Current testing protocols do not, for the most part, adequately address the toxicity and metabolism of pesticides in neonates and adolescent animals or the effects of exposure during early developmental stages and their sequelae in later life. The Council recommended a 10-fold additional safety factor in setting pesticide tolerances to protect children. The 1996 federal Food Quality Protection Act mandates revision of tolerances to accomplish this, but the process of review is just beginning, and is not required to be completed for ten years. When juice is included in the calculations, the number rises to 143,500 children. Although the 1996 federal Food Quality Protection Act was intended to address this problem, it has not yet been implemented for organophosphates, and complete implementation will take ten years.
Cancer is the primary risk from chronic, long-term exposure to pesticides.
9 of the 26 most commonly used pesticides have been associated in laboratory tests with sperm abnormalities, reduced sperm production, disrupting male hormones, or damaging male reproductive organs. Use of these pesticides totals over 300 million pounds per year. They are generally solvents, emulsifiers or synergists or compounds that in some way make the active ingredient work better. Xylenes, for example, cause vomiting, impaired short-term memory, and reduced fertility. In people occupationally exposed to xylenes, the frequency of leukemia is increased.