CDC Body Burden Study Finds Widespread Pesticide Exposure

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PANUPS: CDC Body Burden Study Finds Widespread Pesticide Exposure

 

 

CDC Body Burden Study Finds Widespread Pesticide Exposure

 

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday

released its Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental

Chemicals, finding that more than 90% of U.S. residents carry a

mixture of pesticides in their bodies. Many of these chemicals are

linked to health effects such as cancer, birth defects and

neurological problems. Children, who are particularly vulnerable to

the effects of pesticide exposure, had higher levels of some

pesticides in their bodies than adults.

 

CDC sampled the blood and urine of thousands of subjects across the

country for 148 chemicals, 43 of them pesticides. This sample

represents just over 3% of the 1,284 pesticide active ingredients

currently registered in the U.S. that are formulated into tens of

thousands of pesticide products for agricultural and home use.

 

Pyrethroids were included for the first time in this study, and CDC

found one pyrethroid metabolite to be particularly widespread in the

population, occurring in more than 75% of the subjects tested.

Pyrethroids are insecticides widely used in agriculture, in home and

garden pest products, and for lice control. They are a synthetic

version of pyrethrins, a naturally occurring insecticide extracted

from chrysanthemums. Unlike pyrethrins, which break down in the

environment within hours, synthetic pyrethroids can last from days to

months, creating a much greater risk of exposure.

 

The health effects of pyrethroids are well documented. Exposure can

produce neurotoxic effects, vomiting, diarrhea and a tingling

sensation on the skin (paresthesias). Pyrethroids are also suspected

endocrine disruptors and possible carcinogens, and as a group are the

second most common cause of pesticide poisoning reported to U.S.

poison control centers.

 

Some pesticides were found in the CDC study at higher levels in

children than adults. For example, the organophosphate pesticide

chlorpyrifos was found at higher concentrations in children,

indicating exposures more than four times the level EPA considers

" safe. " Home use of chlorpyrifos was banned in 2001 because of concern

over health effects in children, but an estimated 10 million pounds

continues to be used in agricultural fields every year. In the

2001/2002 period covered by this report chlorpyrifos was found in more

than 75% of the population.

 

The organochlorine pesticides aldrin, dieldrin and endrin, banned in

the U.S. for decades, were included in CDC's study for the first time

and were detected in very low or un-measurable amounts. CDC also

sampled for breakdown products of the organochlorine pesticide

lindane, found in nearly half of the subjects tested. Unfortunately

CDC did not test for other organochlorines that continue to be used in

the U.S., such as endosulfan and dicofol. Organochlorines are known to

persist in the environment, build up in people's bodies, and are

passed from mother to child in the womb and through breastfeeding.

 

A body burden study released last week by the Environmental Working

Group (EWG) reported findings similar to the CDC study, focusing

specifically on chemical exposures infants received before they were

born. EWG tested fetal cord blood of 10 healthy infants born at

various locations around the U.S. in 2004, revealing exposures to a

total of 287 chemicals. Among the most pervasive pesticides found in

newborns were hexachlorobenzene, dieldrin and DDT (and its

contaminants and byproducts).

 

PANNA issued a set of recommendations based on findings from the CDC

study. These include:

 

* Corporations like Bayer CropScience that continue to distribute

organochlorine pesticide products should withdraw them immediately

from the U.S. market.

 

* Policymakers should use CDC's biomonitoring data to help develop

policies that better protect public health, and particularly children.

 

* CDC should make more detailed data (such as location and timing

of sampling and occupational information) publicly available to help

policymakers set priorities and evaluate impacts of state-level

policies already in place, such as California's ban of lindane for

pharmaceutical use.

 

* Consumers should choose organic food and pesticide-free

household and hygiene products to protect their families and support

markets for healthy alternatives.

 

CDC's biomonitoring program is the largest in the U.S. and provides

invaluable information on chemical exposures nationwide. The agency

announced plans to expand the list of studied chemicals to more than

300 in the next study, to be released in 2007. This year's report

provides important insights into the widespread nature of pesticide

exposure in the U.S. and highlights the need to shift to less toxic

approaches to pest management.

 

See CDC Releases 3rd National Report on the PANNA website,

http://www.panna.org

 

Sources: CDC National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental

Chemicals,http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/; Body Burden, The

Pollution in Newborns, Environmental Working Group,

http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/release_20050721.php; Reigart,

R.J., and Roberts, R.J. 1999. Recognition of Management of Pesticide

Poisonings 5th Edition. Washington DC: U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency. Contact: PANNA

 

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