NEW YORK- ConsumerAffairs.com reports that more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the United States every year. The National Center for Biotechnology Information, led by Cornell University researchers. Started investigating the ways in which these chemicals are impacting residents across the state. Joseph Laquatra reports that residue from pesticides is “ubiquitous” in […]
NEW YORK- ConsumerAffairs.com reports that more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the United States every year. The National Center for Biotechnology Information, led by Cornell University researchers. Started investigating the ways in which these chemicals are impacting residents across the state.
Joseph Laquatra reports that residue from pesticides is “ubiquitous” in homes throughout rural parts of New York State. The chemicals found in homes are known to cause a variety of health problems, including “cancer, birth defects, leukemia, and ocular toxicity.”
The study looked at 350 homes from six counties in the state. The study found 15 different pesticides in those homes, all of which are considered harmful to humans. The pesticides enter the home on people’s shoes, their clothing, on pets and through the air. The chemicals are dangerous to everyone, but infants are particularly vulnerable. Babies are often on floors because they crawl, they also put things in their mouths frequently. Because of their behavior, young children face greater exposure to these chemicals.
Another issue is that these chemicals may be cleared from the outdoor environment because of changes in the weather, but that once they enter homes, they become more difficult to eliminate and can remain far longer.
It is important for people to know which products they are using and what risks those products present. For instance, Roundup, which is a widely used herbicide, is potentially carcinogenic. While many activists have fought for years to have Monsanto’s product listed as a potentially cancer-causing substance, the company has lobbied against these efforts.
A recent lawsuit in California found in favor of a plaintiff who claims to have developed cancer after being exposed to Roundup during his years as a school groundskeeper.