Children may not read or understand warning signs. Children are more likely to play on treated grounds. Unwashed hands can allow pesticides onto toys and food, eventually finding their way into the mouth. Developing cells are more easily damaged than cells that have finished developing. For instance, childhood is characterised by a rapid growth phase in which cells dividing quickly make it more likely that a cell mutation will reproduce, initiating cancer.
Children are extremely vulnerable to classes of synthetic pesticides that mimic natural hormones.
Pesticides are everywhere. They are in our soils, water supply, food and the air. The poisons enter the food chain, as crops are sprayed with and grown with them. Pesticides cannot be washed off of foods completely. The overuse of pesticides for manicured lawns worsens my concern.