Vulnerable groups
While pesticide residues found in our food, air and water pose a risk to all 500 million citizens of the EU, particular groups of individuals are significantly more vulnerable to pesticide exposure.
On the one hand there are several groups at higher risk due to increased sensitivity to toxic chemicals. These include infants, children, foetuses and embryos, whose bodies are undergoing complex developmental processes. Children are especially vulnerable as they absorb a larger intake of pesticide residues in what they eat than do adults. Pregnant and nursing women are also at higher risk given the physiological burden of supporting their developing children. In addition the elderly, the sick, and those on medication may be more susceptible to pesticides where their bodies’ protective responses are already compromised.
In addition to these factors, lifestyle, location and livelihood can also place individuals at higher risk. Rural residents living near to agricultural farmland may experience regular exposure to pesticides through spray drift – sometimes with devastating long-term health consequences. Agricultural labourers, as well as those working in rural communities, can also come into regular contact with agrochemicals.
Contact your national government and ask them to:
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Facts
Playing or crawling on the ground, young children are more exposed to pesticide residues in grass, or insecticide residues in household dust and carpets.
Pesticide exposure today may increase a child’s risk of developing a chronic disease later in life.
A mother’s exposure can affect the developing child in the womb, increasing the risks of developmental disorders. Several pesticides commonly used in Europe are known to pass through the placenta and into the unborn child.
Less Protection than Bees
UK farmers are required to warn beekeepers 48 hours prior to spraying pesticides.
Rural residents usually get no warning at all.