HEALTHY SCHOOLYARDS INITIATIVE
CHILDREN, PESTICIDE EXPOSURES, & HEALTH
Why are pesticide exposures especially dangerous to children? (1)
Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposures for many reasons.
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Because children are in the process of growing and developing, they consume more food and water in proportion to their body weight than adults do. Additionally, children breathe in more air proportional to their body weight than adults. This means that children are more susceptible to pesticide exposures from food, water, and air than adults.
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Due to the developmental phases that children are in, this also means that damage to internal systems from pesticide exposures can be much more harmful and can cause irreparable damage because these internal systems are still being built as the child grows.
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Finally, the nature of children's behavior often lends itself to higher risk for pesticide exposures. Children often put things in their mouths, play closer to the ground, and spend more time playing outside than adults, without the knowledge or sense of caution when it comes to these substances in the environment.
1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2014, February 12). Children’s unique vulnerabilities to environmental hazards | US EPA. US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/children/childrens-unique-vulnerabilities-environmental-hazards
How are children exposed to pesticides? (2)
Children can be exposed to pesticides via three routes:
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1. Inhalation - intake of pesticides or residue via gases, vapors, or particulate matter through normal breathing and respiration
2. Ingestion - intake of pesticides or residues through the mouth and gastrointestinal tract, often through contaminated food or residues from hands
3. Absorption - intake of pesticides or residues directly through the absorption via the skin or other mucous membranes (like eyes)
Through these routes, children can be exposed to pesticides via many sources- residues on food, pesticides that have drifted to off-target via wind and precipitation, and pesticide contamination in soil, to name a few.
One surprising opportunity for pesticide exposure exists at school, where unnecessary and potentially dangerous pesticides are often applied to ornamental landscaping, around playgrounds, and on the turf of athletic fields.
2. Roberts, J. R., Karr, C. J., & Council On Environmental Health (2012). Pesticide exposure in children. Pediatrics, 130(6), e1765–e1788. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2758
What are the resulting health effects of pesticides exposures in children? (3)
Pesticide exposures in children can result in two types of health effects - acute and chronic.
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Acute health effects are those that manifest immediately after exposure. These health effects often diminish or go away completely once the exposure is removed, and are gone completely after a few minutes to a few weeks (depending on the nature of the exposure).
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In children, acute health effects from pesticides can manifest as skin and mucous membrane irritation, respiratory issues (like coughing or shortness of breath), nausea or vomiting, anaphylaxis, seizures, and more.
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Chronic health effects are those that could manifest weeks, months, or even years after the exposure. These health effects are long-lasting, complex, and can even permanent depending on the nature of the exposure.
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Health effects in children that have been linked to pesticide exposures include neurological and developmental disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, cancers like leukemia, asthma and respiratory disorders, and disruption to the child's endocrine system resulting in conditions like thyroid malfunction and early puberty.
3. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2024, January 11). Pesticide Exposures. American Academy of Pediatrics. Www.Aap.Org. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/environmental-health/promoting-healthy-environments-for-children/pesticides/
What does the science say? (2)
There is a large and gorwing body of scientific evidence linking negative health outcomes in children to pesticide exposures.
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Causation between environmental exposures and the resulting health effects can be difficult to decisively prove. Human subjects cannot ethically be brought into a lab or clinical setting and exposed to pesticides in order for us to study the health outcomes.
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In lieu of this type of scientific examination, we rely on other types and designs of studies; studies that don't place human subjects in harm's way while still providing valuable insight into the mechanisms through which these substances can cause harm.
One commonly-used study design compares health outcomes in people who were incidentally exposed to pesticides (due to their occupation or proximity to sources) to those in people who have no reported exposures.
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All of this scientific knowledge is valuable in evaluating where and how we interact with and apply pesticides.
While the science demonstrating that pesticide exposures to children are dangerous continues to mount, we have enough evidence right now to act and to implement protections for our most vulnerable from these dangerous substances.
2. Roberts, J. R., Karr, C. J., & Council On Environmental Health (2012). Pesticide exposure in children. Pediatrics, 130(6), e1765–e1788. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2758