Pesticide reduction benefits all
By Gina Solomon
Copyright 1999 Idaho Statesman
January 7, 1999
Michael Fumento needs to get his facts straight ("City
slickers off target in
pesticide report," Dec. 15). Pesticide use now totals 2.2 billion
pounds per
year. The overwhelming bulk of these pesticides are used in
agriculture. It
doesn't take a rocket
scientist to predict that people who live and work in agricultural
areas are
likely to face the greatest
risks from pesticides.
The Natural Resources Defense Council's report, "Trouble on
the Farm: Growing
up with Pesticides in Agricultural Communities," summarizes 170
scientific
studies and passed the scrutiny of a peer-review panel of
independent
scientists and physicians. Scientists repeatedly have found that
children
living on farms encounter
hazardous pesticides in their homes, play areas, food and water,
and are likely
to have elevated residues of pesticides on their hands and in their
urine.
Additionally, the pesticides detected are some of the most
toxic types
available today. These include chemicals that are not available for
household
use, such as nerve poisons,
cancer-causing agents and pesticides that interfere with normal
child development. It
is not surprising that residence on a farm has been linked to a
two- to
three-fold increased
risk of childhood
cancer, and that certain types of birth defects are more common
among the children of
farmers.
A new study
by researchers at the National
Cancer Institute confirmed the NRDC report and showed that farm
families are living
in a virtual sea of pesticides.
Many homes are located next to areas where pesticides are
mixed or applied, or
draw water from wells also located near sources of pesticides. Work
boots,
clothing and storage of chemical containers can all be ways that
these
chemicals make their way into homes and result in exposure to young
children.
Farmers throughout the country are decreasing their
reliance on the most toxic
pesticides without suffering economically. For example, Floyd
Dahlman, who
grows wheat,
peas and livestock in Forsythe, Mont., reduced his use of weed
killers by 66
percent and saved $ 173 per acre by doing it. His story and others
are told in
NRDC's report "Fields of Change: A New Crop of American Farmers
Finds
Alternatives to Pesticides."
As
a physician, I have seen numerous people suffering health effects
related to
pesticides, and I also know that sometimes the link is hard to
prove.
But there is plenty of scientific evidence available to
warn us we must cut
back our cavalier use of these poisons. Reduction of pesticide use
will benefit
farmers, "city slickers" and future generations.
Dr. Gina Solomon is a physician and senior scientist with
the Natural Resources
Defense Council and an assistant professor of medicine at the
University of
California at San Francisco.
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