The Health Effects of Pesticides 

                                    Bernard Windham (Ed.)           

 

Introduction:   Pesticide use is pervasive and growing, and serious adverse health effects on animal populations and on humans is widespread and common. Tests on blood taken from the placentas of pregnant women revealed pesticide levels in all tested and up to fifteen different types of pesticides (146).  Tests on the blood of 30 newborn babies found the presence of eight different groups of chemicals, ranging from cleaning products to chemicals used to make plastics and non-stick waterproof coatings.     The most common adverse effects are from organochlorine or organophosphate pesticides, but other types of pesticides such as pyretherins also have significant and widespread effects.  The most common and widespread effects include spontaneous abortions, birth defects, neurological effects, cognitive and behavioral effects, reproductive effects, and cancer. While not the most common effect of pesticides, cancer is commonly caused by many types of pesticides.   Cancer incidence for both adults and children are increasing (1, Table I-3).  For adults, the estimated annual percent change(EAPC) for the following types of cancer are: melanoma-4.1%, lung-2.1%, breast-2.1%, prostrate-3.2%, testis-1.9%, brain-1.1%, liver-1.9%, kidney-1.9%, thyroid-1.9%, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma-2.8%, multiple myeloma-1.6%.  In a rat study, high levels of prenatal pesticide exposure were found to cause a high incidence of cancer and disease throughout several generations(147).

Childhood cancer incidence is increasing at 0.8%(1), with the increase in incidence since 1973 for acute lymphocytic leukemia = 62%, brain cancer = 50%, and bone cancer = 40%.   The main cause of these cancers is paternal and maternal exposure to toxic substances(2,140,etc.).  Known common causes of  leukemia include pesticides(7,55,140,144), maternal exposure to x-rays(2), and nitrite treated hot dogs and meats.  Known common causes of brain cancer include pesticides(140), nitrite treated hot dogs, and lindane (144).   Pesticide exposure has also been found to have positive associations with prostrate cancer, kidney and pancreatic cancer, etc. (140)

 

1.  Widespread health effects on animals at the top of the food chain due to organochlorine pesticides and chemicals have been documented to have reached epidemic and catastrophic levels for some animals at the top of the food chain (29,30,31,32,44,53).   There have been epidemics related to damaged immune systems causing declines in marine mammals such as dolphins, seals, etc. worldwide- especially in more polluted waters(30,53).    Likewise Lake Apopka (Florida's 4th largest lake) has been found to be contaminated by organochlorine pesticides from a pesticide spill and citrus & muck farm runoff, with catastrophic results for fish and wildlife in the area(31,32).   Studies of bass, alligators, and turtles in Apopka by Univ. of Florida researchers have found widespread reproductive system mutations and inability to reproduce among these populations, with sexual abnormalities among males including abnormally high levels of estrogen, shrunken penises, low testosterone levels, spermless males, and intersexed gators with testes and ovaries.    A survey of alligator eggs at the lake found 90% do not survive and the rest were sexual mutants.  Dr. Guillete stated that "if oranochlorine chemicals are detrimental to embryos of other species, they are going to be detrimental to human embryos". Thousands of wading birds have died from neurological damage related to toxics in the food chain at Lake Apopka in 1999, apparently from organochlorine pesticde exposure(32).  Tests have found toxaphene and DDT in the food chain.       Similar reproductive failures are also being found in fish and wading birds in other Central Floida lakes such as those of the Ocklawaha Chain(31).  The levels found to cause widespread reproductive failures in fish, birds, and animals are less than 1/1000 of the EPA standard for pesticides in food classified as dangerous.  Most EPA standards are based on levels that cause cancer, not the extremely low levels found to cause hormonal effects resulting in birth defects and reprodutive failures(31).   Pesticides have also been found to be a major factor in high levels of derormaties in frogs and tadpoles and the general decline in many areas of the world of amphibian species(80,105).


     Similar findings have been seen in dioxin or organochlorine chemically contaminated fish and wildlife of the Great Lakes region and in dioxin contaminated Florida rivers(31,32).  According to the U.S. EPA, there have been over 4000 listings of health bans or restrictions on eating fish due to food chain contamination in millions of acres of lakes and rivers throughout the U.S.,  with over 30 states having such bans due to organochlorine chemical pollution(23 for dioxin, 30 for PCBs, and 26 for pesticides).  Such estrogenic chemicals cause hormonal effects that induce cells to produce a surplus of estrogen, which has been shown to be linked to breast cancer, testicular cancer, lowered sperm counts, and malformation/mutations of male sex organs(57,125). It's now estimated that up to 85 per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged,  Abnormal sperm is also being blamed for a global increase in testicular cancer, birth defects,  and other reproductive conditions.

  Increasing estrogenic effects and reproductive abnormalities are also being seen in people in the U.S. and other industrialized countries, especially over the last 2 decades(44,125, ...).

Laboratory studies show that a variety of organochlorine, organophosphate, carbamate, and metal-based pesticides (such as those based on arsenic, copper, or mercury) can suppress the immune system of mammals. For example, exposure to the organochlorines aldrin and dieldrin reduces mouse resistance to viral infection, while DDT decreases antibody production in mammal and bird species. The organophosphate parathion delays antibody production and suppresses T-cell response in cell cultures, while chronic low-dose exposures of the commonly used organophosphate malathion can depress several different immune responses. Many solvents, inert ingredients, and contaminants that are part of pesticide formulations can also suppress immune responses in laboratory tests.

Farmers who used agricultural insecticides experienced increased symptoms of nervous system disorders, even when they were no longer using the products, new research by federal government scientists shows(143).  Data from 18,782 North Carolina and Iowa farmers linked use of insecticides, including organophosphates, organochlorines, and pyrethroids to reports of reoccurring headaches, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, hand tremors, numbness and other neurological symptoms.  Researchers found that nearly 3,000 participants had a high lifetime exposure to insecticides - that is, they used insecticides more than 500 days in their lifetime. Nearly 800 of these farmers reported more than 10 neurological symptoms compared to those using insecticides fewer than 50 days.  Epidemiological evidence, though limited, also indicates that pesticides can be toxic to the human immune system(134). Among Indian factory workers chronically exposed to several pesticides, blood lymphocyte levels one element of immune system health decreased by as much as two thirds from baseline levels and returned to normal only after pesticide exposure ceased. Epidemiologists in the former Soviet Union have long observed that T-cell counts and functions are suppressed after pesticide exposure. For example, residents of agricultural districts in southern Russia where pesticide use was substantial had lower T-cell counts than control groups in the general population, and the former group also had higher rates of infectious diseases.

Likewise, in Moldova also part of the former Soviet Union teenagers in villages where pesticide application levels were greatest exhibited rates of infections of the respiratory and digestive tracts several times higher than teenagers from areas of lower pesticide use. From the 1960s through the 1980s, per hectare pesticide application rates in farming regions in central and southern Moldova were almost 20 times the world average.  Immune suppression from pesticide exposure appears to also play a role in the development of some cancers. As a group, farmers face higher risks than the general population for contracting Hodgkin's disease, melanoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia all of which are cancers of the immune system.

An epidemiological study in Belgium found that women with at least 0.5 parts per billion levels of organochonine pesticides, DDT and/or hexachlorobenzene have at least a 5 times higer incidence of breast cancer than those with lower levels(137).   Xenoestrogenic chemicals such as the organochlorine pesticides  have been found to promote breast cancer by several mechanisms including: promotion of the bad 16-alpha form of estrogen; binding to the estrogen receptor and sending proliferation signals to cells; generation of new blood vessels that aid tumor growth; and damaging DNA (46), and supressing the immune system allowing viruses such as Epstein-Barr to trigger cancer(82).  Corn oil and polyunsaturated or hydrogenated fats were also found to have this effect, while indole-3-carlinol found in plants of the broccoli family and soy products were found to be protective of cancer because of retarding the bad form of estrogen.  Another mechanism of cancer promotion documented is suppresion of acetylcholine by pesticides such as organophorphorous compounds(121). The organochlorine pesticides (lindane,endosulfan,methoxychlor,dieldrin,dicofol) have been shown to cause estrogenic or androgenic effects on animals and to be reproductive toxins(68).  Organochlorine compounds have also been found to affect the immune system, causing increased sensitivites to allergins and resulting in more asmatic and allergic effects including eczema(85). Organochlorine compounds such as DDT/DDE and PCBs have also been found to have a significant correlation to K-ras mutations found in pancreatic cancer(90), as well as Alzheimer’s disease(33).   High levels(exceeding government standards for aquatic life) of organochlorine pesticides including diazinon, carbaryl(Sevin), and malathion have been found by the U.S.G.S. in Florids lakes and streams from urban runoff in developed areas such as Leon County(72).


2.  Additive and synergistic effects for organo chlorine chemicals has also been documented(46,99,109).  Mixtures of low levels of organochlorine chemicals were found to cause significantly greater proliferation of tumor cells than individual exposures.    The synergistic effects of combining pesticides have been found to often be much more than being simply additive.    Combinations of endosulfan, dieldrin, toxaphene, and chlordane produced estrogenic effects 500 to 1000 times as much as their individual effects(57).   N-nitrosoattrazine which is readily formed by combination of atrazine and nitrate in an acid environment such as the stomach,  is thousands of times more damaging to chromosomes than atrazine and nitrates separately or combined(65). Combinations of chemicals at levels commonly found in wells in agricultural areas such as aldicarb, atrisine, and nitrates were found to have synergistic detrimental effects on the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems much more than individual chemicals(99).   This synergistic effect may be responsible for the fact that the distribution of toxic-waste dump sites parallels closely the sites of highest breast cancer mortality(47) and birth defects(71,73).    Approximately 250,000 U.S. children are born each year with birth defects diagnosed at or shortly after birth. Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. Congenital anomalies, sudden infant death syndrome, and premature birth combined account for more than 50% of all infant mortality(79).  Nearly 25% of mothers measured from the 1950s and 1960s who had low birth weight or premature children had five times as much of a DDT breakdown product in their blood as  normal(124).

3.  Pesticide residues in food is the number 3 cause of cancer in the U.S.(1).  A National Acadamy of Sciences Study and a report by Consumers Union estimate that pesticide residues in food are responsible for thousands of cancer cases each year and may be responsible for millions of cases in the next few decades(2,70).  The 2 foods with the greatest cancer risk due to pesticides are tomatos and beef(74), the latter due to high use of pesticides and herbicides in growing crops for cattle feed.    The U.S. Environmetal Protection Agency(EPA) indicates that "by the age of 1, the average child has been exposed to more risk of cancer from pesticides than the EPA says she should get over an entire lifetime"(36).  EPA estimates pesticide use in the U.S. at over 71 million pounds per year, with 98 % of the adult population using pesticides at least once per year and 67% over 5 times per year.  Residues are common in fruit, vegetables, grain, and meat- often above the EPA ORD level. The most common pesticides in the diet based on a sample were malathion, DDT/DDE chlorpyrifos-methyl, endosulfan, dieldrin, 2-4-D, etc.  Herbicide use on lawns and gardens is estimated to be over 27 million pounds per year(63).   Malathion spraying for mosquitos and other insect pests has been found to cause significant adverse health effects in animals and people, including spontaneous abortions and birth defects(91).  Chlorpyrifos pesticides have been found to cause serious adverse health effects, and restricted its use and canceled some uses(86).  Babies had lower birth weights when the pesticide chlorpyrifos, a chemical commonly used in schools and public housing in New York City, was found in their blood(86b).

3.5.  There has been a huge increase in the incidence of degenerative neurological conditions in virtually all Western countries over the last 2 decades(142). The increase in Alzheimer’s has been over 300% while the increase in Parkinson’s and other motor neuron disease has been over 50%.   The primary cause appears to be increased exposures to toxic pollutants and pesticides(142,145).   

4. A statistically significant relationaship was found between death from cancer and amount of organochlorine chemicals in the body(PCB,DDT,dieldrin)(3,46,78).   Cancerous breast tissue contained increased levels of organo‑chlorine chemicals, as compared to normal breast tissue(25,34,46,80).   Exposure to chlorinated pesticides significantly increases the risk of breast cancer by raising the level of "bad estrogen: 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone" hormone linked to increase in cancer(34,46,78). Other studies had found similar results for chlorinated pesticides and some chlorinated plastics.   A National Cancer Institute study indicates that breast cancer rates increased 1.1% for whites and 1.3 % for blacks per year, between 1976 and 1985.  In a separate study by Bradlow  and coworkers at the Cornell Univ. Medical School, it was found that eating cruciferous vegetables or soy products lowers the bad estrogen level and thus the risk of breast cancer(46).      


5. While there have been large increases of most neurological and immune conditions among adults over the last 2 decades(142), the incidence of neurotoxic or  immune reactive developmental conditions in infants such as autism, schizophrenia, ADD, dyslexia, learning disabilities, etc. have been increasing especially  rapidly in recent years (141). Pesticides are responsible for birth defects,genetic mutations,damage to the immune system, reproductive system deformaties, neurological damage, mild cognitive dysfunction, and other health effects (1,35,45,50,59,70,79,101,104). Early  expsoure to pesticides was found to hinder preschoolers’ hand-eye coordination, recall, and ability to draw pictures(79). Women exposed to pesticides through agricultural or floricultural work have been documented to have significantly higher risk of children born with  musculoskeletal defects, developmental defects, limb defects, growth retardation,  and learning/behavioral disorders(59,79).   A study of preschool children found the group exposed to pesticides to have significant behavioral effects including increased aggression and violence(100).    The majority

of those with long term pesticide exposure such as farmers and gardners have been found to have mild cognitive dysfunction such as problems in thinking and speech(101).

   Each year over 1 million people are poisoned by pesticides, with 20,000 deaths(37,50). Thousands of cases of adverse reaction to dursban have been reported to EPA(80). According to the New York State Attorney General, there have been over 139 cases of acute poisoning by Dursban in New York since 1991 and the attorney general has called for a ban in N.Y.  It also has been linked to nausea, blurred vision, digestive, and infant developmental problems(86).   A group suffering from Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome was found to have significantly higher levels of oranochlorine pesticides than a matched control group(43).    The CFIDS group averaged 100% higher levels of DDT/DDE and hexachlorobenzene than the controls; they also were found to have a chemical in their blood similar in structure to pesticides and which appeared to have been caused by mutation of natural body bacteria(88).

 In another study over 90% of the CFIDS group had high levels of organochlorines and DDE for which exposure was significantly correlated with fatigue and high red blood cell counts(43).  Higer levels of hexachlorobenzene were associated with low esinophil levels.  

6. A study in Hawaii found high levels of heptachlor in human breast milk.  The study documented higher levels of birth defects, reduced mental development in infants, lower birth weight, more jaundice, etc. related to the level of heptachor in breast milk(4).     The Island of Oahu has extremely high rates of birth defects and low birth weights associated with exposure to pesticides. Dairy milk was highly contaminated with heptaclor and drinking water was contaminated by EDB,DBCP, and Telone(5).

    Chlordane, used for termite control until banned in 1987, is highly carcinogenic and neurotoxic(52), and has been found to be still causing widespread serious health problems in homes treated for termites in the U.S.  Chlordane is bioaccumulative and persistent, and is an endocrine system and reproductive system disrupting chemical(53).   Residents of buildings and homes using chlordane for termite protection were found to have significantly more neurological problems-  also experiencing more asthma, shortness of breath, hair loss, seizures, and other health problems(40,41).  Chlordane is also highly toxic to acquatic organisms and birds. Due to their extreme toxicity and longevity, the use of chlordane, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, heptacholor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, and toxaphene were recently ordered phased out worldwide by the United Nations Environment Program(106).

   A study of fish and the food chain in the Arctic found toxaphene was widespread throughout the Arctic, even though banned in the U.S. and Canada in 1982.  It was found at high levels in fish in some lakes such as Lake Laberge in the Yukon(39), and appeared to have come from atmospheric deposition.

7. Fungicides are an especially dangerous category of pesticides.    Fruit and vegetables from Florida are especially dangerous since the humid conditions lead to more mold and fungus, resulting in higher levels of fungicide use. Many fresh fruits and vegetables are sprayed as many as 20 times per year with 5 or more active ingredients(6,29).  Benomyl, vinclozin,  ethylene dioxide, and the dithiocarbamate fungicides  (& ETU) have been shown to be male reproductive toxins in animal studies(60), as well as causing birth defects. Exposure to high levels of the fungicide, vinclozolin, during pregnancy was found to cause a high incidence of cancer and disease in at least 3 generations of rats(147).


7.5.  Scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency say there is "sufficient evidence" to conclude that the country's most widely used pesticide, atrazine, is an endocrine disrupting chemical and causes sexual abnormality in frogs(136).  Six studies involving three species of frogs that show a variety of defects, including frogs with both multiple testes and multiple ovaries, when exposed to the chemical.  Two papers suggest that low levels of exposure to atrazine, as low as one part per 10 billion in the water, could cause tadpoles to develop into frogs with both male and female sexual organs.   Atrazine has been banned in seven European countries.

 

   Animal studies have found herbicides including atrazine, cyanazine,cicamba, and 2-4-D to be reproductive system toxins and to cause birth defects(64).  A study of the most common herbicide used on U.S. lawns,  a mix of three phenoxy herbicides (2,4-D, dicamba, and mecoprop), that added extremely low levels to the drinking water of mice, found a 20% increase in failed pregnancies at extremely low doses‑‑seven times lower than the maximum allowable rate for U.S. drinking water(130).

  A study of DOW chemical employees who worked with 2-4-D found a higher relative risk ratio of ALS of 3.45 compared to a control group(103).

8. A study of exposures of either parent to pesticides during pregnancy found that the childhood leukemia rate was 6.5 times normal where a parent was exposed to garden pesticides and 3.8 times normal where a parent was exposed  to household pesticides. Home pesticide use appears to be a significant cause of childhood leukemia(7,55,140) and occupational exposure related to pancreatic cancer(7).   An Australian study found regular maternal exposure to pesticides before pregnancy(either indoor or outdoor) resulted in cases of cleft palate and cleft lip at rates at least 300% normal(8).  Similar results were found for a U.S. group of agricultural workers(42) and Finnish agricultural workers.  Dormex, used as a growth accelerator in grapes, causes  skin  disease, miscarriages, sterility and cancer in farmworkers, according to public health workers in Chile and the US. EPA.  In the agricultural region ofChile where grapes are grown,     residents   are 40 percent more likely to have children born with defects than in other regions according to a study by Rancaguna Hospital staff(113).

   A significant increase in the number of learning and attention deficit problems of children whose parents had exposures to pesticides prior to the birth has been found in a study based on a large registry of birth defect children(35). Pesticide use in homes has been documented to be having widespread serious health effects on children.  A source of the most dangerous pesticides commonly used in home and safer alternatives is given in (55).

9. Pesticides have been documented to have contaminated over 15,000 public and private wells in Florida(9).   According to a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture survey,   Florida leads the nation in pesticide use and fungicide use on vegatables, with 92 % of vegatables having been treated with pesticides, 86 % with fungicides, along with considerable use of defoliants, desicicants, soil fumigansts, and growth regulators(28).  For example Florida leads the country in the use of the ozone-layer depleting pesticide methyl bromide, which is also highly toxic and carcinogenic(51). An average of 200 pounds per acre was applied in Florida tomato fields in 1991.  Florida also has high pesticide use on golf courses, which are causing widespread effects to people and wildlife(128). 

10. U.S. pesticide use in the last 40 years has increased 10 fold, while crop damage from insects has increased from 7% to 13%. The number of insects resistant to insecticides is growing due to heavier pesticide use and has grown from 10 species to 447.  Resistant species of fungi, weeds, and rodents  are also on the rise. Currently pesticide use is approximately 2.6 billion pounds per year in the U.S.(10).   The U.S. EPA estimates that approx. 10.4 % of community water system wells and 4.2 % of rural wells are contimated by one or more pesticides, with a larger percent contaminated by nitrates and 1 % of all U.S. wells contaminted

above a health based limit(26).   The Florida Dept. of Environmental Regulation has documented over 15,000 drinking water wells in Florida contaminated by pesticides(27).      Thousands of wells have simiarly been contaminated by pesticides in other states(51,56).  The U.S. Geological Survey has found that atmospheric distribution and deposition contribute significantly to pesticide levels in regions far from application sites(54).


    EPA has identifies at least 55 pesticides that leave residues on food as carcinogenic and hundreds more have not been adequately tested for ability to cause cancer, birth defects, or genetic mutations.    Roughly 400 pesticides are registered for use on food but many more are also used(11).

11. Of 26 common varieties of fruits and vegetables tested by the FDA in the 1980s,  48% of the samples contained detectable pesticide residues. Over 50% of all peaches tested were found to have pesticide residues for example(11).  An independent sampling of fruits and vegetables from a San Francisco supermarket

found 44% contained measurable pesticide residues and 42% showed residues of more than one pesticide(12).    The percent of samples of imported fruit and vegetables with pesticide residues was 64%, but it was over 80% for some fruits and vegetables.   The products with the largest resideue problems were strawberries, mangos, peppers, and bananas(48), and the most commonly found pesticide was methamidophos, a toxic pesticide that has very high health risks.  Approximately 6% of imported produce sampled each year violates Federal standards for pesticide residues in food. The domestic produce violation rate is approximately 3%. However these tests are only for a few of the over one thousand pesticides in use, and even most produce found to violate the standard are sold at market.   Americans are eating fruits and vegetables on a regular basis with dangerous levels of pesticides(13,48).

12. The health of the country's farm workers is seriously damaged by pesticides(14,15,16,17,18,22,33,50).  Many pesticides are reproductive and developmental toxins and numerous studies have documented significantly higher rates of spontaneous abortion among pregnant women working in agricultural occupations(58,89,108).  In a large study by UNC researchers, those women living close to areas where agricultural pesticides are applied had much higher the risk of fetal     death due to birth defects(108), The California study showed an increased risk of death among developing babies, ranging from 40 percent to 120 percent   among those whose mothers lived near crops where certain pesticides were sprayed.     "Our study showed a consistent pattern with respect to timing of exposure," said Dr. Erin M. Bell, "The largest risks for fetal death due to   birth defects were from pesticide exposure during the third week to the eighth week of pregnancy."    That span ‑‑ much of the first trimester ‑‑ appears to be a special window of vulnerability for birth defects, Bell     said, just as earlier research has suggested.     "The risks appeared to be strongest among pregnant women who lived in the same square mile where pesticides   were used,"

       Farmers or farm workers exposed to herbicides more than 20 days per year had a risk of non‑Hodgkin's lymphoma 6 times higher than non‑farm workers(15).  2-4-D exposure is one such that has been found to have a positive association(140).  The incidence of this type of cancer has increased 73% in the U.S. in the last 2 decades, and European studies have found significant correlations with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides such as MCPA(Target) and glyphosate(Round Up)(82).  Farmers or farmworkers who mix or apply certain herbicides to crops have an 8‑fold increase in lymphatic cancer risk. One such herbicide is 2‑4‑D, which is used both on crops and in lawn use(16).   According to a 1983 medical study, the chance of an Iowa farmer dying of bone cancer is 48% higher than the general population(22).      Agricultural workers in California were found to have deformed limbs at a rate 13 times the general population(17). 

Organochlorine pesticide residue heptachlor epoxide to be significantly associated with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Higher level of dieldrin was also associated with elevated NHL risk (OR = 2.70), as were higher levels of oxychlordane, p,p ´-DDE, and ßß-benzene hexachloride (ORs = 1.79, 1.99, and 2.47, respectively) (139).


        A new case-controlled study confirms that workers exposed to insecticides and herbicides have a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease(129), and a Univ. of Washington study had similar findings(138).  Researchers established a significant independent correlation between insecticide and herbicide exposure and subsequent development of Parkinson's--even after adjusting for risk associated with farming. They postulated that oxidative stress triggered by pesticides may promote the deterioration of the substantia nigra ñña cell mass in the brain critical for producing dopamine. Previous studies have shown degeneration of this brain region in Parkinson's mediated by heightened activity of free radicals.  Researchers have found that two pesticides may act in concert to trigger Parkinson's disease. When scientists at the Un. of Rochester Medical Center injected mice twice weekly with the herbicide paraquat and the fungicide maneb, they created a deadly brew. Over a six week period, the mice displayed impaired motor activity and brain damage typical of Parkinson's disease, a progressive and incurable neurological illness that affects 1 million Americans(109).  Parkinson's disease is increasing among younger people in industrialized countries, and groups exposed to pesticides such as farmers, farm workers, and people drinking well water in farming areas were found to have higher incidence of Parkinson's disease(33,107).  A recent large study of people with Parkinson’s found a significant association between  home pesticide use and development of Parkinson’s disease(95), and another found a connection between Parkinson’s and pesticides like rotenone(107).   Organochlorine insecticides have been found to produce a direct toxic action on the dopaminergic tracts of the substantia nigra and can contribute to the development of PD(93).  In a study of a population with Parkinson’s, those with PD had significantly hihger levels of organochlorine chemicals in the substantia nigra of the brain than controls(93).  An epidemiological study of farmers by the Instiute of Occupational Medicine(U.K.) found that chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides use in sheep dips was associated with neurological damage including exhaustion, long-term fatigue, memory loss, slow information processing, and confusion(51).  Animal studies have shown organophosphate and carbamate pesticides to be dose-related reproductive toxins and to be acutely toxic to humans(67,89).  Two years after being exposed to O-P pesticides, workers still had decreased neuropsychological performance(112).   

  Organophosphate insecticides have been found to inhibit the   activity levels of acetylcholinesterase, succinate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase,   pyruvate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase and cytochrome‑c‑oxidase and cause    accumulation of acetylcholine in the hepatopancreas and muscle tissues(123).  Paraoxon, a componate of organophosphates, has lethal effects due to blocking the neurotransmitter acethylcholine.   The blood enzyme paraoxoase breaks down this toxic chemical and different people have genetic differences that result in producing different amounts of PON1, thus having different susceptabilities to OPs(133).   A study in Poland found  high mortallity levels from organophosphorous pesticide posionings(120).  Studies of the high ALS rate in Gulf War victims have suggested a possible organophosphate poisoning connection through exposure to the nerve agent Sarin.

    Children of male field workers who mixed and applied organochlorine and organophosphourous pesticides were found to have much higher levels of spontanous  abortions, still births, neonatal deaths, congenital birth defects, etc.(61).  Organophosphourous pesticides have been found to be genotoxic, but the cytogenetic toxicity is somewhat reduced by taking vitamin C (122).  DBCP(69) and EDB(63) have been documented to cause reduced sperm counts and infertility.  Agricultural workers have been found to have significantly higher chromosome and sperm abnormalities(62).  Another study found fertility rates were significantly decreased in couples with paternal pesticide exposure(97).  For couples seeking in vitro fetilization therapy, sperm from men with high on-the-job pesticide exposure had an average of 78% decrease in IVF success compared to controls, while those with moderate exposure had  a 48 % decease in IVF success(97). 

13. In a survey of Texas farm workers:

    (a) 78% had chronic skin rashes

    (b) 56% had kidney and liver abnormalities

    (c) 54% suffered from respiratory problems(18)

15. A study of farmworkers exposed to pesticides in grape gardens in India found a 6 fold increase in genetic damage and adverse reproductive outcomes.    44% of pregnancies of exposed farmworkers resulted in miscarraige  or stillbirth. A high rate of sterility was also found(19). Similar results were also found in an Idaho study(19b).

16. Adoption of extensive use of pesticides in growing rice in the Philippines has resulted in a large increse in the death rate of farmers. A ban on endrin resulted in death rate reductions of over 50% in diagnosed stroke deaths of farmers between age 15 and 34.  Death rates were found to be significantly higher during seasons of heavy pesticide use(20,50).


17. Pesticide posioning incidents have more than doubled in the last 10 years. More than 300,000 farm workers are made ill every year through pesticide exposure.       The miscarraige rate for female farm workers is seven times the national average.        Disability days associated with pesticides have increased 53% since

1979; hospitial days have increased 61%.(18)

   18. Milk and meat in Arkansas and surrounding states was found to be contaminated after seeds treated for heptachlor were sold for cattle feed. A follow up investigation found over 100 more firms selling treated seed for animal feed(23).

19. 30% of the monkeys born in a 12 month period at the Awajuishima Mondey Center had shortened or absent limbs.  The cause was determined to be food residues of a commonly used pesticide(fernitrothion) in wheat and soybeans grown for human consumption(21).

20. As of April 1986, EPA had not completed health and safety evaluations of any of the 600 active ingredients in the thousands of pesticide products, a task assigned to EPA by Congress in 1972.   Information on long term chronic effects of pesticides such as cancer, sterility, and birth defects has not been compiled. EPA points out that pesticide registration does not guarantee safety, since by design pesticides are intended to kill biological organisms(21).  Emulsifiers, propellants, and other chemicals is pesticide solutions have also been found to consist of volatile organic chemicals and solvents which have harmful health effects(38).

21. Due to increasing use of pesticides in the U.S. and world, the health damage suffered now is at least as much as 25 years ago(70).  Pesticide residues in food and in drinking water cause cancer and affect human nervous and reporductive systems throught their effect on the endocrine/hormonal system. 

    While use of pesticides has risen significantly, crop losses to pests have not declined correspondingly.  Pesticides kill millions of fish, birds, bees, and other plant pollinators each year, disrupting agricultural ecosystems and making it harder for farmers to manage their crops.  Integrated Pest Management, where natural and biological controls replace some pesticide use, would be more ecologically and economically effective in controlling pests(70).

22. Thousands of pesticides now in use have not been adequately tested for the ability to cause cancer, birth defects, and genetic damage in humans. The current requirement for new pesticides is more rigorous.    Thus the National Acadamy of Sciences estimates that at least 20% of "old" pesticides pose a significant risk and 90 % of total cancer risk from pesticides comes from "old" pesticides. Fillers and contaminants found in pesticide formulations are also known to cause cancer and health problems(2).     Pesticide residues in processed foods are governed by the Food,Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1954(FDCA). The Delaney Clause of that act prohibits setting a tolerance level on pesticides on pesticides known to cause cancer(prohibits use on foods that will be processed if any residue would result). A National Acadamy of Sciences report found 31 violations of the Delaney Clause in which EPA allows pesticide use of crops even though the pesticides are believed to concentrate in processed foods and are carcinogenic. The report identified 778 processed foods that are likely to contain residues of one or more pesticides suspected of causing cancer. The Committee recommended a uniform "negligable risk standard" setting the standard as a risk of less than one in one million for carcinogens used on all types of food, as well as more consistent enforcement(2).

23. A report published by the NRDC found that many of EPA's pesticide residue tolerance levels are dangerously high, because of clearly unreasonable assuptions they are developed under. For example the residue tolerance levels are set assuming each individual eats the average amount of every fruit and vegetable eaten by all Americans, which for any given fruit or vegetable is a very small amount. Anyone eating any fruit or vegetable on a fairly regular basis would be

exposed to risk much higher than that implied by the tolerance level(24). Also tolerance values are based on amounts commonly found in agricultural practice, not primarily on health or toxilogical considerations.  Many tolerance values are much higher than the EPA oral reference dose considered safe and if most vegetables contained these levels would result in dietary exposure thousands of times higher than the EPA RFD(66).  The FDA has published Action Levels for many pesticides and toxic substances(83).


24. An international coalition of organizations(Pesticide Action Coalition) each year publishes a dirty dozen list of pesticides based on the level of serious health and environmental damage being caused by pesticides worldwide(49). The most recent list includes: aldicarb, camphechlor, chlordane, heptachlor, chlordimeform, DBCP, DDT, aldrin, endrin, EDB, HCH/BHC, lindane, paraquat, parathion, methyl parathion, PCP, and 2,4,5-T.  DDT is still widespread in the environment and is causing reproductive failures in birds, fish, and animals and serious impacts on human health, even though its use is banned by the U.S. and 49 other countries.  Approx. 100 tons per year is still exported from the U.S. and is being distributed worldwide by wind currents(48).  Parathion is so acutely toxic that spilling some on the skin can be fatal. Parathion is causing serious poisonings and health effects worldwide and in the U.S. including birth defects, systemic and respiratory illnesses.  EPA has found widespread serious health problems in workers even when all possible precautions for its use are carried out(50).  DBCP has caused sterility in thousands of farm workers(50) and use has resulted in extensive groundwater contamination in California.  EDB and other similar pesticides and fungicides have contaminated groundwater throughout the U.S. including thousands of wells in Florida.

      Aldrin, dieldrin and endrin are the most acutely toxic organochlorine pesticides and have caused thousands of deaths in addition to other widespread serious health damage(49,52,106).  Lindane is a probable human carcinogin and damages the nervous system and endocrine systems of people and animals.  Lindane has also been found to be a common cause of CFS, neurological problems, and multiple chemical sensitivities(87).   Like most others on the list it is found in the milk and tissues of people and animals around the world.  Aldicarb has been responsible for the acute poisoning of thousands in the U.S. and large numbers in Central America, and extensive ground water contamination.  EPA toxicologists in 1989 estimated that tens of thousands of infants and children were exposed each day to enough aldicarb residues in bananas and potatos alone to pose a risk of illness(51).  Chlordane is highly carcinogic, neurotoxic, and endocrine and reproductive system disrupting(51,52,53).   A survey of U.S. pesticide exports found that over 55 tons of endocrine disrupting chemicals are exported each day, in spite of most being banned from use in the U.S. and most developed countries.

      Maternal exposure of one month or more during the first 2 months of pregnancy resulted in a 240% increase in risk of stillbirth due to congenital defects compared to controls(96).   Women exposed in the home during early pregnancy to cockroach and ant pesticides had a 70% increased incidence of stillbirths due to congenital defects compared to controls.  After Israel banned pesticides in their food supply, their breast cancer rate decreased by over 75%(96).

25. Pesticide mixtures in use include"active" and "inert" ingrediants with the inerts making up usually over 95% of the mixture.  "inert" solvents used to disolve the active ingredients penetrate clothing and skin taking toxic active ingredients with them, and many of the inerts like epicholorhydrin and nonylphenol are neurotoxic or reproductive or developmental toxins.  In spite of the toxicity of such inerts, inert ingredients are not listed on pesticide labels and are considered trade secrets.

26. Epidemiology stuides on pesticides have found associations with hematological cancer, nerurotoxic effects, neurobehavioral disorders, reproductive prolems including birth defects and infertility, newborn deaths, etc .(76,79,104).  Dibromochloropropane(DMCP) has been found to cause mutations, cancer, testicular and reproductive problems(77).

27. Bacterial related illnesses are becoming more dangerous due to the growing antibiotic resistance of many types of bacteria.  WHO has called the situation extremely serious and called for a drastic curtailment of antibiotics used in animal feed(76).  Approx. 50% of all antibiotics made in the U.S. end up in farm animals through feed.  Antibiotic residues to many of the commonly used antibiotics are found in beef in supermarkets and 4 antibiotic strains of bacteria have been transmitted from animals to humans: salmonella, campylobacter, enterococci and E coli. Recent studies have found that drug resistant strains of bacteria causing ear infections, sinuitis, and pneumonia more than doubled since 1996, and similar for strains of bacteria in U.S. rivers(84).


28. Rain water in Europe has been found to have such high levels of pesticides that it often far exceeds drinking water standards(81). Gov’t studies have found high levels of atrazine, alachlor, 2-4-dinitrophenol, etc. in rainwater.  Water running off roof materials treated with fungicide also had extremely high levels . 

29. In a population of German patients suffering from neurological problems and multiple chemical sensitivities, wood preservatives such as pentachlorophenyl were found to be the most common cause(87).  Other common exposures that appeared to be factors in MCS included organic solvents, pyrethroides, and other biocides.   Pyrethrum insecticides also have been found to have allergenic properties and to induce asthma in susceptible people with at least one death(98).  Animal studies have also found effects on fertility and fertility outcomes for phyrethrum and rotenone(98), as well as estrogenic and antiprogestagenic effects that may contribute to reproductive dysfunction, developmental impairment, and cancer(98).

30. Organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides have been found to induce prenatal brain injury in animal studies and to result in functional deficits(89).

31.  Chronic animal studies with a number of organic solvents support the evidence for peripheral neuropathy and mild toxic  encephalopathy in solvent‑exposed workers.  ''Epidemiologic studies of various groups of solvent‑exposed workers(92) or pesticide/rodentcide exposed workers(104)  have demonstrated statistically significant chronic changes in peripheral nerve function (sensory and motor nerve onduction velocities and electromyographic abnormalities) that persisted for months to years following cessation of exposure. Epidemiologic studies have also shown statistically significant increases in neurobehavioral effects in workers chronically exposed to organic solvents(92) or pesticides (101,104). These effects include disorders characterized by reversible subjective symptoms (fatigability,irritability, and memory impairment), sustained changes in personality or mood (mask faces, emotional instability and diminished impulse control and motivation), and impaired intellectual function (decreased concentration ability, memory, and learning ability). Among organic solvent abusers,  the most severe disorders reported are characterized by irreversible deterioration in intellect and memory (dementia) accompanied by structural CNS damage, muscle weakness, wasting, tremors,etc....'' (92,101,104)

32. The Pesticide Action Network Pesticide Database contains information on 5100 pesticide ingredients and over 100,000 formulated pesticide products. Where available, chronic and acute toxicity,

regulatory status and aquatic ecotoxicity are listed with each chemical(102).

33.  Glyphosate-containing products(Roundup, Rodeo, etc.) are acutely toxic to animals,  including humans. Symptoms include eye and skin irritation, cardiac depression, gastrointestinal pain, vomiting, and accumulation of excess fluid in the lungs. The surfactant used in a common glyphosate product (Roundup) is more acutely toxic than glyphosate itself; the combination of the two is yet more toxic.In animal studies, feeding of glyphosate for three months caused reduced weight gain, diarrhea, and salivary gland lesions. Lifetime feeding of glyphosate caused excess growth and death of liver cells, cataracts and lens degeneration, and increases in the frequency of thyroid, pancreas, and  liver tumors. Glyphosate-containing products have caused genetic damage in human blood cells, fruit flies, and onion cells. Glyphosate causes reduced sperm counts in male rats, a lengthened estrous cycle in female rats, and an increase in fetal loss together with a decrease in birth weights in their offspring.  Animal studies have found evidence of increased cancers from glyphosphate pesticides(126). Roundup also disrupts thyroid function by disrupting Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory (StAR) Protein expression(135).   Other chemicals that have been found to disrupt the StAR hormone function are lindane and Dimethoate.


Residues of the commonly-used herbicide glyphosate have been found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Residues can be detected long after glyphosate treatments have been made. Lettuce, carrots, and barley planted a year after glyphosate treatment contained residues at harvest. In California, where reporting of pesticide-caused illnesses is more comprehensive than in other states, glyphosate exposure was the third most commonly-reported cause of pesticide illness among agricultural workers. For landscape maintenance workers, glyphosate ranked highest.     Glyphosate can drift away from the site of its application. Maximum drift distance of 400 to 800 meters (1300-2600 feet) have been measured. Glyphosate residues in soil have persisted over a year.    Although not expected for an herbicide, glyphosate exposure damages or reduces the population of many animals, including beneficial insects, fish, birds, and earthworms. In some cases glyphosate is directly toxic; for example, concentrations as low as 10 parts per million can kill fish and 1/20 of typical application rates caused delayed development in earthworms. In other cases, (small mammals and birds, for example) glyphosate reduces populations by damaging the vegetation that provides food and shelter for the animals.   Glyphosate reduces the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These bacteria transform nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, into a form that plants can use. Glyphosate reduces the growth of mycorrhizal fungi, beneficial fungi that help plants absorb water and nutrients. Glyphosate also increases the susceptibility of plants to diseases, including Rhizoctonia root rot, take-all disease, fusarium,and anthracnose(126). Several studies have found increased fusarium fungus populations in Round-up treated fields- fusariam causes adverse health effects including death and also adversely affects crop yields in treated fields and other fields it spreads to.

34.  Pyrethroids, according to 5 different published research studies, directly affect the brain's production of glutamate, the sodium channel, and function of the nerve cell's mitochondria (all suspected target areas of ALS)(127)

35. Malathion at 17 ppm and parathion at 250 ppm body weight cause breast cancer in female rats(110).  Trials indicate that the likely mechanism of causality is inhibition of AchE, and any AchE inhibiter appears to cause cancer in female rats.  This would imply that all organo phosphate pesticides and many other chemicals are carcinogenic.   Recent users of 2,4‑D (foresters, verified by urine 2,4‑D) showed dose/response chromosone aberations;  and altered blood sex hormone levels (elevated the pituitary's leutinizing hormone (LH) and, consequently, testosterone), though (for this particular exposure) not far outside typical ranges.  Another type of genetic damage‑‑PCR V(D)J rearrangements‑‑did not correlate w/ urinary 2,4‑D levels, but did with herbicide use.

36. Fipronil has been shown to mutate proteins and to kill human liver cells

at extremely low concentrations of 0.1 nM. (44 ppt) the dose-response curve

was non-monotonic. In other words, the smallest doses were more toxic

than larger ones. FrontLine (by Merial, a joint venture between Merck and

Aventis) is a popular flea and tick treatment for pets. It contains 9.8%

fipronil by weight.  one day after applying FrontLine to an adult dog, petting

it for just 5 minutes while wearing gloves resulted in exposure of 600 ppm. 

Termidor termite treatment contains 9.1% fipronil by weight. Breakdown

metabolites are even more toxic than fipronil(149).

 

37. One study finds that low-level exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA)  found in some plastic bottles and some food cans can promote certain prostate cancers(150a). Independent laboratory tests found  BPA which is associated with birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods(150b). Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently detected BPA in 95% of nearly 400 U.S. adults (150c).

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1. Chlorophenoxy herbicides, usually used for "broad‑leaf weeds." These are

by far the most dangerous because they are incredibly toxic long‑lived

poisons on their own and they are contaminated with dioxins. You'll see on

the packaging mentioning such chemicals as 2,4 Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid

or 2,4 Dichlorophenoxypropionic Acid (both abbrev as 2,4 D). Especially

dangerous are the trichlorinated varieties, such as Picloram (3,5,6 T, also

called Tordon and Agent White), Silvex (banned in the US, 2,4,5

Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, sometimes called domestic Agent Orange), Agent

Orange (used by the US military in Vietnam, manufactured by Monsanto, Dow,

and several other companies). These chemicals have a long and sordid

history of death, illness, corporate negligence and genuine psychopathy, and

government oversight problems.

2. Atrazine and atrazine‑like herbicides. Similar to the chlorophenoxy

herbicides in toxicity and permanence, but used to kill everything standing on farms.


 3. Phosphorus herbicides, such as glyphosate. Kills everything except for

gene‑altered plants tolerant to it. Primary manufactured by Monsanto, called

Roundup. Rated at low toxicity by many sources, but there are reports of

Roundup poisoning incidents that appear in the various pesticide monitoring

reports such as www.panna.org.

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