High-Profile National Studies That Will
Change the Dialogue
Due to the extreme complexity of human
development and the near infinite varieties of
potential interaction, evidence as to the full impact of pesti-
cides and other ubiquitous chemicals on childhood devel-
opment is just emerging, and acceptance by the scientific
and regulatory communities has been slow.
But a revolution is quietly beginning, and there are new
studies in the works
that will change the
national dialogue.
The 1993 National
Academy of Sciences
report Pesticides in the
Diets of Infants and
Children, to which
both Landrigan and
Benbrook contributed, marked
the beginning of understanding these
dangers. Until its
publication, the conventional toxicological wisdom on
pesticide dietary risk
was the “dose makes
the poison,” meaning
the inherent risk a
material posed was
based on the level
of exposure to an
organism.
“We now under-
stand that the dose
for a fetus at week 12
is up to 10,000 times
lower than what is
considered safe for an adult and can have lifelong conse-
quences on that developing fetus,” says Dr. Benbrook. “En-
docrine-disrupting pesticides have the ability to disrupt
development, particularly in the first trimester, at levels
below which we can measure.”
There are many studies underway on the effects of envi-
ronmental toxins on the developmental health of children.
The EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP)
is reviewing 67 chemicals, including endosulfan and 57
other pesticides, for estrogen, androgen and thyroid system
interactions. The initial evaluation will be followed by a
much more robust study that includes hundreds more
chemicals. Results are expected later this year.
The National Children’s Study, a
$3 billion project launched in
2010, tracks the development of
100,000 children from in utero to
age 21. The first findings will
address how prenatal exposure to
toxins and other environmental
factors correlate to birth defects
as well as premature birth and
low birth weight.
