After reading today’s news about yet another study linking pesticides to yet another health issue, in this case ADHD, I thought maybe this time, we’ll pay attention to this dark undercurrent in modern life. Perhaps now, with 3-7 percent of kids affected by ADHD, and the disorder possibly triggered by pesticide exposure, we’ll finally see that it really is something in the water — and the food — that’s causing this crisis.
Tags: · ADHD, autism, BarbaraKesslerBlog, body burden, cancer, chemical exposure, chemical pollution, diazinon, Lawns, leukemia, malathion, organophosphate pesticides, pesticides, Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, Toxic Substances Control Act
A study published in Pediatrics today points to pesticides as a trigger for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
The study’s team of academic researchers sampled the urine of more than 1,100 kids, finding that those with the highest pesticide residues in their urine from organophosphate pesticides were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Of the sample, 119 of the children had been diagnosed with ADHD.
The team concluded that: “These findings support the hypothesis that organophosphate exposure, at levels common among US children, may contribute to ADHD prevalence.”
Tags: · ADHD, DMAP, malathion, organophosphates, Pediatrics study, pesticides, pesticides on fruit and vegetables
The EPA has issued a list of pesticides that will be screened for possibly disrupting the human, as well as animal, endocrine system. The list, released Wednesday, focuses on “endocrine disruptors” which are chemicals that can negatively impact hormones produced by the endocrine system. The system regulates all biological processes in the body – specifically, growth, metabolism and reproduction.
“Gathering this information,” said EPA Adminstrator Lisa P. Jackson, “will help us work with communities and industry to protect Americans from harmful exposure. Endocrine disruptors can cause lifelong health problems, especially for children.”
The endocrine, or hormone, system is found in all mammals, birds and fish. It is made up of glands, hormones that are produced by the glands and receptors in different organs that respond to the hormones.
Tags: · atrazine, carbaryl, diazinon, Endocrine Disruptors, EPA, hazardous chemcals, herbicides, insecticides, lawn treatment, malathion, permetrhin, pesticides, toluene, Toxins
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
What happens when salmon are given a pesticide cocktail? The effects are more pronounced than the damage done from exposure a single pesticide, according to a study just released in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.
In an attempt to replicate real world pesticide exposures, researchers from NOAA Fisheries Service and Washington State University studied how coho salmon reacted to five common pesticides, individually and in various combinations.
They found that almost every pesticide pairing resulted in a chemical reaction in the brain – a reduction of an enzyme – that could lead to the accumulation of acetylcholine, which would affect the salmon’s behavior, jeopardizing its ability to survive.
Tags: · carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, diaznon, Environmental Health Perspectives, malathion, NOAA, pesticides, Salmon, Washington State University
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift