26
Sep
Study Shows Disproportionate Pesticide Exposure and Resulting DNA Damage to Latinx Farmworker Children
(Beyond Pesticides, September 26, 2024) DNA damage is significantly higher in Latinx children from rural, farmworker families than children in urban, non-farmworker families, according to a recent study published by French and American authors in the journal Exposure and Health. Not only do farmworker children test positive for organophosphate pesticides more frequently than non-farmworker children, but the study finds that farmworker children also experience an increased frequency of DNA damage associated with the presence of organophosphate exposure. These results highlight the disparities in exposures and outcomes for children from vulnerable immigrant communities. Advocates note that as long as pesticides remain in use, farmworkers and their families will continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of the toxic effects of these chemicals (see here, here, and here); another in a long line of reasons to shift away from toxic synthetic pesticide use to the adoption of proven organic, regenerative agricultural practices. (See here, here, and here).
Methodology
The study assesses pesticide exposure and DNA damage in 45 Latinx children ages 10 to 12 from rural, farmworker families (30) and urban, non-farmworker families (15). Participants were selected from a larger study, Preventing Agricultural Chemical Exposure (PACE5)—a community-based research project by the North Carolina Farmworkers Project and Wake Forest University School of Medicine that examines the health and cognitive effects of pesticide exposure in children. DNA damage is detected by treating five to 10 hairs plucked from the scalp to enable visual inspection using a high-powered microscope. Double-strand breaks (DSB) in DNA are visually identified by the presence of foci of 53BP1, a DSB repair factor that forms at breakage points. DSB values are determined using the average number of 53BP1 foci per nucleus.
To determine pesticide exposure, participants wear silicon wristbands for seven consecutive days. The bands are then analyzed for the presence of 72 pesticides and their degradation products using gas chromatography. Any pesticide in a concentration above the level of detection is considered a positive sign of pesticide exposure. Through blood samples collected via a finger prick, the researchers also tracked cholinesterase activity in the study participants. Cholinesterase, including acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), are enzymes important for the proper function of the central and peripheral nervous system. Additional information analyzed for each participant includes estimated UV exposure, weight, height, age, and gender.
The authors note that monitoring exposures and their biological impacts is essential for addressing intersectional and disproportionate health risks. They posit that functional biomarkers, such as DNA damage, offer a faster means to predict the health effects from environmental exposures, as DNA damage is associated with cancer and other chronic diseases.
DNA Damage Results
Children from farmworker families have significantly more DSB foci than children from urban, non-farmworker families, according to the findings. In addition, DNA damage is higher from April to June and lower from October to November, corresponding with relative levels of pesticide use. Similarly, AChE levels from April to June are lower, suggesting seasonal variations in DSB levels correspond inversely with seasonal variations in AChE levels. Moreover, there is a significant correlation between DSB and AChE depression levels year-round. Because there is no significant difference in the amount of sun participants received, the authors conclude that sun exposure does not explain the significant difference in DNA damage between the two groups. Similarly, differences in DSB between genders and body mass indices (BMIs) are noted to be “insignificant factors†in explaining the amount of DNA foci discovered.
Types of Pesticide Exposure
The study finds that 43 of 45 participants test positive for pesticide exposure; however, the types of pesticides present vary between the children of farmworker and non-farmworker families. Non-farmworker children are more likely to test positive for organochlorine pesticides, while farmworker children are more likely to test positive for organophosphate pesticides. Authors report a difference of 63% versus 27% for organophosphate detection in farmworker and non-farmworker children, respectively. According to the authors, these results are akin to the results of the larger PACE5 study cohort.
The most detected organophosphate is the insecticide chlorpyrifos—observed in 21 participants, but another organophosphate, ethion, is also detected in two non-farmworker children, and a third organophosphate dimethoate is found in one farmworker child. Because of this frequency, the researchers also conducted an in vitro study of the effects of chlorpyrifos on epithelial (surface lining) cells. They find that cells exposed to chlorpyrifos have significantly more DNA breaks than they would otherwise. Alarmingly the authors note, that these results were found after exposure to only one-tenth of the highest concentrations previously detected in mothers and newborn children in another longitudinal study, known as the CHAMACOS cohort (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Study, by University of California Berkeley’s Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health in the School of Public Health). Thus, even extremely small doses of chlorpyrifos, the most commonly found pesticide in this study, are associated with damage to follicular DNA and are consistent with other findings cited by the authors. (See here, here, and here).Â
Of particular concern, the study reports that participants who test positive for organophosphate pesticides have 30% more DSBs than those with no organophosphate detected. These results suggest that organophosphate is related to DNA breakage and that children of farmworkers are significantly more likely to suffer long-term and multigenerational effects of pesticide use from DNA damage than children of non-farmworkers.
Farmworkers Inadequately Protected by United States Pesticide Regulation
This study follows a series of reports on the state of farmworker protection that highlight the long history of health threats, regulatory failures, and structural racism that is integral to the chemical-intensive agricultural system (see here, here, and here). As Beyond Pesticides has reported, pesticide risks to agricultural workers (and pesticide applicators) are significant. The U.S. agricultural sector uses roughly 90% of the one billion pounds of various pesticides deployed annually in the nation and agricultural workers are regularly exposed, at atypically high rates, to chemicals that can pose considerable safety and health risks to humans. These risks to farmworkers and pesticide applicators are made worse, according to the report “Exposed and At Risk: Opportunities to Strengthen Enforcement of Pesticide Regulations for Farmworker Safety,†by inadequate training in handling pesticides, subsequent improper handling and application “in the farm field†or on other kinds of sites, and by bureaucratic, regulatory, and policy roadblock.
Farmworkers are uniquely not covered for chemical exposure by the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The federal Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is the primary regulation, under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), for the protection of farmworkers and pesticide handlers from “pesticide poisonings and injuries.†Although the WPS is a federal regulation, it is largely administered by states through “cooperative agreementsâ€â€”negotiated by the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) regional offices—that allow state authorities to enact federal pesticide protections.
Meanwhile, EPA’s failure to consider cradle-to-grave effects and disproportionate impacts on farmworkers, especially farmworkers of color and their families, when it registers a pesticide continues to this day (see here, here, and here). There is a steep road to climb in reversing and correcting the failures that are inherent in EPA’s risk calculations (risk assessments) that ignore high-risk populations, including children of farmworkers.Â
Advocates, including Beyond Pesticides, argue that the “precautionary principle†should be widely adopted across United States regulatory frameworks. This principle suggests a fundamental change in how government regulators approach the approval of activities that could lead to pollution. It encourages asking, “What is the minimum possible harm?†instead of, “What level of harm is acceptable,†based on mitigation measures that allow harm. Implementing this approach means setting a more stringent, science-backed threshold for proving a chemical’s safety. It grants regulators the authority to preemptively halt potentially harmful actions when safety is uncertain and promotes a thorough investigation into less harmful alternative practices and materials. This current study adds to the body of science documenting the adverse effects of pesticides on child health and development, specifically from pesticide exposure among farmworkers’ children.
Organic Agriculture is the solution
The National Organic Program’s (NOP) focus on promoting on-farm ecological balance by relying on mechanical, biological, and cultural practices—rather than chemical applications—can help protect farmworkers and farmworkers’ families from exposure to harmful pesticides.
Beyond Pesticides maintains that a far better use of the energy, time, and expense that goes into evaluating and regulating pesticides would be to undertake a broad and necessary transition away from toxic synthetic pesticide use towards organic regenerative agricultural systems. Organic practices avoid industrial agriculture’s reliance on these chemical pesticide inputs (and synthetic fertilizers) while proven to be successful, cost-effective, and beneficial for soil, human, and environmental health.
The pesticide problem is not unique to farmworkers, but they and their families suffer a disproportionate burden of the hazards. Although choosing certified organic products in the marketplace eliminates nearly all of the hazardous pesticides on the farm, it does not ensure adequate working conditions, wages, and labor practices. The Agricultural Justice Project, and its Food Justice Certified labeling, address this gap in the organic marketplace, and producers should be encouraged by consumers to participate in this certification process. For more information, see Beyond Pesticides’ webpage on Disproportionate Risk.
As Beyond Pesticides wrote on Labor Day, this can be accomplished through the adoption of local, state, and national policies that eliminate toxic pesticide use. This is a moment for building coalitions in communities to advance policies that ensure all aspects of a healthful life and environment, supported by our social structures. In doing this, we recognize that we must join to build the necessary power to effect meaningful and transformational change. See Tools for Change for a range of strategies, resources, and tips to initiate grassroots advocacy in your community, town, city, or state against pesticide use on lawns, public land, and agricultural lands. The organization also strives to maintain the integrity of organic standards through the Keeping Organic Strong campaign and historical work to transition agriculture to organic practices.Â
During National Organic Month, please consider advocating on behalf of all workers required to use toxic pesticides in their work, including farmworkers and their families, and take action to push for an end to petrochemical pesticide use by keeping organic strong.
With landscapers handling hazardous pesticides and broad community exposure through parks, playing fields, and residential lawns, the opportunity to transition to organic land management is available through Beyond Pesticides’ program Parks for a Sustainable Future.
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
Sources:
Follicular DNA Damage and Pesticide Exposure Among Latinx Children in Rural and Urban Communities, Exposure and Health, November 2023 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-023-00609-1
EPA’s Worker Protection Standard Fails to Protect Farmworkers’ Health, Report Finds, Beyond Pesticides Daily News, February 14, 2024
Farmworkers Still Inadequately Protected from Pesticides, Report Finds, Beyond Pesticides Daily News, September 16, 2022
USDA Announces Dramatic Increases in Support for Organic Agriculture Without Call for Total Transition, Beyond Pesticides Daily News, June 10, 2022
Disproportionate Pesticide Harm Is Racial Injustice, Beyond Pesticides, Pesticides and You, 2021
Essentiality Unprotected: A Focus on Farmworker Health Laws and Policies Addressing Pesticide,Â
Exposure and Heat-Related Illness, Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School and Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, May 2021
Essential and in Crisis: A Review of the Public Health Threats Facing Farmworkers in the US, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School, May 2021
Precarious Protection: Analyzing Compliance with Pesticide Regulations for Farmworker Safety, Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, and Farmworker Justice, December 2023
