How do pesticides harm people?
• Pesticides can enter the body through the lungs, digestive system, or skin. Depending on the pesticide, health effects can be immediate or they can occur after years of low-level exposure. • Symptoms of acute poisoning can include headaches, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, changes in heart rate, muscle weakness, respiratory paralysis, mental confusion, convulsions, coma, and death. • Chronic low-level pesticide exposure can lead to cancer, nervous system disorders, liver and kidney damage, respiratory problems, and reproductive problems. Often pesticide-caused health problems do not become evident until years later, when it may be difficult to link to a specific chemical. • Pesticides can affect reproduction by harming the foetus, causing miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects, or by altering genetic material so that a mutation is carried on to the next generation. • What is the difference between acute toxicity and chronic toxicity? Acute toxicity occurs when the poisonous ef
