Pesticides and Health Concerns
Background
Individuals and groups have expressed concern about the long term effects on people who handle and apply pesticides, enter pesticide-treated areas or are otherwise exposed to minute amounts of such chemicals. Likely, this concern is fueled by the fact that pesticides are developed and used specifically to control insects, weeds, fungi and other living organisms and, to do so, must be released into the environment.
Facts
Before a pesticide product can receive a government approved label, be registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and marketed, it must successfully pass as many as 120 intensive tests or more, many specific for potential risks to health, safety and the environment. This procedure can take from eight to 10 years, or more, at a cost to manufacturers of $35 million to $50 million. On average, only one in 20,000 potential products ever makes it from discovery to market.
Only those products determined to have a "reasonable certainty of no harm," when used according to label directions, are allowed to be marketed. The label on a pesticide product is a legal document. It specifies proper handling, use, and disposal methods. Those misusing the product are subject to prosecution, fines and jail terms. And, the law is enforced.
There is no specialty pesticide on the market known to cause cancer in humans. Some pesticides have been shown to cause tumors in laboratory animals when fed extremely high doses throughout their lifetime. The doses are far higher than reasonable levels of human exposure. For example, in the case of one pesticide used on lettuce, a person would have to consume several hundred heads of lettuce everyday for 70 years to be exposed to levels equivalent to those used in laboratory studies.
Virtually all pesticides used for non-agricultural applications are approved for food uses, as well. The American Medical Association (AMA), the American Dietetic Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture and EPA agree that, with regard to pesticide residues, our food supply is safe. In fact, without pesticides to protect the food supply in the field and in storage, naturally occurring toxins within the food would increase. Scientific surveys repeatedly show pesticide residues are 100 to 1,000 times lower than the levels which the World Health Organization considers to be safe, according to Dr. Roberta Cook, University of California, Davis.
The AMA Council on Scientific Affairs states that there is "only conjectural evidence at best that pesticides may be carcinogenic." Dr. Bruce Ames of the University of California at Berkeley states, "There is no convincing evidence from either epidemiology or toxicology that pesticides are of interest as causes of human cancer." A series of articles in Science magazine identified the major causes of cancer as lifestyle related, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity. Pesticides were not mentioned.
Other experts agree that risks to humans and environment from pesticides is exceedingly small. A report by the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) says, "It is impossible to provide experimental evidence that anything is safe. Only non-safety can be proved experimentally. The demands of some members of society for proof of absolute safety of certain endeavors involving chemicals are unrealistic. Supplying evidence of virtual safety, however, is well within the capabilities of science. Society must decide upon the degree of safety considered acceptable."
Industry Commitment
The benefits of using pesticides far outweigh the potential risks of using these proven, tested and government-regulated products. The specialty chemical industry’s commitment to continued research, testing, consumer information, applicator training and certification will help assure that any risks associated with pesticide use remain minimal.