Elizabeth Corey is a client with a passion for wellness, the environment and how the environment, people, and health are interrelated. Her interest is close to her heart as she has a nephew who has ADHD. There is strong evidence that his condition was exacerbated by exposure to pesticides. Having an MA in environmental studies and growing up in the Central Valley of CA, known worldwide for its agriculture, I share Elizabeth’s concerns about the harmful effects from the exposures to pesticides.
Elizabeth has written a research paper on the topic and has graciously allowed me to post it here to bring awareness to the environmental and heath dangers of pesticides.
My brother and his wife were married in April of 2003 in our small hometown of Lompoc and were expecting their first child in June. It was an exciting time, with a wedding reception and baby shower all in the same weekend. We were all incredibly thrilled with the thought of adding new members to our already large, close-knit family.
GROWING CONCERN FOR OUR NEPHEW
We watched my new nephew grow by leaps and bounds and by the time his first birthday arrived, it was clear that he was a happy-go-lucky little guy. Six months later, while in town for the baby shower of my niece, my little nephew was clearly not the same child. When you talked to him he would not smile, speak or make eye contact. If you picked him up, he would squirm out of your arms with such strength it was difficult to keep him in your grasp. He would scream, rock and mumble to himself. With a knot in my stomach, I asked my sister-in-law if she had taken her son in for his regular wellness check-ups. She said, Yes, I have. But I’m worried about him. He started talking and then just stopped. I put my arm around her and said, He’s not the same little boy I saw six months ago. You should talk to his doctor right away. With a solemn look, she asked me, Do you think he has autism? All I could do was encourage her to follow her instincts. Two long years and several appointments later, my nephew was diagnosed with autism. Not knowing much about this disorder, our entire family did our best to learn all we could to help out.
OUR FEARS BECAME REALITY
14 months later, a second son was born to my brother and his wife. The first couple of years, we all held our breath. My brother was happy to report that is new son was doing well, but his wife was exhausted most of the time. She mentioned that he was incredibly active and she was becoming discouraged because he would seldom listen to her, which meant my brother spent much of his time yelling in order to get his attention. Once he entered kindergarten, his teachers asked that he be tested for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Unfortunately, it was not much of a surprise to our family when the ADHD diagnosis was confirmed.
DANGER LURKS IN THE VALLEY OF THE FLOWERS
Our hometown of Lompoc is nicknamed Valley of the Flower because of the many beautiful flower fields all throughout the city. Each June, the town hosts a Flower Festival complete with a parade with floats covered in flowers, a carnival, and an art show. Over the years, fields of artichokes have replaced the flower fields, along with broccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce. Now, the flower fields have dwindled to a precious few. As I watched my brother and his wife struggle with their two sons, I wondered how this could have happened to them. What are the odds that this small family could be affected not once, but twice with disorders so devastating? I pondered this as I was driving through the back roads to a friend’s house during a visit to Lompoc. I looked out my window at what used to be a huge field of sweet peas and was now full of budding cauliflower rows. Field workers were wearing masks and spraying pesticides and suddenly it occurred to me: while growing up here, we were not exposed to pesticides because it was flowers, not vegetables, that surrounded us. Could the increase of pesticides be a link to the disorders of my nephews? It was certainly worth looking into.
PESTICIDES AFFECT THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
One thing I learned immediately is that both autism and ADHD are disorders that affect the activity of neurotransmitters in the brain. In the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scientists explain that the nervous systems of insects were affected when they were exposed to certain pesticides, specifically, organophosphates and organochlorines.1 I wanted to know what kinds of pesticides were used in Lompoc.
WHAT KINDS OF PESTICIDES WERE USED IN LOMPOC?
In March of 2003, an executive summary compiled by the Environmental Monitoring Branch of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) was published. In addition, the DPR formed a group called The Lompoc Interagency Work Group to help address concerns of Lompoc residents regarding the use of pesticides and community health, in particular, occurrences of cancer.2 More than 31 pesticides and fumigants were studied and evaluated by measuring wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity. The evaluation process also included dates pesticides were applied, amount applied and application location. (page 2) Acute (short-term) screening levels were determined for exposures of one day. Sub chronic (intermediate-term) screening levels were established for exposures from 3 to 14 days duration. Chronic (long-term) screening levels were established for exposures of 10 weeks or greater. (page 3)
At the end of the evaluation, the test results showed that with the exception of Methyl Isothiocyanate (MITC), the other 30 pesticides were found in low amounts and deemed not a health risk. A MITC amount had a hazard quotient of 0.29 and was graded as sub chronic. (Page 4) However, this study was specific to exposures for cancer, not autism and ADHD.
In addition, several of the pesticides in the study were classified as non-systemic. Initially, the impression given would be that non-systemic pesticides would mean they are non-toxic to humans. However, further research indicates that is not the case. When dealing with classifications of chemicals such as pesticides, the term non-systemic has a different definition, the herbicide will not move once it gets into the plant. These herbicides are typically referred to as ‘contact’ herbicides.3 Since these herbicides sometimes do not kill the weed or plant right away, they are reapplied several times. This can make these chemicals especially harmful and far from the non-toxic definition in the dictionary.
Another study was conducted in the Central Valley of California (Shasta to Kern County) to evaluate the affects of pesticides on singleton children born from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1998.4 Scientists charted pesticide exposure in the mothers at four different stages; Neural tube (4 days pre-to 24 days post fertilization); CNS (7 days pre-to 49 days postfertilizaton); Gestation (14 days pre-fertilization to DOB); A posteriori (26-81 days post fertilization). (Page 1486, Table 3). The researchers admitted that the study group was rather small, however, of the 269,746 singleton births, they were able to geocode 94.6%. They also established 465 Autism Spectrum Disorder cases (85.2% male). (Page 1485) All of the subjects were exposed to organchlorine or organophosphate pesticides. Both of these types of pesticides were found in both placenta and cord blood of infants (Page 1487). Of the 27 pesticides used in Lompoc, nine of them were either an organophosphate or an organochlorine and as stated previously, these particular chemicals have been found to be toxic to the nervous system.
PARADOX – MORE PESTICIDES INCREASES PLANT RESISTANCE
The DPR study that was conducted in Lompoc took place in 2000 and both nephews were born in 2003 and 2004. Overall, pounds of pesticides used in Lompoc have increased over the last several years… (Page 5) probably due to the increase of agriculture fields as opposed to flower fields. One would assume that since the trend in Lompoc is an increase of pesticides, the number of pounds of pesticides continued to rise during the years both boys were born. Furthermore, as discussed previously, pests can become resistant to pesticides, which means more need to be used in order to achieve the results needed for pest control. In the face of increasing pest resistance, the strategy of growers often is to apply more and more of the pesticide in hopes of overcoming the resistance. The problem is that this increases the strength of selection for resistant pests (and exacerbates ecological problems associated with pesticides).5
There were two other matters to consider when it came to the exposure and how it affected my nephews: where and when were the pesticides used? First, most of the pesticides were sprayed on the west side of town (Page 5). This is where my brother and his family lived from the time both boys were born until October 1, 2009. Second, and most disturbing, 15-23 pesticides were spayed during the peak time of June and July. This is particularly distressing due to the fact that the Flower Festival is held the last week of June each year on the west side of town. Large crowds of people bring their children to the arts and crafts, sit on the grass and watch live entertainment and attend the carnival. Just a half a mile away from the park is Bodger Seed Company and several acres of agricultural fields.
EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS ALTERS BRAIN CHEMISTRY
Based on the research available and the amount of research I gathered, the chance that my nephews were affected by pesticide drift is very high. According to a study conducted by the researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and published in the Journal of Pediatrics, researcher Phillip Landrigan said, This study builds on those other studies that exposure to chemicals in tiny amounts can change the chemistry of children’s brains.6 According to researchers, this can interfere with many aspects in a child’s life including thinking (ADHD), communication (autism) and behavior (both disorders).
THE QUESTIONS REMAINS: WHAT NOW?
Limiting the amount of pesticide the family is exposed to is incredibly important. Additionally, parents are advised to limit or eliminate all household use of pesticides and use other non-toxic forms of pesticides such as insecticidal soap. Another way to reduce pesticide exposure is to buy organic produce whenever possible. Among non-organic fruits, the safest are those that can be peeled or have a hard skin that can be washed, such as apples. The highest pesticide residues are typically found in soft-skinned fruits such as strawberries and peaches (Page 1).
Last week, I called my brother for our weekly check-in. The usual background noise was present but for some reason sounded a little less chaotic. As it turns out, my nephew found a way to channel all of his energy through music. He’s taught himself to play the drums! my brother said proudly. As it turns out, he found an old Metallica DVD that belongs to my brother and became enthralled with the drummer. A couple of weeks later, he was mimicking the drummer on the coffee table. Now, he’s found a couple of kitchen pans that he has substituted as his very own drum set. Without even realizing it, my nephew had figured out a way to self-medicate his ADHD. This has brought his parents relief since the prescribed drugs given by his pediatrician only seemed to exacerbate his symptoms and gave him insomnia. In fact, music is a way to tap into the areas of the brain that are affected by ADHD. According to Scientific American, November 2004, Music engages many areas distributed throughout the brain, including those that are normally involved in other kinds of cognition….The bottom line is: The brain can be retrained to overcome learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, ADHD, etc. What we now know is that this is done over a vast network in the brain that encompasses many other minor and major networks.7
How’s Jr?, I asked when inquiring about my autistic nephew. My brother began to choke back tears and said; He read a book to me yesterday for the first time ever. He did not elaborate much more because he had to hang up. We’re late for the Farmer’s Market. No doubt they were shopping for organic produce.
SOURCES:
1Prenatal Pesticide Exposures Linked to Attention Disorders in Preschool Children, Environmental Health Perspectives, August 19, 2010
2 What do I Need to Know About CAIR, Executive Summary by Environmental Monitoring Branch of the CDPR, April 10 2003 (download link)
3 Herbicides, Gardening from the Ground Up
4 Autism and Agricultural Pesticides: Integrating Data to Track Trends, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol 115, No. 110; October 2007 (Citation: McGovern V 2007. Autism and Agricultural Pesticides: Integrating Data to Track Trends. Environ Health Perspect 115:A504-A504. doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a504a)
5 Genetic Resistance to Pesticides, Oregon State University; B130 Human Impacts on Ecosystems, Winter 2010
6 Chemical Pesticides Linked to ADHD in Children by David Gutierrez (Staff Writer), Natural News October 01, 2010
7Music and the Brain: What is the secret of music’s strange power? Seeking an answer, scientists are piecing together a picture of what happens in the brains of listeners and musicians by Norman M. Weinberger, Scientific American, November 2004; Page 90
©2010 Elizabeth Corey. Printed with permission.
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RELATED SITES:
The Impossible Cure, the amazing story of how Amy Lansky’s (author) son was cured of autism with homeopathy.
From Within. Without, (film project about autism & homeopathy).
Organophosphate Pesticides Linked to ADHD, MedScape News from Pediatrics, published online May 17, 2010.
CEASE Therapy
Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Neurodevelopment in Young Mexican-American Children, Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2007.
© 2010 Myra Nissen.
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