Children

At A Glance

With bodies that are still developing, children and infants are some of the groups most vulnerable to pesticides.

Vulnerabilities

Pesticides pose greater risks to children than adults for a variety of reasons. Children's bodies are much smaller than adults and pesticides have a greater potential of affecting them at sensitive stages of their physical and mental development. In addition, children spend more time outside crawling on the ground and putting things in their mouth, which makes them more susceptible to pesticides that drift to the ground.

Since most children consume large quantities of fruits and vegetables, they may be exposed to larger amounts of pesticide residues. Popular fruits such as peaches, apples, and strawberries, for example, all contain very high traces of pesticides. If they are exposed, children have less of the enzyme necessary to defend their brains from pesticide poisoning than adults. (http://www.foodnews.org/)

Impacts

There are many well-documented health impacts to fetuses and children who are exposed to pesticides. Studies have shown that exposure to certain pesticides can lead to malformed genitalia, lower birth weights, and other developmental defects in fetuses, while young children can suffer from lower IQs, a potentially greater risk of autism, and acute effects such as vomiting, seizure, and even death.

What We're Doing

Earthjustice places a high priority on safeguarding the health of children from pesticides. We are currently challenging the continued use of diazinon and chlorpyrifos, two highly toxic pesticides derived from WWII nerve gas that are especially dangerous to children because they interfere with their growth and development. Both pesticides are notorious for contaminating water and are used on a variety of fruits and vegetables popular with children, including apples, blueberries, corn, cherries, and spinach.

We are also targeting four more nerve gas pesticides that can drift from fields into homes and schools. These chemicals can cause acute poisonings. Many countries around the world, from Canada to Sri Lanka, have already banned one or more of these pesticides, and we hope to force the EPA to move in that direction with our lawsuit.

Farmworkers

At A Glance

No group faces a bigger threat from pesticides than the farmworkers who are on the front line everyday.

Vulnerabilities

It is no surprise that farmworkers face the biggest threat when it comes to pesticides. Farmworkers come into direct contact with pesticides when they are preparing pesticides for application and when they are applying the poisons in the fields. Farmworkers who harvest crops are also exposed to the pesticide residues on plants, and pesticides can drift onto nearby fields and sicken workers and their families when they are sprayed.

This vulnerable population often lacks adequate access to health care, and many do not report cases of pesticide poisoning for fear of retaliation from their employers. Even with drastic under-reporting of pesticide poisonings, it is estimated that tens of thousands of farmworkers are poisoned by pesticides each year. Clearly, more needs to be done to protect workers from hazardous pesticides.

Impacts

Exposure to pesticides can lead to a wide array of health problems for farmworkers. One family of pesticides -- organophosphates -- disrupts the body's nervous system, resulting in splitting headaches, vomiting, uncontrollable sweats, blurry vision and dizziness. More severe exposure to organophosphates can cause loss of consciousness, paralysis, and death.

Another family of pesticides -- organochlorines -- includes the notorious banned pesticide DDT as well as those that are still on the market, such as endosulfan. These pesticides have similar poisoning effects as the nerve gas pesticides, but endosulfan has also been linked to breast cancer, hormonal effects, smaller testicles, and lower sperm production. One study found that children who were exposed to endosulfan when they were fetuses have a higher incidence of autism.

What We're Doing

Earthjustice recognizes that farmworkers are especially vulnerable when it comes to pesticide exposure, and we are mounting an ambitious campaign to protect this underserved community and their families.

We are working to stop the use of the most dangerous pesticides, including a nerve gas pesticide known as chlorpyrifos. Exposure to chlorpyrifos can lead to numbness, convulsions, mental impairment, and even death. Although it has been banned for most home and garden use, chlorpyrifos is still applied to agricultural crops, including corn, fruit orchards, and other vegetable row crops.

We have also worked to obtain medical monitoring of farmworkers in Washington state who handle toxic pesticides. Testing their bodies for exposure will help identify unsafe work practices and remove at-risk farmworkers from the field before they fall seriously ill.

Finally, there is no fund to pay for the harm that pesticides cause to people. Earthjustice has defended the right to sue for compensation when chemical companies sell dangerous pesticides without ensuring that their use will not poison workers or impair the health of children and other people in harm's way.

Wildlife

At A Glance

Wildlife, particularly those in rivers, lakes, and streams, pay a high price for our reliance on pesticides.

Vulnerabilities

Every year, farmers in the U.S. apply millions of pounds of highly toxic pesticides to their fields. Unfortunately these chemicals do not always stay there. Pesticide drift and run-off from fields can make their way into rivers, lakes, and streams, creating a deadly environment for fish and wildlife. This is particularly true in Washington, Oregon, and California, where chemicals used in agriculture have wreaked havoc on the struggling salmon populations. Already facing an uphill battle against large dams and low water flows, Western salmon will face an even more uncertain future if pesticides continue to contaminate their aquatic habitat.

Impacts

Every year, farmers in the US apply millions of pounds of highly toxic pesticides to their fields. Unfortunately these chemicals do not always stay there. Pesticide drift and run-off from fields can make their way into rivers, lakes, and streams, creating a deadly environment for fish and wildlife. This is particularly true in Washington, Oregon, and California, where chemicals used in agriculture have wreaked havoc on the struggling salmon populations. Already facing an uphill battle against large dams and low water flows, Western salmon will face an even more uncertain future if pesticides continue to contaminate their aquatic habitat.

What We're Doing

Two ways to blunt the impact of pesticides on fish and wildlife are to set up no-spray buffer zones along streams and to put warning labels on store-bought pesticides. Earthjustice has successfully stopped the use of 38 highly toxic pesticides adjacent to salmon rivers and streams through the creation of buffer zones that reduce contamination of local waterways.

We also succeeded in requiring all urban home and garden stores in the Pacific Northwest to label their products with warning signs if they contain pesticides that have been found to harm salmon and steelhead trout. These warnings allow consumers to avoid using toxic pesticides if they live near rivers and streams.

But buffers and warnings may not be enough to protect salmon and other wildlife from pesticides that travel long distances and persist in the environment long after they are sprayed. Earthjustice has been forcing the EPA to identify the full range of threats pesticides pose to endangered species. While EPA has been resistant and slow, it recently found that it needs to adopt far greater protections for salmon from use of three widely used nerve-gas pesticides. Earthjustice will continue to press for adequate safeguards, including phase-outs of some pesticides to protect salmon and other wildlife.