Children living in rural areas face exposure to pesticides in food, in drinking water, from drift onto their play areas or schools and often on the clothing of their parents, returning home from work. Exposures from such sources puts these children at risk.
Most insecticides affect the nervous system.
Some pesticides are known or suspected to cause cancer, interfere with human hormones, or disrupt development. Because children are smaller than adults and are growing rapidly, they are more susceptible to these effects. This landmark legislation recognized those differences and placed children's health concerns above the economic benefits of pesticide use. In reality, EPA has just begun this process. After three years of study, EPA has taken action on just two of the riskiest pesticides, methyl parathion and azinphos methyl.