And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Children at Risk from Pesticides on Fruits &
Vegetables
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/feb99/1999L-02-18-02.html
YONKERS, New York, February 18, 1999 (ENS) - Even a single daily
serving of some produce can deliver unsafe levels of toxic
pesticide
residues for young children, the Consumers Union said today.
In a comprehensive study based on U.S. Department of
Agriculture data,
the organization, which publishes the monthly Consumer Reports
magazine, found seven popular fruits and vegetables - apples,
grapes,
green beans, peaches, pears, spinach, and winter squash -
have toxicity
scores up to hundreds of times higher than the rest of the foods
analyzed.
Data is analyzed at Consumers Union (Photo
courtesy Consumers Union)
Each score is based on three factors: how many
samples of a food contained individual pesticides,
and the average amount and toxicity of each
pesticide.
Though virtually all the foods tested were within legal
limits, those limits
are often at odds with what the government considers safe for
young
children. Based on this analysis, Consumers Union will ask the
Environmental Protection Agency to restrict or ban specific
pesticide uses
that expose children to residues above safe limits.
Just one insecticide, methyl parathion, accounts for most of
the total
toxicity of the foods analyzed, and its use is increasing on
crops such as
apples and green beans, the Consumers Union study found. Two
out of
five young children who eat a U.S. grown peach will get too
much methyl
parathion.
Fruits and vegetables analyzed were domestic and imported,
fresh and
processed. The organization analyzed the results of the
testing done
between 1994 and 1997 on 27 food categories, covering about
27,000
samples. A sample is about five pounds of produce.
Residue testing was done after samples were prepared as they
usually
are at home. Oranges and bananas were peeled, apples and peaches
were rinsed.
"Our findings certainly don't mean that parents should stop
giving their
children plenty of healthful produce," said Dr. Edward Groth,
technical
policy and public service director at Consumers Union, "but
these findings
do suggest that parents might want to be careful about the
amounts and
types of fruits and vegetables they serve their children."
The study found that domestic produce had more, or more toxic,
pesticides than imported produce in two-thirds of the cases
where imports
were tested.
Farmer sprays pesticide
(Photo (c) Jocelyn Sherman)
There are vast differences
in the pesticide residues
that different fresh foods
contain. In general,
processed foods had lower
residues than fresh.
Aldicarb, the most acutely
toxic pesticide, is making a
comeback in potato production, the study found.
DDT and other pesticides banned for decades, including the
carcinogen
dieldrin, still show up regularly in residue tests. There is
a 77 percent
chance that a serving of winter squash delivers too much of a
banned
pesticide to be safe for a young child, the study found.
Dieldrin can't be
washed off.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says methyl
parathion, the most frequently found pesticide in the
Consumer Reports
analysis, is commonly used on soybeans and vegetables.
"If you are exposed to methyl parathion or other toxic
pesticides, you may
have headache, nausea, dizziness, anxiety, chest tightness,
blurred
vision, and restlessness. Symptoms that might mean an exposed
person's
condition is getting worse include muscle twitching,
weakness, tremor,
lack of coordination, excess sweating, abdominal cramps,
vomiting, and
diarrhea," the Agency says.
Severe exposure can lead to convulsions, unconsciousness,
cardiac
arrest, and death. People who are exposed to significant
amounts over
time may have a persistent lack of appetite, weakness, and
malaise.
Swallowing, inhaling, and having skin contact with methyl
parathion are all
ways in which people can be exposed. The Agency says children
and the
elderly are especially at risk.
Children eat far more produce per pound of body weight than
adults and
are more sensitive to the effects of pesticides because their
nervous
systems are changing and developing rapidly. Some pesticides are
suspected of causing cancer, and some may interfere with
endocrine
activity.
Pesticide Spraying (From "Environmental Science:
Working With the Earth" by G. Tyler Miller, 1995)
In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences issued a
major report on pesticides in children's diets,
which
recommended that U.S. pesticide laws be
overhauled to make foods safer for children. That
report triggered unanimous passage in 1996 of the
Food Quality Protection Act, which requires the
Environmental Protection Agency review all
pesticides and tighten exposure limits to make them
safer for young children.
Parents should not stop serving fruits and vegetables to
their children,
the Consumers Union recommends. Instead, the organization
advises
buying organically grown produce. When Consumer Reports tested
organic produce in 1998, researchers found little or no toxic
pesticide
residues.
If organic foods are not available, or are too costly,
parents can avoid
giving children large amounts of the foods with the highest
toxicity scores.
Peel those foods with a high toxicity score, such as apples,
peaches, and
pears. Washing with a very diluted dishwashing detergent also
helps and
is also important for green, leafy vegetables, the group
advises.
© Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved.
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Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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