Pesticide chlorpyrifos is linked to childhood developmental delays

[frosty]

March 18, 2010—Exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos—which is banned for use in U.S. households but is still widely used throughout the agricultural industry—is associated with early childhood developmental delays, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Findings of the study, "Chlorpyrifos Exposure and Urban Residential Environment Characteristics as Determinants of Early Childhood Neurodevelopment," are online in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study examined the association between exposure to the pesticide and mental and physical impairments in children in low-income areas of New York City neighborhoods in the South Bronx and Northern Manhattan. Chlorpyrifos was commonly used in these neighborhoods until it was banned for household use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2001. It is still used as an agricultural pesticide on fruits and vegetables. The EPA registration of chlorpyrifos for agricultural use is currently under review, with a public comment period scheduled for the coming months.

"This study helps to fill in the gaps about what is known about the effect of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on the development of young children by showing that there is a clear-cut association between this chemical and delayed mental and motor skill development in children even when there are other potentially harmful environmental factors present," said Gina Lovasi, PhD, lead author and Mailman School of Public Health assistant professor of epidemiology. Dr. Lovasi conducted the research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the Mailman School.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-pci031810.php

Chlorpyrifos is not restricted at all in Australia and in fact it is sprayed under most homes and arround the outside of the slab. Studies have shown it is in indoor air if sprayed under the slab. I have mislaid the link to that but my personal experience is that if I go into a house that has been sprayed I get symptoms of OP poisoning

If you garden next to the house it will be what you grow. in suburbia it will be in the ground water .Plus of course farmers love it and spray it on wheat and fruit and veggies.

frosty

[Speedy]

Yes, I'm not at all surprised.
it is a nasty biocide to work with , I can tell you from experience, many years ago.
It's an anticholinesterase compound (a nerve poison) and a very effective one at that....
Sarin and VX, nerve agents for chemical weapons have the same action on animal life as Chlorpyrifos.

I used to work in a hardware shop/ nursery, and I'd always try steering customers away from it to 'less noxious' products
and /or to simple home remedies etc.
The boss (being the way he is/was) would've sacked me for it if he knew I was doing it.

I always thought giving people the truth about it and the info to make up their own stuff at home was more important than
peddling this shit for unsuspecting folks to spray around where they and their families live.

I'm proud to say ,that the stuff just sat there and didn't move from the shelf for the whole year i was there. ;-)

Btw not all farmers love it or use it.

[eco4560]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/bre...-1226343584820

And it's back in the news again this month....

[frosty]

so that is proof why most people are stupid !

[Pakanohida]

Annnnnd this is why I don't even like using Neem oil, or literally any kind of insecticide, pesticide, herbicide or any other -icides.