Growing Up On Chemicals - Our Children's
Toxic Environment
By Jane Sheppard
The scientific advancements of industry and
agriculture have brought about the manufacture
of over 75,000 synthetic chemicals, with a
marked increase in the use of highly toxic
pesticides in recent years. No matter where
we live, our children are repeatedly exposed
to these toxins. Most parents are not aware
of the serious health risks our children face
from pesticides and other industrial chemicals.
The impact on short and long-term health is
just beginning to be uncovered.
Children come in contact with pesticides
every day through the food they eat, the water
they drink and the air they breathe. In addition,
most children are exposed to pesticides in
their homes and schools, as well as on playgrounds,
lawns, athletic fields, and public parks.
These substances enter their small bodies
through the skin, lungs, mouth and eyes. If
the body cannot eliminate the toxins, they
tend to be stored in body fat and accumulate
over time. Infants and small children are
especially vulnerable because they absorb
substances faster and have more difficulty
eliminating them. Their kidneys are immature
and cannot excrete foreign compounds as fast
as adults.1
Very little is known about the combined effects
of repeated low-level exposures to many different
chemicals. But the preliminary evidence and
information that is
known alerts us that we have a critical, universal
problem that is slowly diminishing the health
and well-being of our children.
Health Effects of Pesticides
Pesticides are designed to be toxic. Their
purpose is to kill insects, weeds, fungus,
rodents and other so-called pests. Sadly,
they also kill other living things in the
vicinity where they are applied. An estimated
67 million birds are killed yearly by pesticides
in the U.S.2
The majority of pesticides have not been fully
tested for their ability to cause harm to
human health. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) admits that reliable toxicity
data exists for only about 43 percent of chemicals
in use today, and less than seven percent
of chemicals used in high volume are thoroughly
studied.
Our Children
at Risk: The 5 Worst Environmental Threats
to Their Health, published by the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), identifies
the special vulnerability of children to environmental
hazards and highlights the evidence pointing
to a link between pollution and childhood
illnesses. This 1997 report makes recommendations,
at both the policy and personal levels, for
the protection of the next generation. The
chapter on pesticides is a fully documented,
in-depth report that discusses the health
effects to children from pesticide exposures.
The report presents the epidemiological and
laboratory studies that contribute to a growing
body of evidence linking pesticide exposure
to adverse health effects including cancer,
birth defects, reproductive harm, neurological
and developmental toxicity, immuno toxicity,
and disruption of the endocrine system.
The evidence of cancer and other serious
health effects from exposure to pesticides
is compelling. Well-conducted, peer-reviewed
animal studies have shown certain pesticides
to cause cancer. Epidemiological studies indicate
an association between pesticide exposure
and the development of certain cancers in
children including leukemia, sarcomas, lymphomas,
Wilms’ tumors (malignant tumors of the kidney)
and brain tumors.4
In animal tests, most major classes of pesticides
have been shown to adversely affect the developing
nervous system, impairing both mental and
motor development. These tests show that pesticides
can cause subtle impairment in behavior when
exposure occurs immediately before or after
birth. Learning ability, activity level, memory,
emotion, sight and hearing can all be affected.5
Reproductive or developmental disorders such
as infertility, spontaneous abortions, and
birth defects have been associated with pesticide
exposure.6
A substantial body of evidence suggests that
exposure to certain pesticides may compromise
the immune system of infants and children,
increasing their risk of infectious disease.7
A collaboration between public health professionals,
environmental organizers, and policy advocates
resulted in a 124 page report entitled Generations
at Risk: How Environmental Toxicants May Affect
Reproductive Health in California.
This report looks at the science involved
in determining toxicity of chemicals and states
that “toxicological information is often incomplete.
Animal testing usually looks at health effects
using one chemical at a time. This strategy
fails to provide information about interactive
effects, which may occur with exposure to
more than one chemical. Moreover, animal tests
often fail to examine for subtle, delayed,
or difficult-to-diagnose conditions. Epidemiological
(human) studies are often limited by inaccurate
exposure assessments and incomplete information
about health outcomes. Further complicating
matters, the federal government is reducing
its support for research and information analysis.
Corporate funding is filling the void, providing
an opportunity for bias in study design and
data interpretation.”8
Doris Rapp, M.D., a leading environmental
medical specialist and pediatric allergist,
has written a fully documented, 600-page book
describing the causes, health effects and
treatments of environmental illness. Is
This Your Child’s World? How You Can Fix the
Schools and Homes That Are Making Your Children
Sick provides help for children who
are hyperactive, asthmatic, or suffering from
chronic illness or learning problems. Environmental
illness is a label for an assortment of medical
problems caused by environmental factors,
including chemicals. Common symptoms are some
combination of nasal congestion, fatigue,
headaches, hyperactivity, muscle or joint
pain, twitches, blurred vision, burning skin,
abdominal discomfort, and inability to think
clearly, as well as a variety of learning
or behavior difficulties.9
Children
today have a variety of perplexing learning
and behavior problems that were not occurring
a few decades ago. Many are given the
label ADHD and prescribed harmful drugs such
as ritalin (a class 2 narcotic), which may
seem to “fix” the problem but actually makes
the toxicity even worse.10
Environmental illness may be due to a specific
chemical exposure or the result of a build-up
of toxins from multiple exposures over a long
period of time. If a child’s body is already
overloaded with toxins, it may take only a
minor, low-level exposure to put them “over
the edge” and they begin to show symptoms
of illness. According to Dr. Rapp, “It is
not always how much of a substance an individual
is exposed to but how sensitive that particular
individual is to the substance that can cause
illness. Sensitivity is what determines whether
someone will develop a health or learning
problem. For example, one heavy exposure to
a pesticide can cause a sensitivity to develop,
so that afterward even a minuscule exposure
to any chemical in the future can cause an
incapacitating illness.”11
There are no real statistics about the incidence
of environmental illness, since chemical sensitivities
are usually unsuspected, disbelieved, or misdiagnosed.
However, according to Dr. Rapp,
physicians practicing environmental
medicine conservatively estimate that at least
25 to 50 percent of the current population
is affected by environmental illness.12
How Children are Exposed
Food
The fruits and vegetables that are so crucial
to health are compromised by ongoing pesticide
contamination. If you eat conventional food
you are eating combinations of pesticides
known or suspected to cause brain and nervous
system damage, cancer, and disruption of the
endocrine and immune systems. The Environmental
Working Group (EWG), a non-profit research
organization, analyzed government pesticide
records and food consumption data and reported
that “every day, 610,000 children ages one
through five eat a dose of neurotoxic organophosphate
insecticides (OPs) that the government deems
unsafe. Some 6,000 of these children exceed
the government’s safe daily dose of these
pesticides by a factor of ten or more. More
than half of the 610,000 children exposed
to an unsafe dose of OP insecticides each
day, get that dose by eating an apple, apple
sauce or apple juice. Some apples are so toxic
that just one bite can deliver an unsafe dose
of OPs to a child under five.” Another analysis
showed that every day, more than a quarter
million American children ages one through
five eat a combination of 20 different pesticides.
More than one million children ages one through
five eat at least 15 pesticides on any given
day.13
Pesticide levels in food are regulated by
the EPA through a system of standards called
food tolerances. This is a legal limit that
the concentration of a pesticide in a particular
food must not exceed. The EPA only looks at
the effects of each pesticide in isolation
and fails to recognize the fact that in the
real world children are frequently exposed
to many pesticide residues at once. These
tolerances are also based on the typical diet
of adults. Children’s diets are very different
from adults, containing much higher quantities
of the foods that contain higher pesticide
residues. Certain pesticides, especially the
fat-soluble organochlorine pesticides may
be highly concentrated in breast milk. Processed
baby foods also contain pesticides. Lab tests
of eight common baby foods made by the three
major baby food producers revealed 16 different
pesticides.14
The “safe” level of pesticide exposure determined
by testing adult animals cannot be assumed
to be safe for children. In 1993, the National
Academy of Sciences stated in their report,
Pesticides
in the Diets of Infants and Children,
that “exposure to neurotoxic compounds at
levels believed to be safe for adults could
result in permanent loss of brain function
if it occurred during the prenatal and early
childhood period of brain development”. Very
few of the neurotoxic pesticides used on food
have been tested for their effect on the developing
brain.15
The Environmental Working Group ranks fruits
and vegetables for toxic levels of contamination
on their website (http://www.foodnews.org)
and in their 1995 report, A
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
They analyzed the results of 15,000 samples
of food tested for pesticides by the FDA during
1992 and 1993. They then ranked 42 fruits
and vegetables according to seven different
measures of pesticide contamination. They
found that more than half of the health risks
from pesticides in these 42 crops are concentrated
in the twelve fruits and vegetables consistently
contaminated with the most, and the most toxic
pesticides. If you are not able to buy all
organic food, you can steer clear of these
twelve fruits and vegetables, reduce your
child’s (and your own) health risks from pesticides
in food by half, and still eat a diet rich
in fruits and vegetables.16
Water
Significant portions of our groundwater and
surface water are now contaminated with pesticides,
herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers, as
well as their metabolites. These contaminants
find their way into groundwater, wells, cisterns,
and reservoirs, eventually coming out in home
faucets. A 1995 study tested tap water for
weed killers in cities across the U.S. corn
belt and showed that major agricultural weed
killers are routinely found in tap water at
levels that exceed federal health standards.
In addition, they found that federal drinking
water monitoring requirements are fundamentally
flawed. The authors of this study reported
that “federal drinking water standards:
· Do
not protect the public from extended periods
of exposure above the Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) or Lifetime Health Advisory (LHA);
· Do
not consider the risks of exposure to multiple
herbicides simultaneously;
· Do
not explicitly take into account special risks
to children;
· Are
based on a flawed methodology that does not
adequately protect the public from cancer
risks.”17
A recent analysis of California state data
by the Environmental Working Group found that
the tap water of more than one million Californians
is contaminated with a banned pesticide (DBCP)
that is one of the most potent carcinogens
known. It causes genetic mutations and cancer
and has been banned in the U.S. for 20 years.
The tap water in 38 water systems in nine
counties contains levels of DBCP well above
the levels considered safe by the state.18
As with food residues, the legal standards
for most waterborne contaminants are set based
on the health effects of average adults. Consequently,
the health of infants, children, pregnant
women and their fetuses may not be protected.
Infants and children drink more than 2 ½ times
as much water as adults in proportion to their
body weight. An infant living solely on formula
drinks an amount of water that corresponds
to approximately three gallons of water for
a 155-pound man.19
Air
In addition to exposure from dust and soil,
children living in agricultural areas are
exposed to pesticides in the air. Many pesticides
are volatile and can evaporate into the air,
causing high levels of exposure in neighborhoods
close to farms. The Environmental Working
Group performed independent air monitoring
in eight California counties and found that
toxic pesticides routinely drift from farm
fields into surrounding neighborhoods and
schoolyards.20
In a series of reports detailing the results
of air monitoring, the EWG revealed that millions
of pounds of methyl bromide (a highly toxic
pesticide scheduled to be banned by 2005)
are used near schools and daycare centers,
with airborne levels exceeding safety standards
drifting into suburban neighborhoods. Buffer
zones and safety standards established by
the state to protect the public from exposure
have been found to be inadequate.21
Homes
The EPA has ranked indoor air pollution among
the top five environmental risks to public
health. According to the EPA, indoor air levels
of many pollutants may be 2-5 times, and sometimes
more than 100 times, higher than outdoor levels.
A 1990 EPA study detected 32 different pesticides
in air samples taken inside and outside homes.
Indoor air had much higher concentrations.
They estimated that 85% of the total daily
exposure to airborne pesticides come from
breathing air inside the home. Most products
used in homes contain either organophosphate
or carbamate pesticides which are acute nervous
system toxins.
The recommended time periods that people
may return to an area where a pesticide has
been used is too short – usually one to two
hours after application. A 1998 study found
that chlorpyrifos, a pesticide known to be
toxic to the brain and nervous system, remained
on toys and other surfaces for at least two
weeks after application.22
Pesticides persist in household dust, and
small children spend a lot of time on the
floor, ingesting soil and dust with their
hand-to-mouth activity. According to a study
in the American Journal of Public Health,
concentrations of the pesticide chlorpyrifos
(Dursban-used for treating pets and carpets
for fleas) were much higher nearer the floor
in the infant breathing zone than in the more
ventilated adult zone three to seven hours
after application. Residues were also found
on the carpet 24 hours after application,
and it was estimated that infants would absorb
(mostly through their skin) 10-50 times higher
than what the EPA considers a safe exposure
for adults.23
Another form of exposure is through pets.
Insecticides used in flea collars, shampoos,
soaps, sprays, dusts, powders, and dips for
pets can expose kids that play with the animals.24
Lice Treatments
Pesticides used to treat head lice are nerve
poisons designed to interfere with the nervous
system of lice. Unfortunately, they can cause
neurological damage to children as well. Lindane,
the most hazardous pesticide used for treating
lice, can cause headaches, vertigo, paresthesia,
convulsions, blood disorders, hormone disruption,
liver and kidney damage, and immune dysfunction.
Lindane, a possible carcinogen, is absorbed
directly through the skin and can persist
in human tissue. Children in the U.S. have
actually died from the overuse of lindane
in treating lice. Nearly 2 million lindane
prescriptions are filled each year in the
U.S.25
Schools
Potentially dangerous pesticides are routinely
applied in schools. The residues remain in
dust and surfaces like carpets, books, and
plastics. Parents, teachers, or students are
not usually warned before applications of
pesticides. The most common pesticides used
in schools are linked to acute health problems
such as headaches, dizziness and muscle cramps
as well as long-term problems of cancer and
reproductive harm. Very few school districts
have pesticide policies or programs in place
to protect children and teachers.26
Playgrounds
The organochlorine pesticide pentachlorophenol
(PCP), a probable human carcinogen, is a commonly
used wood preservative. It is used on playground
structures made from wood. Dioxin, a contaminant
of PCP, has been found to suppress the immune
systems of lab animals. Studies have found
that measurable amounts of arsenic and PCP
are dislodged from the structures. When kids
climb on and touch the wood, they can easily
absorb the arsenic and PCP through their skin.
Many small children put their hands in their
mouths or eat the nearby contaminated dirt
or sand, ingesting the preservatives as well.
Cases of PCP poisoning have been reported
in children who spent a lot of time on playground
equipment treated with this chemical.27
Doesn't Our Government
Protect our Children?
The safety standards set for adults are meaningless
for any real protection of children, especially
with the cumulative, multiple exposures children
receive in all aspects of their lives. Understanding
this, the National Academy of Sciences issued
recommendations in 1993 for better protections
of children, which resulted in Congress passing
the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) in
1996. This new law requires that all pesticide
tolerances in food be revised to protect children.
It requires a reasonable certainty of no harm
from pesticides to children and infants and
requires the EPA to consider the cumulative
risk of multiple exposure from all sources
– food, drinking water, air, indoor use, etc.
However, the testing involved in setting
these protections will be enormous and it
will take years before the new standards are
set, if they happen at all. The deadline set
for the EPA to evaluate all pesticide residue
limits under the new standard is the year
2006. Babies born now will continue to reap
the damage from unsafe levels of pesticides
for at least the next five years - the most
vulnerable developmental and growth years.
Even if the EPA puts a ban on the most dangerous
pesticides, they can last in the biosphere
for centuries. And, as we are seeing with
a ban on methyl bromide, even though it has
been deemed unsafe and highly dangerous, the
ban has been delayed for yet another five
years due to pressure from the manufacturer
and agribusiness. Unfortunately, big business
is a major threat to the Food Quality Protection
Act. Chemical manufacturers and agribusiness
groups have enormous financial stakes at risk
and huge resources available to persuade or
force the EPA to weaken or evade the new law.
So What's a Parent To Do?
This information may seem like a lot of doom
and gloom and could cause parents to become
overwhelmed. Becoming aware of the extent
of the problem does seem overwhelming, and
the tendency to ignore it could be strong,
since it may seem that “there’s nothing we
can do about it anyway”. But awareness is
power and there is
quite a lot a parent can do. You can avoid
unnecessary exposures and reduce the overall
amount of chemicals your children will intake.
The more environmentally safe you can make
your home and food, the better your children
will be able to tolerate unavoidable exposures
outside your home. You can make simple changes
that do not have to be extensive or expensive.
It is much easier than you think to make your
home healthier. There are affordable, effective,
nontoxic solutions and alternatives to all
our household, lawn and garden pest problems,
cleaning and personal care needs.
The casual, indiscriminate use of chemicals
persists in our environment mostly because
of the chemical industry’s deception and desire
for short-term economic rewards. However,
this indiscriminate use would not be able
to continue without the widespread ignorance
and denial on the part of consumers. Dangerous
chemicals will continue to be released into
our environment, poisoning our children until
we refuse to tolerate it. Chemical companies
are a powerful force affecting the decisions
of our government, but we as consumers, have
the power to stop this by shopping for products
that are environmentally safe.
Organic Farming
Organic farming methods are sustainable,
viable and productive. The main reason why
most farmers do not farm organically is that
they assume it will not be profitable (due
to misinformation and heavy marketing from
the chemical companies). If enough of us stop
buying the food grown with hazardous chemicals,
we will send a message to farmers that organic
farming is
more profitable. Many farmers are already
choosing sustainable methods of agriculture,
making organic food more available and affordable.
They need our consumer support to continue
profitably and to be catalysts for other farmers
to change their reliance on pesticides.
Take Action
We all have basic rights to a pure food and
water supply, clean air, and a planet that
supports our health and well-being. When our
Mother Earth is depleted and damaged, so are
her people. Ultimately, a universal change
in attitude and a comprehensive effort by
government, business, consumers, parents,
and farmers is needed to reduce society’s
overall reliance on hazardous pesticides.
Until this happens, we must individually take
the steps to protect our children. We are
no longer uninformed, and we must use this
knowledge to help create a different future.
We can take action to inform other parents,
contact our government officials, and stop
buying products that are harmful to our environment
and the health of our children. There is much
hope for future generations if we all do whatever
we can to make a difference.
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Use
the information provided on this site as an
educational resource for determining your
options and making your own informed choices.
It is not intended as medical advice or to
diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific
illness.