Health effects of pesticides can cause both acute and chronic problems. Acute health effects appear shortly after exposure to these pesticides and can include: skin and eye irritations, headaches, dizziness and nausea, weakness, difficulty breathing, mental confusion and disorientation, seizures, coma, and death. Chronic health effects may not be apparent until months or years after exposure. Such health aliments include nervous, reproductive, and immune system disorders, and cancer.
Children can be particularly sensitive to exposure to chemicals due to their small body size, immature immune systems and rapid growth cycles. Although everyone is at risk from exposure, the most vulnerable groups are children, pregnant women, the elderly, patients undergoing chemotherapy, and people with compromised immune systems.
All pesticides are associated with some risk of harm to human health and the environment. Every pesticide on the market must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This registration does not guarantee the safety of the product even when used as directed. In fact, the EPA has officially stated that no pesticide can be considered safe and federal law prohibits manufacturers from making claims that EPA registration of their products means they are safe.
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