What are the Children’s Centers learning about the effects of pesticides on children?
Question 5 (Prevention): What are the Children’s Centers learning about effective ways to reduce or prevent children’s exposure to pesticides in the environment? Question 1 (Concerns): What are the primary concerns about pesticide exposures in children and how is EPA addressing these concerns? Research has shown that children are not “little adults” – they have different exposures, different susceptibilities and sensitivities, and different outcomes when exposed to substances in the environment. Because children are still developing, the timing of an exposure to chemicals such as pesticides in terms of life stage can be critical in determining the effects. Children also are exposed differently than adults – they are closer to the ground, young children are crawlers and toddlers and tend to pick things up and put them in their mouths. In addition, children also have a higher surface to volume ratio than adults, so any exposure may affect them proportionately more. Documented effects in
