkinson's
increased as the number of days that people were in
contact with herbicides accumulated. Respondents who
reported handling or applying those products for up to 30
days were 40% more likely to develop the disease,
whereas respondents that reported higher levels of
exposure, an average of 160 days, had a 70% increased
risk of developing the disease. Exposure to fungicides,
while linked to other health problems, was not
determined to be a risk factor for Parkinson's disease in
this study.
According to Nelson, damage to nerve cells in a part of
the brain called the basal ganglia and subsequent
deficiency in the neurotransmitter dopamine leads to the
balance and movement difficulties characteristic of
Parkinson's disease. People exposed to chemicals that
have a certain affinity to this region of the brain may be
at particular risk for developing the disease, says Nelson.
Source: Technical Report, Beyond Pesticides/National
Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, Vol. 15, No.
7, July 2000.
More To Come...