THE NEUROTOXIC EFFECTS OF !

PESTICIDE EXPOSURE ON CHILDREN

The Neurotoxic Effects That Pesticides Have on Children

Arielle M. Cohen

New West Charter High School

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Introduction

Pesticides are everywhere in daily life; in food, water, and even air. In the last couple

of decades, scientists have been actively researching the effects that these pesticides have on

people, and specifically children. They have found that pesticides can have many negative

neurological effects generally linked to a persons exposure. Scientists have also concluded that

the potential health risks from pesticides should be considered in public health efforts to reduce

environmental exposures in order to ultimately reduce neurological diseases in children (Xu,

Nembhard, Kan, Kearney, Zhang, & Talbott, 2011). Many recent studies on pesticide exposure

in children, both in first and third world countries, link negative neurological health effects,

including ADHD, to this exposure.

Pesticide Exposure in Children in Third World Countries

Many extremely harmful pesticides that have been banned in America are still

frequently used, predominantly in agriculture, in third world countries (Mergel, 2010).

Organophosphate pesticides, which have been proven to be neurodevelopment toxicants, are

constantly being shipped to developing countries by transnational corporations (TNCs) (Perfecto,

1992). From 2001-2003, 1.7 billion pounds of pesticides, 28 million of which were banned in the

U.S., were shipped to third world countries (Smith, Kerr & Sadripour, 2008, p. 1). These

pesticides would then be used in agriculture, and this would lead to direct exposure to the

children living in or around those farming communities (2008). Ivette Perfecto (1992) argued
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that these pesticides, which are assumed to increase food production, actually dont play a

significant role in increasing production. First, the pesticides only work for a short time period

before the pests end up becoming resistant (1992). Second, the traditional agriculture methods

that account for most of the basic food production in third world countries only use 30% of the

pesticides shipped to them (1992). The other 70% is used in nontraditional agriculture (1992).

In conclusion, pesticides dont play a significant role in food production and they also harm the

children living in agricultural communities.

A study conducted by Kavitha Kuruganti (2005) shows how children living in cotton

farming communities in India that use mostly organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides

have significantly worse task performance outcomes (memory, stamina, analytical, motor, and

tactile perception abilities) than children with minimal pesticide exposure. In total, 1,648

children were tested on their task performance, and in more than 80 percent of the tasks tested,

the children that were heavily exposed to pesticides performed significantly worse than the

children who were only minimally exposed (2005). A claim written by freelance science writer

Bridget M. Kuehn (2010) states that various studies have linked ADHD to early childhood

exposure to organophosphate pesticides. These pesticides, among others, are very common in

farming communities all around the world, and in the communities that Kuruganti studied in

India.
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Pesticide Exposure of Children in First World Countries

First world children are also exposed to many of the same pesticides that children

living in third world countries are exposed to. Pesticides can be found in a first world countrys

food, water and even air. The pesticides used in farming in third world countries to grow crops

like rice and cotton are shipped around the world, including to developed countries (Perfecto,

1992). Therefore, although not directly exposed to the organophosphate pesticides that farmers

in third world countries use, children can still be exposed to these toxicants through the food that

they eat (Barrrett, 2006). A study was conducted with 1139 children between the ages of eight

and fifteen by collecting and examining their urinary samples (Kuehn, 2010). The findings

showed that the urinary samples of organophosphate pesticides were more likely to meet the

diagnostic criteria for ADHD (2010). In addition, a study that used data from the National

Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that children whose main

exposure to pesticides was from eating pesticide-treated foods still had as high of a risk for

developing ADHD as children with different exposure (2010). This means that the consumption

of pesticide treated foods can have serious neurological health in children.

Aside from exposure to pesticides in food, children can be exposed to TCP pesticides

through their drinking water (Xu, et al., 2011). Tri-cresyl phosphates (TCPs), which are a type of

organophosphate pesticides, are proven to be neurotoxicants in humans (Hausherr, Schobel,

Liebing, & van Thriel, 2016). When isolated cortical neurons from the brain were exposed to

various solutions of these pesticides for 24 hours in vitro conditions, these pesticides
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significantly reduced the size and complexity of these neurite networks (2016). One isomer of

TCP, ToCP, also reduced the evoked Ca2+ influx between neurons, which is a vital element in

the process of neurotransmitter release in the brain (2016). These chemicals are released into the

environment through the chlorination of drinking and waste water (Xu, et al., 2011). Children

may also be exposed to TCPs through leakage into water supply from farming, which is what

happened recently in Californias water supply (Clean Water Action, 2016). In 2013, 1,2,3-TCP

was detected in 372 active and standby sources, belonging to 92 water systems in 17

counties, (2016). Many children are now being exposed to pesticides not only from their food,

but also through their drinking water.

Lastly, childhood exposure to pesticides can be through air contamination. An

example of air contamination is when airplanes release TCPs (used as lubricants in turbine oils)

into the air (Solbu, et al., 2011). These pesticides are not only released into the atmosphere, but

they also directly effect the people within the airplane (2011). There have been many cases

where people have reported intoxication from smoke-in-cabin incidents (2011). There are

reports of both acute and chronic health effects (2011). Air contamination from pesticides effects

everyone, both children and adults.

Conclusion

Overall, many studies have been conducted that prove that exposure to many different

types of pesticides can have severe neurological effects on children. Children living in first and

third world countries are all affected. Although many studies have been conducted on this issue,
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there is still much more that needs to be researched. Until then, at least we are beginning to

know many of the neurological effects that pesticide exposure can have on children.
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References

Clean Water Action. (2016). TCP in Californias Drinking Water. News & Updates. Retrieved

from http://www.cleanwateraction.org/features/tcp-californias-drinking-water

Barrett, J. (2006). OP Pesticides in Children's Bodies: The Effects of a Conventional versus

Organic Diet. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(2), A112-A112. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3436497

Hausherr, V., Schobel, N., Liebing, J., & van Thriel, C. (2016). Assessment of neurotoxic effects

of tri-cresyl phosphates (TCPs) and cresyl saligenin phosphate (CBDP) using a

combination of in vitro techniques. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2016.06.005

Kuehn, B. M. (2010). Increased Risk of ADHD Associated With Early Exposure to Pesticides,

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Kuruganti, K. (2005). Effects of Pesticide Exposure on Developmental Task Performance

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Mergel, M. (2010). Export of Hazardous Pesticides from Industrialized to Developing Nations.

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+from+Industrialized+to+Developing+Nations

Perfecto, I. (1992). Pesticide Exports to the Third World. Race & Class, 107-109. doi:

10.1177/030639689203400110
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Smith, C., Kerr, K., & Sadripour, A. (2008). Pesticide Exports from U.S. Ports, 2001-2003. Int J

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