Pesticide Poisoning Affects Children At Higher Rate - UN Agencies
Pesticide poisoning is a serious health problem that disproportionately affects infants and children, three United
Nations agencies say in a new report released today, urging steps to minimize youngsters' exposure to such potentially
deadly chemicals.
An estimated 1 million to 5 million cases of pesticide poisonings occur each year, resulting in several thousand
fatalities, including children, according to Childhood Pesticide Poisoning: Information for Advocacy and Action, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51018/index.html">FAO), UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=409=4623=en">UNEP) and World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO).
Children face higher risks from pesticides than adults because they may be more susceptible or are exposed more to such
chemicals over the course of their lifetime, the report says. Most of the poisonings take place in rural areas of
developing countries, where safeguards typically are inadequate or lacking altogether. Although developing nations use
just a quarter of the world's production of pesticides, they experience 99 per cent of the deaths due to pesticide
poisoning.
Diet and poverty are two of the major sources of exposure for children, the report says. Food and water containing
pesticide residues may be a source of chronic, low-level pesticide exposure; growing food on or near contaminated soils
puts children at risk; and even pesticides stored incorrectly in the field or the household may contaminate food or
water.
In poor families, meanwhile, children often help on family farms where pesticides are used; pesticide users, including
teenagers, may lack access to protective equipment or receive no training; and in many developing countries, the marking
and advertising of pesticides is often uncontrolled or illicit.
To minimize risk, the UN agencies urge reducing and eliminating possible sources of pesticide exposure to children and
home and at work, keeping such chemicals out their reach, and cutting the use of agricultural pesticides through
Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
Other steps to reduce the harmful effects include training health workers to recognize and manage pesticide poisoning,
providing training to people on how to use pesticides safely, running educational and information campaigns in the
media, and addressing all aspects of pesticide management from manufacturing until use or disposal.