Unlike adults, children are exposed to pesticides through a variety of sources and means. A child’s body remains developing while maintaining an increased metabolic rate. When compared to adults, they have a distinct heart rate and respiration rate. Children’s oral pesticide exposure is increased by their habit of hand-to-mouth behaviour. Furthermore, Children are also casual with their surroundings, close to the ground, and eat whatever they come into contact with without disinfecting their hands. Combined with this and their reduced immunity, they are more vulnerable to the toxic effects of the pesticides we use.
A systemic review which analysed effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides in child neurodevelopment across various age groups (Ratana Sapbamrer & Surat Hongsibsong, 2019) finds that prenatal exposure enhances children's susceptibility and has a significant negative impact on their neurodevelopment across all age groups studied. In the US, the Federal Fungicide, Insecticide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was revised in 1996 to include the directive "In the case of threshold effects, an additional 10-fold margin of safety for the pesticide chemical residue and other sources of exposure shall be applied for infants and children to take into account potential prenatal and postnatal toxicity"
HHPs in breast milkand crossing placenta
However, these pesticide traces are discovered in food and reach our children. It's concerning to uncover traces of pesticides in breast milk where due to its high-fat content, breast milk acts as a perfect matrix for dissolving pesticides. Pesticides especially organochlorines readily dissolve in mothers' milk and are easily ingested by children. The findings of a study undertaken by the Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences at Chaudhary Devi Lal University in Sirsa, Himachal, placed the amount of residues at 0.12 milligrams per kilogramme, which is more than a hundred times the WHO's estimations from 2015. Organophosphorous pesticides when transferred via breast milk can result in undescended testis and infertility in male children (Damgaard. I.N et al, 2006).
Several HHPs may also traverse the placenta. Pesticides can disrupt the development of placental structures and have negative effects on reproduction because they can breach the placental barrier. DDT and several PCBs are transferred from the mother to the foetus through the placenta, according to the European Commission-funded research PLUTOCRACY
Children and hormonal imbalance
The hormonal activity of many Highly hazardous pesticides, especially pyrethroids, may affect early neurologic and reproductive development. Parental exposure to toxicants triggers reproductive toxicity in children. For children born to exposed parents, a higher risk was established, in multiple studies. Pesticides have been linked to menstrual irregularities, endometriosis, irregular bleeding , infertility, male characteristics, absence of female secondary sex characteristics, etc. Male children of pesticide applicators are at the vulnerability of imbalance of testosterone level, undescended testes, low levels of semen production and infertility.
Cancer in Children
Children are exposed to potentially cancer-causing pesticides through food and tainted drinking water, as well as through pesticide drift and from carry-home exposure from parents who are exposed to pesticides at work. Parental exposure before or even during conception of the child may be crucial. Leukaemia, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumour, soft-tissue sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and malignancies of the brain, colorectum, and the testicles are among the cancers seen in children related to pesticides in case reports or case-control studies.
Neurotoxicity in Children
Exposure, even at low doses using neurotoxic pesticides at crucial stages of the foetus' development can lead to neurodevelopemental disorders such as autism, mental retardation and lower intelligence (lower IQ), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mobility and motor issues. Children's intelligence and intellectual capacity can be significantly impacted by pesticides. Children exposed to organophosphate pesticides in the womb had worse IQs, memories, and perceptual reasoning, according to three recent studies.
Children exposed to high pesticide use have been demonstrated to have decreased functional abilities in studies from Mexico and India. Organophosphates, among of the most hazardous and widely used pesticides in residential and agricultural settings, play a significant role in generating neurological damage. Acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, is affected by exposure to these pesticides even at low levels, which interferes with the nervous system's normal function. Chlorpyrifos is one of these pesticides that has received the most attention recently because to its widespread use in numerous nations and a lot of studies revealing how it affects children's developing brains (Children and Pesticide, PANAP)
Leukaemia, sarcomas, and brain tumours are only a few of the diseases in children that have been linked to pesticide use. There is evidence that numerous pesticide types harm the developing neurological systems of test animals. Children’s birth abnormalities have been connected to parental pesticide exposure. According to recent studies, herbicides may weaken children’s and newborns’ immune systems. Pesticides are a source of exposure for kids at home, at school, at parks and playgrounds, on food, and in water (Levine M.J. 2007). The effects of pesticide exposure on children are greatest in rural areas where agriculture is the primary industry. The children in our household are also not exempt from this hazard. According to a survey conducted for U.S. EPA pesticide was maintained within reach of children in nearly half of American households with children under the age of five (Whitmore et al. 1992).
Our children are our responsibility. Raising a healthy generation should be our goal. Using methods that cause the least harm to children and the environment in managing weeds, pests and crop diseases should be adopted. Incorporating organic food in the dietary feeding of children is important as studies have shown that the organic feed intake has considerably reduced organophosphorus levels in infants (Lu. C et al, 2006) making organic food the only key to changing our children’s health. The resolution to keep pesticides out of our homes and schools should be made, because healthy children are our future and will shape the world we live in for years to come.
References
Damgaard, I. N., Skakkebæk, N. E., Toppari, J., Virtanen, H. E., Shen, H., Schramm, K. W., … & Nordic Cryptorchidism Study Group. (2006). Persistent pesticides in human breast milk and cryptorchidism. Environmental health perspectives, 114(7), 1133-1138.
Levine, M. J. (2007). Pesticides: a toxic time bomb in our midst (pp. 213-214). Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Lu, C., Toepel, K., Irish, R., Fenske, R. A., Barr, D. B., & Bravo, R. (2006). Organic diets significantly lower children’s dietary exposure to organophosphorus pesticides. Environmental health perspectives, 114(2), 260-263.
Sapbamrer, R., & Hongsibsong, S. (2019). Effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides on child neurodevelopment in different age groups: a systematic review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(18), 18267-18290.
Whitmore, R. W., Kelly, J. E., & Reading, P. L. (1992). National home and garden pesticide use survey, final report. Volume I: executive summary, results, and recommendations.
