Our Children At Risk

PESTICIDE USE AT HOME

Household pesticide use is pervasive. The EPA estimates that approximately 74 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients (7 percent of total conventional pesticide use in the United States) are used in homes and gardens each year.^[39] Pesticides used in the home or on the lawn are either applied by commercial pest control and landscape maintenance companies or by homeowners themselves.

A 1992 survey conducted by the EPA found that 85 percent of households nationwide had at least one pesticide product stored in the home. The average number of pesticide products stored in homes is between three and four, and insecticides are the most common type of pesticide used in homes.^[40] Of particular concern was the number of households found to still store banned and highly persistent and dangerous pesticides. An estimated one million households still have products containing chlordane; 150,000 still have DDT; 70,000 still have heptachlor, and approximately 85,000 still have Silvex.^[41]

Most residents were found to take few precautions, if any, to protect children from exposure to these toxic materials. An estimated 47 percent of households with children under the age of five were found to store at least one pesticide within reach of small children.^[42] Only 25 percent of all homes were found to store all pesticides securely.^[43] Another survey of household pesticide use among 238 families in Missouri found that 80 percent used pesticides during pregnancy and 70 percent used pesticides during the first six months of a child's life.^[44] Sixty-six percent of the households used pesticides more than five times each year.

A recent survey of pesticide use in 51 households in Sarasota County, Florida, found that the most common use of pesticides was direct application to carpets for control of fleas.^[45] This is particularly hazardous for children, who spend considerable time at ground level and can inhale pesticides in air and absorb pesticides from the carpet directly through their skin.

State and federal officials evacuated 1,000 people from homes in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas due to unsafe levels of methyl parathion. In addition, twelve businesses have closed, including eight daycare centers, a restaurant, and a hotel. Two unlicensed exterminators had sprayed the chemical in businesses and residences even though it is only registered for agricultural use.^[46] The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is initiating a study to see whether children exposed to methyl parathion suffer memory loss, behavioral disorders, or other adverse neurobehavioral outcomes.^[47]