Pesticide link to childhood leukaemia
By Emma Duncan, WWF
A newly established link between exposure to household pesticides and childhood
leukaemia is an ominous warning of the dangers of certain man-made chemicals,
says WWF. Health problems in animals, including birth defects and cancers, have
already been linked to exposure to some chemicals and scientists fear humans may
also be at risk.
WWF is campaigning for the phase-out of chemicals which persist in the
environment for long periods and accumulate in living organisms. Newly published
findings from a study conducted at the University of California support
widespread concerns that certain man-made chemicals may be linked to serious
health problems in people. And this research clearly demonstrates that foetuses
and babies are most sensitive to chemical exposure and are at the greatest risk.
Scientists at the university conducted a study of 324 children aged zero to
14 years between 1995 and 1999. Half of the children had been newly diagnosed
with leukaemia while the other half had been selected at random from the birth
registry.
A significantly increased risk of developing childhood leukaemia was observed
among children whose homes had been treated by professional pest control
services in the year before or the three years after their birth. The infants
exposed in the home to professionally applied pesticides during their second
year had the highest rates of leukaemia. However, more frequent exposure to
pesticides was also associated with an increased risk of developing the illness
- and in this category, children born to mothers exposed during pregnancy were
at the highest risk.
Simon Walmsley, WWF-UK Toxics Programme leader, said: "These findings
yet again demonstrate that exposure to commonly used man-made chemicals can be
extremely dangerous to human health - especially for young children and unborn
babies. Serious health problems such as birth defects, various cancers, and
problems with sexual development have been observed in animals contaminated by
man-made chemicals. We are now seeing evidence that humans are also at risk,
which underscores our assertion that "what we do to the animals, we do to
ourselves"."
Dr Walmsley added: "It is notoriously difficult to demonstrate the
association between exposure to a chemical and a specific health problem, often
because of the delay between exposure and the development of symptoms. This
study demonstrates the link between a known exposure - professionally applied
pesticides - and a rare illness with a relatively short-term onset period. It
begs the question how many other links between illnesses and chemical exposure
are we not yet aware of?"
Dr Walmsley said the study gave further justification to WWF's call to ban
hazardous chemicals that persist for long periods in the environment and in the
bodies of humans and animals.
He said: "Many of these chemicals persist in a mother's body and are
passed on to a developing foetus during pregnancy. As these chemicals are stored
in body fat, including breast milk, they are also passed on to babies during
breast feeding. We know that foetuses and infants are more sensitive to toxic
substances than at any other life stage but this is not taken into consideration
in the context of chemical safety. WWF is calling for legislation which will
oblige manufacturers to find out whether these chemicals are safe and to make
that information publicly available if they have it."
WWF is lobbying to ensure that Chemicals Management legislation currently
being negotiated in Europe will support a phase-out of persistent chemicals that
linger in the body and build up in body tissue over time. WWF is also
campaigning for the public's right to know whether these chemicals are safe and
calling for a 'no data, no market' rule which together will reduce our own and
the environment's exposure to chemicals with known and unknown risks.
For further information:
Heather Evans
Senior Press Officer, WWF-UK
E-mail: hevans@wwf.org.uk
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