Pesticide Linked to Childhood Developmental Delays
The pesticide chlorpyrifos has been banned in US households but is still widely used as an agricultural pesticide on fruits and vegetables. A new study has shown a link between the pesticide and early childhood development delays. According to www.healthday.com, “the researchers found that a high level of exposure to the pesticide (greater than 6.17 pg/g in umbilical cord blood at the time of birth) was associated with a 6.5-point decrease in the Psychomotor Development Index score and a 3.3-point decrease in the Mental Development Index score in 3-year-old children.”
“This study helps to fill in the gaps about what is known about the effect of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on the development of young children by showing that there is a clear-cut association between this chemical and delayed mental and motor skill development in children even when there are other potentially harmful environmental factors present,” lead author Gina Lovasi, of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said in a news release.
The agricultural use of chlorpyrifos is under review by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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