Underreporting of Illnesses and InjuriesMild signs of acute pesticide poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or
wheezing, are often not recognized as being potentially linked to pesticide toxicity.
Rashes and other skin reactions are other major manifestations of pesticide toxicity
that are often misdiagnosed. The American Association of Poison Control Centers
reported 97,278 calls about pesticide poisonings in 1996. Half of the reported poi-
sonings involved children under six years of age. Occupational pesticide poisonings
are required to be reported in California, and there are approximately 1,500 reported
cases per year. Annually, national occupational pesticide poisonings among agricul-
tural workers have been estimated at anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 physician-
diagnosed pesticide illnesses and injuries. However, these statistics do not include the
children of agricultural workers.
Research has shown that current estimates based on occupational surveillance or
poison control centers may greatly underestimate the number of pesticide poisonings.
Follow-up evaluations of poisoned workers in California discovered that 40 percent
of exposure incidents also involved co-workers who did not seek medical treatment
for various reasons, suggesting that the total burden of illness is grossly underre-
ported. Poison control centers are commonly called after accidental ingestions or
spills of pesticides in the home, but are less frequently called when illnesses occur af-
ter routine agricultural pesticide exposure.^46
The following are some examples of potentially harmful pesticides, along with
their possible side effects:¥Atrazine, a weed killer sprayed on crops such as corn, has been reported by
researchers to cause sexual abnormalities in frogs. Another study found that the
herbicide caused high rates of prostate cancer among workers at a plant that
produces it. It may also disrupt the ordinary production of human hormones.
¥2,4-D, claimed to be one of the safest pesticides on the market, has been
reported to increase the risk of a number of health problems, including cancer,
fetal and birth defects, liver and kidney injury, leukemia, and tumors.
¥Paraquat, a commonly used herbicide, can damage the respiratory, circulatory,
or muscular systems, as well as the brain and the heart.^47Health Impacts Among Farm ChildrenMuch of the evidence of the chronic effects of pesticide exposure is based on stud-
ies of adult workers who are exposed to a mixture of chemicals every day, making it
difficult to pinpoint their exposure to specific pesticides. Little research has been done
directly on children, and even less on farm children. Nearly all of the epidemiological
studies on children’s health and pesticide exposures were done on the general, non-
farming population. These studies would likely underestimate the health impacts that48 | Pesticides