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===Birth defects===
===Birth defects===
In the United States, increase in birth defects is associated with conceiving in the same period of the year when agrochemicals are in elevated concentrations in surface water.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.01207.x}}</ref> [[Agent orange]] primarily composed of .. has been associated with increased birth defects in [[Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL, Nguyen TV |title=Association between Agent Orange and birth defects: systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Int J Epidemiol |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=1220–30 |year=2006 |month=October |pmid=16543362 |doi=10.1093/ije/dyl038 |url=}}</ref>
In the United States, increase in birth defects is associated with conceiving in the same period of the year when agrochemicals are in elevated concentrations in surface water.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.01207.x}}</ref> [[Agent orange]] primarily composed of .. has been associated with increased birth defects in [[Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL, Nguyen TV |title=Association between Agent Orange and birth defects: systematic review and meta-analysis |journal=Int J Epidemiol |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=1220–30 |year=2006 |month=October |pmid=16543362 |doi=10.1093/ije/dyl038 |url=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL |title=Paternal exposure to Agent Orange and spina bifida: a meta-analysis |journal=Eur. J. Epidemiol. |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=37–44 |year=2010 |pmid=19894129 |doi=10.1007/s10654-009-9401-4 |url=}}</ref>


===Other===
===Other===

Revision as of 21:37, 24 September 2010

Health effects of pesticides may be acute or delayed in those who are exposed.[1] A 2007 systematic review found that "most studies on non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia showed positive associations with pesticide exposure" and thus concluded that cosmetic use of pesticides should be decreased.[2] Strong evidence also exists for other negative outcomes from pesticide exposure including neurological, birth defects, fetal death[3], and neurodevelopmental disorder.[4]

The World Health Organization and the UN Environment Programme estimate that each year, 3 million workers in agriculture in the developing world experience severe poisoning from pesticides, about 18,000 of whom die.[5] According to one study, as many as 25 million workers in developing countries may suffer mild pesticide poisoning yearly.[6] Detectable levels of 50 different pesticides were found in blood samples of a group of United States people.[7] According to The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 10 of the 12 most dangerous and persistent chemicals are pesticides.[8]

Acute effects

Main article: Pesticide poisoning

In China, an estimated half million people are poisoned by pesticides each year, 500 of whom die.[9]

Pyrethrins, insecticides commonly used in common bug killers, can cause a potentially deadly condition if breathed in.[10]

Long term effects

Cancer

Many studies have examined the effects of pesticide exposure on the risk of cancer. Associations have been found with: leukemia, lymphoma, brain, kidney, breast, prostate, pancreas, liver, lung, and skin cancers.[11] This increased risk occurs with both residential and occupational exposures.[11] Increased rates of cancer have been found among farm workers who apply these chemicals.[12] A mother's exposure to pesticides during pregnancy is associated with an increases in her child's risk of leukemia, Wilms' tumor, and brain cancer.[13][11]

Neurological

The risk of developing Parkinson's disease is 70% greater in those exposed to even low levels of pesticides.[14] People with Parkinson's were 61% more likely to report direct pesticide application than were healthy relatives. Both insecticides and herbicides significantly increased the risk of Parkinson's disease.[15]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ finished a 10 year review of the organophosphate pesticides following the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, but did little to account for developmental neurotoxic effects, drawing strong criticism from within the agency and from outside researchers.[16][17]

Birth defects

In the United States, increase in birth defects is associated with conceiving in the same period of the year when agrochemicals are in elevated concentrations in surface water.[18] Agent orange primarily composed of .. has been associated with increased birth defects in Vietnam.[19][20]

Other

These are associated with acute health problems for workers that handle the chemicals, such as abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, as well as skin and eye problems.[21] Additionally, many studies have indicated that pesticide exposure is associated with long-term health problems such as respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic conditions,[22][23] cancer,[24] depression,[25] neurological deficits,[26][27] miscarriages, and birth defects.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] Summaries of peer-reviewed research have examined the link between pesticide exposure and neurologic outcomes and cancer, perhaps the two most significant things resulting in organophosphate-exposed workers.[38][39]

According to researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), licensed pesticide applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes. One study found that associations between specific pesticides and incident diabetes ranged from a 20 percent to a 200 percent increase in risk. New cases of diabetes were reported by 3.4 percent of those in the lowest pesticide use category compared with 4.6 percent of those in the highest category. Risks were greater when users of specific pesticides were compared with applicators who never applied that chemical.[40][41]

Routes of exposure

Template:Globalize/USA There are concerns that pesticides used to control pests on food crops are dangerous to people who consume those foods. These concerns are one reason for the organic food movement. Many food crops, including fruits and vegetables, contain pesticide residues after being washed or peeled. Chemicals that are no longer used but that are resistant to breakdown for long periods may remain in soil and water and thus in food.[42]

The United Nations Codex Alimentarius Commission has recommended international standards for Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), for individual pesticides in food.[43]

In the EU, MRLs are set by DG-SANCO. In the United States, levels of residues that remain on foods are limited to tolerance levels that are established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‎ and are considered safe.[44] The EPA sets the tolerances based on the toxicity of the pesticide and its breakdown products, the amount and frequency of pesticide application, and how much of the pesticide (i.e., the residue) remains in or on food by the time it is marketed and prepared.[45] Tolerance levels are obtained using scientific risk assessments that pesticide manufacturers are required to produce by conducting toxicological studies, exposure modeling and residue studies before a particular pesticide can be registered, however, the effects are tested for single pesticides, and there is little information on possible synergistic effects of exposure to multiple pesticide traces in the air, food and water.[46]

A study published by the United States National Research Council in 1993 determined that for infants and children, the major source of exposure to pesticides is through diet.[47] A study in 2006 measured the levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure in 23 school children before and after replacing their diet with organic food (food grown without synthetic pesticides). In this study it was found that levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped dramatically and immediately when the children switched to an organic diet.[48]

To reduce the amounts of pesticide residues in food, consumers can wash, peel, and cook their food; trim the fat from meat; and eat a variety of foods to avoid repeat exposure to a pesticide typically used on a given crop, however, many pesticides are systemic, which means they penetrate into the fruit and vegetable itself and cannot be washed off. Many pesticides are also by design created to be rain-proof.

Strawberries and tomatoes are the two crops with the most intensive use of soil fumigants. They are particularly vulnerable to several type of diseases, insects, mites, and parasitic worms. In 2003, in California alone, 3.7 million pounds (1,700 metric tons) of metam sodium were used on tomatoes. In recent years other farmers have demonstrated that it is possible to produce strawberries and tomatoes without the use of harmful chemicals and in a cost effective way.[49]

Exposure routes other than consuming food that contains residues, in particular pesticide drift, are potentially significant to the general public.[50]

Some pesticides can remain in the environment for prolonged periods of time for example most people in the United States still have detectable levels of (DDT) in their bodies even though it was banned in the US in 1972.[51]

Limiting exposure

The American Medical Association recommends limiting exposure to pesticides and using safer alternatives: "Particular uncertainty exists regarding the long-term effects of low-dose pesticide exposures. Current surveillance systems are inadequate to characterize potential exposure problems related either to pesticide usage or pesticide-related illnesses…Considering these data gaps, it is prudent…to limit pesticide exposures…and to use the least toxic chemical pesticide or non-chemical alternative." [52]

Organophosphate pesticides have increased in use, because they are less damaging to the environment and they are less persistent than organochlorine pesticides.[53]

Controversy

Concern regarding the research base have been voiced. A number of researchers involved with pesticides have been found to have undisclosed ties to industry including: Richard Doll or the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in England and Hans-Olov Adami of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.[54]

References

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  2. ^ Bassil KL, Vakil C, Sanborn M, Cole DC, Kaur JS, Kerr KJ (2007). "Cancer health effects of pesticides: systematic review". Can Fam Physician. 53 (10): 1704–11. PMC 2231435. PMID 17934034. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Sanborn M, Kerr KJ, Sanin LH, Cole DC, Bassil KL, Vakil C (2007). "Non-cancer health effects of pesticides: systematic review and implications for family doctors". Can Fam Physician. 53 (10): 1712–20. PMC 2231436. PMID 17934035. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  18. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.01207.x, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with |doi=10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.01207.x instead.
  19. ^ Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL, Nguyen TV (2006). "Association between Agent Orange and birth defects: systematic review and meta-analysis". Int J Epidemiol. 35 (5): 1220–30. doi:10.1093/ije/dyl038. PMID 16543362. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL (2010). "Paternal exposure to Agent Orange and spina bifida: a meta-analysis". Eur. J. Epidemiol. 25 (1): 37–44. doi:10.1007/s10654-009-9401-4. PMID 19894129.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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