Our Children At Risk

CHILDHOOD PESTICIDE POISONING

Childhood poisonings from pesticide exposure are disturbingly common. According to 1995 data compiled by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, pesticides ranked seventh as the most common cause of poison exposure cases, after cleaning substances, analgesics, cosmetics, and cough and cold preparations. Over 50 percent of the 100,301 pesticide poisoning exposure cases reported in 1995 occurred in children under the age of six.^[106] Twenty-four percent of the cases reported to Poison Control Centers received some kind of medical attention, and symptoms were present in 20 percent of all reported pesticide exposure cases.^[107] While exposure to pharmaceutical and cleaning substances results in a greater number of poisonings than pesticides, poisoning by pesticides can be more serious. During the seven-year period from 1983 to 1990, pesticide exposure was responsible for a total of 4 percent of the total calls to Poison Control Centers but for 12 percent of the total fatalities in those years.^[108]

Insecticides are generally responsible for the greatest number of poisonings from pesticide exposure. In 1993, 54 percent of pesticide poisoning cases in children under six were the result of exposure to insecticides.^[109] A review of 37 hospitalized pesticide poisonings among infants and children in Texas revealed that 73 percent of the poisonings were due to ingestion of improperly stored liquid insecticide. Fourteen percent of the cases were due to pesticide absorption from carpets and floors following spraying or fogging inside residences.^[110]

Most childhood pesticide poisonings occur at home. In an analysis of pesticide-related calls to Poison Control Centers in Minnesota, researchers found that 85 percent of the calls originated from a residence, and 50 percent of the calls concerned children under the age of three. Seventy-four percent of the cases involved insecticides, and ingestion was the most common route of exposure.^[111]