million for students and 27.3 cases per million for employees. It also emphasized that
individuals had to seek medical care and report exposures in order to be counted in
the study. Pesticide-related illnesses are grossly underreported for a number of rea-
sons: individuals may not seek or be able to afford medical care, doctors are often
not trained to recognize pesticide-related illness, and symptoms of minor or even
moderate pesticide poisoning can resemble those of other common ailments.
According to the study, children were the victims in 76 percent of the reported
cases, and insecticides alone or combined with other pesticides were most often re-
sponsible for 895 cases (or 35 percent of the total incidents). Disinfectants caused
830 cases (32 percent), repellants were responsible for 335 incidents (13 percent),
and herbicides were the cause in 279 cases (11 percent).
Organophosphates were the class of insecticides most frequently responsible for
poisonings. Children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of OP pesticides,
which have been linked in animal studies to developmental delays, behavioral disor-
ders, and motor dysfunction.
The study focused on acute pesticide exposure, but the authors expressed consider-
able concern for long-term effects: ‘‘Repeated pesticide applications on school
grounds raise concerns about persistent low level exposures to pesticides at schools.’’
The authors continued, ‘‘The chronic long-term impacts of pesticide exposures have
not been comprehensively evaluated; therefore, the potential for chronic health effects
from pesticide exposures at schools should not be dismissed. Unfortunately, the sur-
veillance methods used in our report are inadequate for assessing chronic effects.’’
The authors also noted that pesticides on school grounds can be tracked inside school
buildings. Once inside, pesticides break down more slowly, with residues remaining
for months or even years.^13Eight Fallacies About PesticidesFallacy #1: Pesticides prevent pests.
Fact: This is a classic misconception. Pesticides may kill pests, but they do not pre-
vent them.
The IPM approach is successful because it is largely preventative. IPM involves sim-
ple approaches to exclude pests in the first place, combined with good sanitation and
an awareness of what creates good pest habitats. Pesticides may be used in an IPM pro-
gram, but are preferably of low toxicity and employed along with other measures.Fallacy #2: Pesticides are not a health risk for children.
Fact: Pesticides are more of a health risk for children than adults and adolescents. A
child’s smaller body size and greater surface area per kilogram of body weight means it
takes less pesticide exposure to affect his or her developing organs and tissues. Chil-
dren’s habit of playing on the floor or ground, exploring, and putting things in their
mouths predisposes them to greater exposure than adults wherever pesticides are used.118 | Pesticides