Impact of pesticide on human health
Priyanka S B
Email ID priyaseethakal@gmail.com
II BSc (CBZ) ‘B’ section
Ph:6361311812
Harmful effects of pesticides on human health pesticides are widely used now a days. During production of food, farmers use pesticides to control the growth of weeds , prevent crop damage by insects, rodents and moulds. After harvest they are used to increase the storage life and prevent spoilage.
Pesticides are poisons and unfortunately, they can harm more than just the “pest" at which they are targeted. They are toxic, and exposure to pesticides can not only cause a number of health effects, but is linked to a range of serious illness and diseases in humans, from respiratory problems to cancer.
Acute effects
Acute health problems may occur in workers that handle pesticides such as abdominal pain dizziness ,headache nausea vomiting as well as skin and eye problems in China. An estimated half million people are poisons by pesticides each year, 500 of whom did pyrethrins, insecticides commonly used in common bug killers can cause a potentially deadly condition if breathed in.
Long Term effects
Cancer
Many studies have examined the effects of pesticide exposure on the risk of cancer associations have been found with leukemia lymphoma brain ,kidney, breast prostate, pancreas, liver, lungs and skin cancer that increased risk occurs with both residential and occupational exposure to pesticides during pregnancy is associated with an increase in her child's risk of leukemia Wilm’s tumor and brain cancer exposure to insecticides with in the home and herbicides outside is associated with blood cancer in children.
Neurological
Evidence links pesticides exposure to worsened neurological out comes the United states environmental protection agency finished a 10 years review of the organophosphate pesticides following the 1996 food quality protection act. However, did little to account for development neurotoxic effects. Drawing strong criticism from within the agency and from outside researches comparable studies have not been done with newer pesticides that are replacing organophosphates. Those in the highest category risks were greater when users specific pesticides where compared with applicators who never applied that chemical.
Route of exposure
People can be exposed to pesticides by a number of different routes including occupation , home, agricultural fields . Many food crops including fruits and vegetables, contain pesticide residues after being washed or peeled, chemicals that are no longer used but that are resistant to breakdown for long periods may remain in soil and water and thus in food.
In the United states levels of residues that remain in food are limited to tolerance levels that are established by the US environmental protection agency and are considered safe , EPA sets the tolerances based on the toxicity of the pesticide and its breakdown products the amount and frequency of pesticide applications and how much of the pesticide remains in or on food by the time it is marked and prepared. Tolerance levels are obtained using scientific risk assessment that pesticide manufacturers are required to produce by conducting toxicology studies, exposure modelling and residue studies. Before a particular pesticide and there is little information on possible synthetic effects of exposure to multiple pesticide traces in the air. Food and water.
Strawberries and tomatoes are the two crop with the most intensive use of soil ruminants they are particularly vulnerable
Reproductive effects
Strong evidence links pesticide exposure to birth defects fetal death and altered fetal growth, agent orange a 50:50 mixture of 2,4,5,T and 2,4D has been associated with bad health and genetic effects in Malaya and Vietnam. It was also found that offspring that were at some point exposed to pesticides had a low birth weight and had development defects.
Fertility
A number of pesticides including dibromochlorophase and 2,4 D has been associated with impaired fertility in males pesticide exposure resulted in reduced fertility in males, genetic alterations in sperm, a reduced number of sperm. Damage to terminal epithelium and altered hormone function.
Others
Some studies have found increase risks of dermatitis in those exposed. Additionally, studies have indicated that pesticide exposure is associated with long term respiratory problems. Summaries of peer-reviewed research have examined the link between pesticide exposure and neurologic out comes and cancer perhaps the two most significant things resulting in organophosphate exposure workers .
According to researches from the National Institute of Health (NIH) licensed pesticides applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their life time are at greater risk of diabetes. One study found that association between specific pesticides and incidents diabetes ranged from a 20% to a 200% increase in risk. New cases of diabetes where reported by 3.4% of those in the lowest pesticide use category compared with 4.6% several type of diseases, insects, mites and parasites worms in 2003 . In recent years other farmers have demonstrated that it is possible to produce strawberries and tomatoes without the use of harmful chemicals and in a case effective way.
exposure routes other than consuming food that contains residues in particular pesticide drift, are potentially significant to the general public.
Some pesticide can remain in the environment for prolonged periods of time for example most people in the United states still have detectable levels of DDT in their bodies even though it was banned in the US in 1972.
Prevention
The precautionary principle is thus frequency used in environmental law such that absolute proof is not required before efforts to decrease exposure to potential toxins are enacted
The American medical association
Recommended limiting exposure to pesticides they come to this conclusion due to the fact that surveillance systems currently in place are inadequate to determine problems related to exposure the utility of applicator certification and public notification programs are also of unknown value in their ability to prevent adverse outcomes.