• Kids breathe more air, drink more water, and consume more calories per pound of body weight than adults. As a result, kids are disproportionately exposed to contaminants like pesticides in air, water and food.

• Babies and small children can also be exposed through breast milk, and while playing close to the ground and putting things in their mouths. Even before birth, a fetus is exposed to contaminants through the placenta.

• For many years after birth, children’s metabolic systems are still developing. That
  means that their bodies are less able to process the toxins that enter their bodies, and at the same time they absorb relatively more of those toxins.

• From birth through adolescence, all the major systems of the body go through intensive “growth spurts.” During these critical windows of development, exposure to toxic chemicals like pesticides can result in serious developmental problems.

• Pesticides can trigger asthma attacks and aggravate respiratory diseases (1).

• Families in agricultural areas where pesticide use is high are more likely to suffer from infertility, stillbirth, and birth defects than areas where pesticide pollution is not a factor (2).

• Children in areas where pesticides are heavily used have been shown to suffer from neurological problems such as poor hand-eye coordination, lack of stamina, and poor cognitive skills, compared with kids from areas where pesticides are not used (3).

There is a great deal of scientific uncertainty about how much exposure to toxic chemicals is too much. But recent studies have shown us that our kids do have toxic chemicals in their bodies; not just pesticides but also lead, mercury, and other pollutants. For the health of our children, prevention is the best medicine. Removing toxic chemicals like pesticides from our homes and schools prevents exposure, and prevents harm.

1. Gilliland et al, 2003. "Early Life Risk Factors for Asthma: Findings from the Children's Health Study," International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, May 21, 2003
2. Schreinemachers, 2003. “Birth Malformations and Other Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Four U.S. Wheat- Producing States.” Environmental Health Perspectives 111:1259-1264.
3. Guillette, 1998. “An Anthropological Approach to the Evaluation of Preschool Children Exposed to Pesticides in Mexico.” Environmental Health Perspectives 106(6): 347-353.