Pesticide dangers are well established

Response to Jane Brody’s article, “Should a study on pesticides affect our use of them?”

In Jane Brody’s article assessing whether the study that found a link between pyrethroids and deaths from heart disease was either valid or worth paying attention to, her concluding remark was, “one study does not a fact make, not then, now or in the future.”

Nowhere in her article discussing pesticides and their health effects does she mention that pesticides are designed to kill living things and that most pesticides are inherently toxic. Their toxicity is why the federal government regulates pesticides; however, regulations do not guarantee that pesticides are safe.

The federal government does not have the funding to do all its own pesticide testing, so the government relies on the pesticide industry to test their own pesticides for their safety. This fact remains a problem.

Brody makes no mention that pesticides pose a special threat to the youngest in our population. It is now well established that pesticide residues easily cross the placenta and expose developing human embryos and fetuses. Pregnant women should avoid using pesticides as many pesticides have birth and reproductive health effects.

Another important warning that would have been important to explain is that higher pesticide exposure levels happen indoors where pesticides are often more concentrated and therefore pose a greater risk than when the same amount of pesticide is applied outdoors.

People need to understand that when they use pesticides there are risks that go along with those uses and that those risks can extend to their families and to their pets.

Environment and Human Health, Inc. has a new research report on the risks of pesticide exposures that can be found at: https://www.ehhi.org/pesticides.php