Children Taking Action
for Environmental Health
Children do not have a political
voice regarding environmental contamination, and yet in many
cases they have the most at stake. Because children’s
bodies are smaller and developing rapidly, they are often
at a greater risk than adults for long-term health damage
from exposure to pesticides and other environmental contaminants.
Pesticides and other toxics have been connected to higher
risks for many increasingly common childhood illnesses, including
learning disabilities, ADD and other behavioral problems,
reproductive disorders, asthma, and some forms of cancer.
Young children are also the age
group most heavily exposed to pesticides in the U.S. National
data on human exposure to environmental contaminants show
that young children have higher levels of at least ten different
pesticide chemicals in their bodies than older children or
adults.
Pesticides
in our children’s bodies
This
spring, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) released an
analysis of exposure data from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in a report called Chemical
Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate Accountability.
PAN used the data to determine average levels of pesticide
exposure for different segments of the American population,
and found particularly striking numbers for child exposure
to organophosphate insecticides. The average 6 to 11 year-old
child in CDC’s sample had levels of chlorpyrifos
and methyl parathion in his or her blood and urine samples
indicating exposures drastically higher than the “acceptable”
limits set by EPA.
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Figure A. Chlorpyrifos exposure
above "acceptable"
levels for many. PAN compared levels between
CDC's three age categories of the chlorpyrifos metabolite
(3,5,6-Trichloro-2-pyridinol or TCP) measured in urine.
The cPAD refers to the chronic Pupulation Adjusted Dose,
the officially "acceptable"
dose for children, and RfD refers to the Reference Dose,
the officially "acceptable" dose for healthy
adults (excluding pregnant or nursing women). See Section
2 and Appendix B of the full report for more details.
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Such
high levels of pesticides in children are especially alarming
when taking into account that EPA sets its limits based
on estimates of exposure to only one chemical at a time.
In fact, exposure to multiple chemicals is the norm; the
average American in the CDC’s sample carries detectable
levels of 13 different pesticide chemicals in his or her
body, in addition to many other classes of environmental
contaminants. Chemical Trespass is available for
download at www.panna.org.
Action for
change
Although environmental contaminants
threaten children’s health, there are many signs of
hope right here in North Carolina. In several NC school districts,
administrators have chosen to use less-toxic alternatives
to pesticides in order to curtail children’s exposures
while at school. School districts in counties such as Wake,
Forsyth, and Pasquotank have found that by focusing their
efforts on pest prevention and using sanitary, mechanical
and low-toxicity control methods, pest control can be safer,
more effective, and less expensive for the school district.
Toxic Free NC serves as a resource to NC school districts
in developing and adopting least-toxic pest control programs
that prioritize a school environment free from toxic pesticides.
Parents have an important role
to play in preventing children’s exposures to toxic
pesticides. In a few North Carolina counties, parents are
organizing with teachers and community groups to advocate
for safer pest control in their public school systems. Other
important ways that parents can take action to reduce children’s
exposure to pesticides include selecting organic produce
whenever possible, and replacing
“conventional” chemical-intensive lawn care and
pest control services with safer, earth-friendly alternatives.
Children are also getting involved
in protecting themselves from pesticides. Toxic Free NC is
working with educators to bring students the message that
a clean environment is necessary for a healthy community,
and encouraging young people to speak out and educate their
parents and peers about avoiding chemical exposures. Student
volunteers at the Durham Museum of Life and Science recently
spoke with Michele Kloda (UNC-Chapel Hill’s Environmental
Resources Program) and Billie Karel (Toxic Free NC) about
children’s environmental pesticide exposure. These
young activists used what they learned to write letters to
administrators at Durham Public Schools asking for pesticide-free
schools – you can see excerpts from student letters
below.
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“For the health of
my brother and other students in Durham Public Schools
like him, I hope that the use of pesticides can be
stopped in classrooms, hallways, or anyplace else on
the school grounds.”
- Jasmyne J.
|
“I have asthma which can be triggered
by pesticides. I would really apprecite for Durham
Public Schools to stop using pesticides in classrooms,
hallways, or any place that I can be exposed. Please
do everything you can to make sure this happens as
soon as possible.”
-Sharlene P. |
“I hope the school district will
do better when trying to kill pests. IPM is an excellent
way and it does not expose kids to pesticides.”
-Teja Y. |
Today’s school children
will be the next generation of parents, educators, environmentalists,
and doctors to face this challenge, even as they are now
suffering more than previous generations from environmentally-related
illnesses. Toxic Free NC is honored to be working with parents,
children, schools, and environmental health advocates in
North Carolina to reduce childhood exposures to pesticides.
We are inspired by kids who speak out for a cleaner, safer
environment.
We hope you’ll be inspired
too! Got a kid, or a class full of kids, that want to take
action and learn more about environmental health? Concered
about pesticide use in your school district? Need information
about alternatives to pesticides for your home? Get in touch
with us at (919) 833-1123, or info@toxicfreenc.org. - by
Billie Karel
Toxic Free News is a publication of
Toxic Free North Carolina
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 833-5333, -1123
http://www.toxicfreenc.org
Mission: Toxic Free
NC advocates for alternatives to toxic pesticides in
North Carolina by empowering people to make sound decisions
about their health and environment.
Staff: Fawn Pattison,
Executive Director; Billie Karel, Program Coordinator;
Natalie Lamela, SAF Intern
Board of Directors: Allen
Spalt, President; Katherine M. Shea, Vice President;
Jane Sharp MacRae, Secretary; Mary Jo Windley; Savi Horne;
Cindy Soehner; Billie Rogers, Emeritus.
Contributors: Billie
Karel, Fawn Pattison, Kate Pattison; Webmaster: Billie
Karel
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