The results of a second round of studies into the effects of certain pesticides should not come as a surprise. A similar study conducted in 2006 revealed that exposure to chlorpyrifos during early childhood – or by mothers during pregnancy – will slow the mental and motor skill development of children. Chlorpyrifos was approved for household use until 2001, but it is still widely used as an agricultural pesticide on fruits and vegetables. The current study found that exposure to chlorpyrifos affects children of all races and economic backgrounds and is not limited to poor neighborhoods, with the key factor for association being that young children play outside in the garden or in parks and woods, all areas where pesticides are commonly applied or drift to from nearby agricultural land or forests, and routinely put their hands and toys in their mouths. As a result, several environmental groups and schools of public health advocate banning chlorpyrifos and similar organophosphorus pesticides and insecticides from agricultural use.
An ongoing study at the University of Wisconsin confirms these results when conducted on animals.
What can you do? Wash all vegetables and fruits before consumption and buy organic whenever you can. Refrain from using pesticides in your garden or yard. Also make sure to ingrain in your children a habit of often washing their hands when they play outside – and hope (or pray) they will stop putting their hands in their mouths…
Tags: chlorpyrifos, organophosphorus pesticides, toxic pesticides
[...] in children has now increased to three. In addition to the California study I have mentioned in a previous post, two New York studies (one conducted by the Mt. Sinai Medical Center and the other by Columbia [...]