CHILDREN EXPOSED TO
TOXIC PESTICIDES IN FOOD
CHILDREN EXPOSED TO
TOXIC PESTICIDES IN FOOD
Estimates of the number of children at risk are conservative not only because kids are also exposed to pesticides sprayed in their homes, schools and day care centers, but because the EPA's current standards are based on levels considered safe for adults. The EWG study estimates that if the EPA set standards to comply with the Food Quality Protection Act, which requires an additional ten-fold margin of safety, as many as 3.6 million children aged 6 months to 5 years could be considered at risk.
"There is no scientific justification for allowing levels of pesticides in food that put more than one million children at risk each day," said Kert Davies, co-author of the report.
The study found that of the 13 OP pesticides found in or on food by the USDA and FDA, most of the risk to children comes from five chemicals: methyl parathion, dimethoate, chlorpyrifos, pirimiphos methyl and azinphos methyl. The report urges that these five pesticides be banned immediately for all agricultural use, and also recommends:
Written by: Environmental Working Group
Environmental Working Group, a project of the Tides Center, is a nonprofit research organization with offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco.
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