The study by Rauh et al., published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, has confirmed the findings of the previous studies. The researchers used MRI scans that revealed a large range of visible brain abnormalities present in children who had been exposed to chlorpyrifos (CPF) in utero through normal, non-occupational uses. (Rauh et al. 2012)
Exposure to CPF in the womb, even at normal levels, resulted in “…significant abnormalities in morphological measures of the cerebral surface associated with higher prenatal CPF exposure” in a sample of forty children between five and eleven years old. (Rauh et al. 2012) The researchers stated that the current regulatory safety limits and testing methodologies are inadequate for determining safe exposure levels for children.”
It is important to note that most children are exposed to pesticides in utero by the residues in their mothers’ diets.
Some of the most concerning studies show that pesticide damage can be passed on to the next generation. Not only are the offspring born with damage to the nervous system, the reproductive system, and other organs, the great-grandchildren can be as well. (Manikkam et al. 2012 a, Manikkam et al. 2012 b, Guerrero-Bosagna et al. 2012)
Researchers in a 2012 study found that pregnant rats and mice exposed to the fungicide vinclozolin during the period when the fetus was developing reproductive organs, found spermatogenic cell defects, testicular abnormalities, prostate abnormalities, kidney abnormalities, and polycystic ovarian disease were significantly increased in future generations. (Manikkam et al. 2012 a)
Another study showed that when pregnant rats were exposed to a combination of permethrin, a common insecticide, and DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), the most common insect repellent, pubertal abnormalities, testis disease, and ovarian disease (primordial follicle loss and polycystic ovarian disease) were increased in future generations. (Manikkam et al. 2012 b)
The critical issue with these two studies is that small exposures to pesticides at critical times in the development of the fetus can cause multiple diseases that are passed on to future generations. It means that pregnant women eating food with minute levels of pesticides could be inadvertently exposing their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to permanent damage to their reproductive systems and other organs.
This study is particularly distressing because DEET is the most common repellent used for mosquitoes and other insects. It is widely used on children and pregnant women.
Continue Reading full article here.