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Home Hazards: Residential pesticides pose threats to children''s health. (Children & Health).

Article Excerpt
Since about 1945, children have been raised in novel chemical environments -- they have been exposed to toxic, human-made substances for which they have no biological preparation. Urban pesticides -- bug sprays, pet flea and tick products, hair treatments for lice and especially "cosmetic" pesticides to control weeds and insects in lawns and gardens -- are all contributors to this unprecedented chemical environment.

Although the evidence linking such chemicals to health impacts on children is not conclusive, it suggests that exposure to cosmetic pesticides represents a readily preventable source of harm to children.

By far, most of the pesticides used in and around the home are those employed in the quixotic quest for the perfect lawn -- weed free, immaculately manicured, and emerald green. Cosmetic pesticides and the lawn business make up a multibillion-dollar industry in North America.

In the US, 34 million kg of pesticides were applied to lawns and gardens in 1997. American home lawns occupy about 8.5 million hectares. That is more than is devoted to any agricultural crop, and larger than the province of New Brunswick. (1)

A 1991 Canadian survey indicated that 66 percent of householders used lawn pesticides, and 36 percent used a commercial lawn care company. (2)

While urban exposure to pesticides is virtually ubiquitous, indoors and out, home pesticide use constitutes the primary exposure site for children. Because toxins are carried in the blood and in some cases can cross the placenta, many children receive their first exposures while still in their mother's womb.

Every time children are exposed to pesticides, they...