Pesticide appliers, biocides, and birth defects in rural Minnesota.

Abstract

Earlier studies by our group suggested the possibility that offspring of pesticide appliers might have increased risks of birth anomalies. To evaluate this hypothesis, 935 births to 34,772 state-licensed, private pesticide appliers in Minnesota occurring between 1989 and 1992 were linked to the Minnesota state birth registry containing 210,723 live births in this timeframe. The birth defect rate for all birth anomalies was significantly increased in children born to private appliers. Specific birth defect categories, circulatory/respiratory, urogenital, and musculoskeletal/integumental, showed significant increases. For the general population and for appliers, the birth anomaly rate differed by corp-growing region. Western Minnesota, a major wheat, sugar beet, and potato growing region, showed the highest rate of birth anomalies per/1000 live births: 30.0 for private appliers versus 26.9 for the general population of the same region. The lowest rates, 23.7/1000 for private appliers versus 18.3/1000 for the general population, occurred in noncorp regions. The highest frequency of use of chlorophenoxy herbicides and fungicides also occurred in western Minnesota. Births in the general population of western Minnesota showed a significant increase in birth anomalies in the same three birth anomaly categories as appliers and for central nervous system anomalies. This increase was most pronounced for infants conceived in the spring. The seasonal effect did not occur in other regions. The male/female sex ratio for the four birth anomaly categories of interest in areas of high phenoxy herbicide/fungicide use is 2.8 for appliers versus 1.5 for the general population of the same region (p = 0.05). In minimal use regions, this ratio is 2.1 for appliers versus 1.7 for the general population. The pattern of excess frequency of birth anomalies by pesticide use, season, and alteration of sex ratio suggests exposure-related effects in appliers and the general population of the crop-growing region of western Minnesota.Imagesp394-aFigure 1.Figure 2.

Prevalence of the hypospadias among Bulgarian boys – a prospective study

“…A similar tendency was already reported [3,5]. Children conceived in the spring, when pesticides are used, are at greater risk for birth defects [6].…”

To spray or not to spray: pesticides, banana exports, and food safety

“…Long run health impacts include cancer, infertility, miscarriage, male sterility, birth defects, and effects on the nervous system (Moses, 1995). Farm workers are at much greater risk of toxicity due to exposure to pesticides (see Garry et al (1996), Pingali et al (1994), Crissman et al (1994, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1992) for cases and scientific evidence). People residing close to farmland can also experience pesticide related problems due to dumping of pesticide wastes, wind drafts from aerial spraying, or from the use of empty pesticide containers for drinking water storage (see Repetto and Baliga (1996), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1992) for cases and scientific evidence).…”

Female Farmworkers’ Perceptions of Pesticide Exposure and Pregnancy Health

“…One nested case-control study reported a moderate increase in premature births among workers in Columbian greenhouses [11]. Other studies have found an association between prenatal pesticide exposure and fetal growth delay [12][13][14]; various birth defects, including orafacial defects [15], cryptorchidism [16][17][18], musculoskeletal defects [19], limb reduction defects [20,21], and neural tube defects [20,22,23]; and childhood leukemia [24,25].…”