Some children of farm workers in Washington state
show elevated levels of pesticide exposure, according to a study by
University of Washington researchers. In 1995, urine samples from
109 children in agricultural counties in eastern Washington –
almost all children of farm workers – were tested for two
pesticides known as organophosphates. Results show 56 percent of
the children of farm workers exceeded the Environmental Protection
Agency’s acceptable exposure level for azinphos-methyl, an
organophosphate used to fight codling moths.
“The data presented here demonstrate that
(organophosphate) pesticide exposures among children in
agricultural communities fall into a range of regulatory concern
and require further investigation,” says the
study.
Since Congress passed the Food Quality
Protection Act of 1996, the EPA has tightened its regulation of
aziphos-methyl, which, at high doses, can cause inhibition of the
nervous system, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. The EPA changed its
regulations in 1999, says Anne Lindsay of the
EPA.
Biologically Based Pesticide Dose
Estimates for Children in an Agricultural Community was
published in the National Institutes of Health’s June issue of
Environmental Health Perspectives. For more information contact
Richard Fenske at 206/543-0916 or
rfenske@u.washington.edu.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Farm workers’ kids exposed to pesticides.
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