Many of the 30 most commonly used backyard pesticides, which have been beautifying lawns and killing pests since the 1950s, have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other problems such as asthma and diabetes, according to Beyond Pesticides, an environmental advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Full Story »
Posted by Melva Hackney
A conventional analysis of the health hazards of pesticides, trying so hard to be even-handed it ends up having an odd perspective. In Canada, many municipalities have banned home use of pesticides including the city of Toronto. And many gardeners are shifting away from lawn to more eco-friendly habitats. A key study in Canada was the very influential 1987 U.S. National Cancer Institute study, (the risk of childhood leukemia increased nearly four times when pesticides were used within the house at least once per week. The risk increased more than six times when garden pesticides were used at least once per month. Lowengart RA, Peters JM, Cicioni C, Buckley J, Bernstein L, Preston-Martin S, Rappaport E. Childhood leukemia and parents' occupational and home exposures. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1987; 79:39-46) See this site for a good summary and references http://www.envirohealthpolicy.net/kidstest/Cancer%20Pages/Individual%20Cancers/Leukemia.htm#18. Interestingly, current American research on the web does not appear to acknowledge environmental causes of cancer, including pesticides, unlike the Canadian Cancer Society.
