Since children eat, drink and breathe more pesticides pound per pound than adults, they are at high risk to health impairments. The Environmental Protection Agency's Aug. 2 ban on one pesticide and restricted use of another for fruits and vegetables does little to address the link between pesticides and youth violence, according to a university researcher. On Aug. 2, EPA banned the use of methyl parathion and restricted the use of azinphos methyl for fruits and vegetables because the pesticides can damage the brain and nervous system.
Young children are especially susceptible.
While environmental groups applaud this step, they say it does not go far enough to address the threats pesticides pose to youth. Environmental groups filed suit Aug. 3 to force the agency to comply with the Food Quality Protection Act, which requires the agency to consider the risk pesticides pose to children. Under the act, Aug. 3 was the deadline for the agency to implement a program to screen and test 3,200 pesticides to determine their risk to children under the act. The lawsuit alleges the agency has only issued a timeline for implementation. The agency also is on schedule to meet all deadlines for ensuring safer pesticides use under the new Food Quality Protection Act.