Six Cautions about Pesticides and Herbicides

July 30, 2004

When you spray pesticides to kill garden or household critters, douse

your lawn with chemical herbicides, or spray your dog for fleas,

you're also exposing your kids (and yourself) to these toxins. Think

about it: These concoctions are designed to kill insects and weeds.

Even if you use them as directed, they still have the potential to

cause a wide range of health problems in people because of their

toxicity. Here are six cautions and alarming thoughts:

1. No one guarantees the safety of pesticides. Just because a product

is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn't

mean it's safe.

2. Pesticides have been traditionally treated as " innocent until

proven guilty " by regulatory authorities. A generation ago,

pesticides were considered to be relatively safe and effective

chemicals that produced significant benefits to society.

3. Many older pesticides have not been thoroughly tested by today's

standards. These pesticides are still commonly used even thought

complete testing of these older pesticides will take at least another

10 years.

4. Most pesticides in use today have not been tested for their health

effects on children. This is a major problem. Recent scientific

studies involving laboratory animals show that many pesticides damage

the developing brain and nervous system.

5. Certain types of pesticides mimic hormones. Scientists have

discovered that some pesticides have the ability to mimic or compete

with hormones (the chemicals in our body that trigger development and

functioning.

6. Many herbicides are know, probable, or suspected carcinogens

(cancer-causing chemicals).

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