14 DAY TRIAL // Since pesticides were made a standard component of agriculture, farmers and scientists alike have been so excited about the victory over pests that they failed to properly analyze the effects that these chemicals were producing on human health. A study recently determined the health costs of pesticides.
There is no single chemical that we use to safeguard our crops. The multitude of compounds that are sprayed over fields are called pesticides. They are different from fertilizers in that their role is to fight off attacks from microbes, fungi and bacteria, rather than ensure high productivity.
In the recent study, researchers at the Arizona State University's (ASU) Biodesign Institute led a collaboration of experts from several major research centers. The group focused its attention on chlordane and permethrin, two of the most commonly-used pesticides.
Research coordinator Rolf Halden says that there are numerous chemicals that accumulate within our body from agricultural practices, but adds that these two are arguably the most dangerous. The team published its conclusions in the latest issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Rather than studying how these compounds accumulate in adults, the investigators examined chlordane and permethrin levels in utero, as well as their effects of on newborns. Experts from the Johns Hopkins University, the National Cancer Institute and Emory University were also a part of the study.
“Chlordane is just one of many mass produced organohalides that are detectable in the US environment, where they cause ecological and human health concerns, due to their inherent persistence, toxicity and strong tendency to bioaccumulate in living organisms, including humans,” Halden says.
The chemical has been identified as a human carcinogen decades ago and a full ban on its use was put in effect in 1988. However, the substance does not degrade easily. As such, large amounts of the stuff still persist in the ground.
The pyrethroid insecticide permethrin is also very dangerous, though not as persistent as chlordane. It is currently one of the most widely-used pest-control substance in the world, and is sprayed over crops, clothes, homes and so on.
These two chemicals can affect the proper development of the human immune system in fetuses and infants. At an early age, the body's defenses need to strengthen considerably, so as to ensure immunity functions properly later in life.
The development of white blood cells including lymphocytes (T and B cells), natural killer (NK) cells and monocytes can be hampered by the accumulation of these two pesticides in the human body.
Chlordane and permethrin were also found to lower concentrations of the signaling protein cytokine IL-12, which is essential for the body's response to inflammation. The more pesticides accumulated in the body, the lower cytokine concentrations got.