Pesticide exposure Children

Risk factors associated with childhood AML include Hispanic ethnicity, prior exposure to alkylating agents or epipodophyllotoxins, and in utero exposure to ionizing radiation. Maternal alcohol consumption, parental and child pesticide exposure, and parental benzene exposure are also potential risk factors for childhood AML. 

My second child, Corey, will be five this year. He was born into a nontoxic household, so he hasn t been as sick. But after a pesticide exposure when he was fourteen months, he had a seizure and started banging his head. He d have these tantrums and bang his head and scream because he was reacting, then scream because he was hurting himself and unable to stop. 

The air and dust concentrations for the five most frequently detected pesticides in 18 homes showed significant correlations ranging from r =. 63 to r =. 88 (Camann et al. 1991, 1993). However, in a Florida study 13 pesticides were found in dust in nine homes when these same pesticides could not be detected in the air (Budd et al. 1990). These pesticides and PAHs in rug dust may result from carry-home from a job or other sources away from the home. Carpet dust may, therefore, be a broader indicator of a child s exposure for some pesticides, PAHs, and other toxicants than indoor air, outdoor air, or soil samples. 

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report Intolerable Risk Pesticides in Our Children s Food focused on the increased risk of the adverse effects of pesticides on children. This was in part because of the smaller size of the child relative to the adult and because of different food consumption practices. Relative to their size, children eat, drink, and breathe more than adults in part because they are growing. The use and regulation of pesticides illustrate the complexities of risk analysis and risk management and the difficulties in determining an acceptable level of exposure with acceptable risks. In the United States approximately 1 billion pounds of pesticides (with about 600 different active ingredients) are used annually in the agricultural sector, and worldwide approximately 4 billion pounds are used. There are a range of human health and environmental health effects associated with the use of pesticides. 

In order to evaluate an individual s exposure to chemical mixtures, it was necessary to determine how frequently pesticide and industrial chemicals were found in each food product. The results of this determination are discussed for the basic food categories (i.e., dairy, protein, vegetable, fruit, and grain) as well as for the mixed food and child/infant food categories. 

The younger child and toddler are susceptible to exposure from chemicals in solid food (e.g. pesticides) and air (e.g. particulate matter) and through dermal exposure (e.g. heavy metals in soil). As children are introduced to day care and schools, potential new sources of exposure to certain chemicals (e.g. cleaning agents) may occur. Older children continue to be exposed to chemicals present in... 

More studies are needed, however, to better estimate the exposures of small children to residential pesticides. Better methodologies need to be developed and applied to more accurately determine surface-to-skin and skin-to-mouth transfer efficiencies, pesticide bioavailability from ingested dust and the relationship of child-activity patterns to residential exposures. Such studies are essential before reliable exposure assessments can be made. 

Some developmental or reproductive effects are thought to occur immediately after exposure to a pesticide or combination of pesticides, but they may not be apparent for some time after the exposure. For example, a birth defect may be seen only after the birth of a child, which may be several months after the exposure. 

---