School Transportation News November 2009 : Page 20

School Transportation News Magazine | November 2009 [Top Story] Cleaning Up the Air Around Bus Stops Studies have shown that pesticides from local farms can drift to nearby bus stops and into children’s lungs By Stephane Babcock Exhaust and smog are nothing new to children who live in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit. But to a child who lives among swaying crops and country roads, they are almost foreign. The ben- efits of growing up around open fields and rural settings can sometimes become have adverse effects, according to Wake Forest University School of Medicine Pro- fessor Sara Quandt. “The immediate effects are burning eyes, skin rashes, and if they get enough, and if it’s a certain type of pesticide, there can be neurological effects,” said Quandt. During a 2006 study of the homes of Pesticides can make their way onto the food children eat, into the homes of farm workers and even in the air around school bus stops. less advantageous, especially for children residing on or near farms. Pesticides, al- though useful for protecting crops from the swarms of dinner-ready insects, can sometimes be carried past the fields of corn and into the lungs of school children, some waiting at school bus stops. “Ingestion of pesticides by anyone can change the formation of healthy cells in the body, causing or promoting the growth of cancerous cells,” said Minneapolis Pub- lic Schools’ Denny Coughlin, who grew up on a farm in north central Minnesota and imagined being a farmer one day. “At the early ages, it has a stronger effect. If the pes- ticides are sprayed from the air while chil- dren are standing at a bus stop, I can see where parents have concern.” This concern is not a new one. Studies have shown that exposure over long pe- riods of time, even in small amounts, can 20 migrant farm workers, Quandt and her associates not only demonstrated that there was pesticide residue brought inside on the workers’ clothes, known as para- occupational exposure, there was also an association between the pesticides in the home and how close the families lived to the fields. Urine samples were collected from 60 children, ages 1 to 6 years old, whose parents were farm workers in six counties in North Carolina. They showed that the children had higher levels of or- ganophosphate metabolites, a by-product of the immune system attacking pesti- cides with enzymes, breaking them down like the stomach does with food. “We know what the metabolites are for certain pesticides, so if you find them in the urine, it’s evidence that they’ve been exposed. In other cases, the pesticides’ molecules come out basically whole, and so you’re finding the parent compound. That’s evidence that it’s really gotten into the body,” explained Quandt. Pesticides can be ingested via food that carries residue, it can be inhaled when in the air and it can also be absorbed through the skin. “Since we don’t know how much causes what ill effect, we use the precautionary principle — you shouldn’t be exposed to it,” advised Quandt. AWAreNess LeAds to PreVeNtIoN While pesticide exposure is not an issue limited to one region or state, there have been a few stand-outs in taking steps to- wards prevention. In 1990, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) estab- lished the Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking (PIRT) Review Panel as a response to a number of anecdotal accounts of hu- man illness and pesticide drift associated with agricultural operations at that time. The PIRT Panel also oversees agency re- sponsiveness to complaints and summariz- es all the incident data into a single annual report called the PIRT report. “There were complaints that the en- forcement agencies were not responsive enough when notified of these incidents,” said Barbara Morrissey, a toxicologist with the Pesticide Program: Illness Monitoring and Prevention at the DOH. “The legisla- ture established the PIRT panel to review the human illness incidents from DOH, as well as pesticide-related investigations by the other state agencies.” Washington’s legislature also funded a two-year pilot project and partnered with Richard Fenske at the University of Wash- ington and Vincent Hebert at Washington State University to design and conduct air monitoring studies to measure pesticides in the air of agricultural communities. The results of the study can be viewed at www.stnonline.com/go/349. Although the study did not measure the health ef- fects of pesticide in children, it looked at the pesticide levels present in the air. School data from the DOH’s pesticide program was compiled and published along with data from other states that also monitor pesticide related illnesses in the July 2005 issue of the Journal of the Ameri- can Medical Association. The study iden- tified 2,593 pesticide-related illnesses at schools nationwide over a five-year period. Findings from the JAMA article included: • Reported symptoms of skin and eye ir- ritation; coughing and other respiratory effects; nausea, vomiting, and dizziness; and allergic and asthmatic reactions

TOP STORY: CLEANING UP THE AIR AROUND BUS STOPS

STEPHANE BABCOCK

Exhaust and smog are nothing new to children who live in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit. But to a child who lives among swaying crops and country roads, they are almost foreign. The benefits of growing up around open fields and rural settings can sometimes become less advantageous, especially for children residing on or near farms. Pesticides, although useful for protecting crops from the swarms of dinner-ready insects, can sometimes be carried past the fields of corn and into the lungs of school children, some waiting at school bus stops.

“Ingestion of pesticides by anyone can change the formation of healthy cells in the body, causing or promoting the growth of cancerous cells,” said Minneapolis Public Schools’ Denny Coughlin, who grew up on a farm in north central Minnesota and imagined being a farmer one day. “At the early ages, it has a stronger effect. If the pesticides are sprayed from the air while children are standing at a bus stop, I can see where parents have concern.”

This concern is not a new one. Studies have shown that exposure over long periods of time, even in small amounts, can have adverse effects, according to Wake Forest University School of Medicine Professor Sara Quandt.

“The immediate effects are burning eyes, skin rashes, and if they get enough, and if it’s a certain type of pesticide, there can be neurological effects,” said Quandt.

During a 2006 study of the homes of migrant farm workers, Quandt and her associates not only demonstrated that there was pesticide residue brought inside on the workers’ clothes, known as paraoccupational exposure, there was also an association between the pesticides in the home and how close the families lived to the fields. Urine samples were collected from 60 children, ages 1 to 6 years old, whose parents were farm workers in six counties in North Carolina. They showed that the children had higher levels of organophosphate metabolites, a by-product of the immune system attacking pesticides with enzymes, breaking them down like the stomach does with food.

“We know what the metabolites are for certain pesticides, so if you find them in the urine, it’s evidence that they’ve been exposed. In other cases, the pesticides’ molecules come out basically whole, and so you’re finding the parent compound.
That’s evidence that it’s really gotten into the body,” explained Quandt.

Pesticides can be ingested via food that carries residue, it can be inhaled when in the air and it can also be absorbed through the skin.

“Since we don’t know how much causes what ill effect, we use the precautionary principle — you shouldn’t be exposed to it,” advised Quandt.

AWARENESS LEADS TO PREVENTION
While pesticide exposure is not an issue limited to one region or state, there have been a few stand-outs in taking steps towards prevention. In 1990, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) established the Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking (PIRT) Review Panel as a response to a number of anecdotal accounts of human illness and pesticide drift associated with agricultural operations at that time. The PIRT Panel also oversees agency responsiveness to complaints and summarizes all the incident data into a single annual report called the PIRT report.

“There were complaints that the enforcement agencies were not responsive enough when notified of these incidents,” said Barbara Morrissey, a toxicologist with the Pesticide Program: Illness Monitoring and Prevention at the DOH. “The legislature established the PIRT panel to review the human illness incidents from DOH, as well as pesticide-related investigations by the other state agencies.”

Washington’s legislature also funded a two-year pilot project and partnered with Richard Fenske at the University of Washington and Vincent Hebert at Washington State University to design and conduct air monitoring studies to measure pesticides in the air of agricultural communities.

The results of the study can be viewed at www.stnonline.com/go/349. Although the study did not measure the health effects of pesticide in children, it looked at the pesticide levels present in the air.

School data from the DOH’s pesticide program was compiled and published along with data from other states that also monitor pesticide related illnesses in the July 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study identified 2,593 pesticide-related illnesses at schools nationwide over a five-year period. Findings from the JAMA article included:

• Reported symptoms of skin and eye irritation; coughing and other respiratory effects; nausea, vomiting, and dizziness; and allergic and asthmatic reactions

• 90 percent of the illnesses were classified as mild symptoms consisting mostly of short-term and irritant symptoms which resolved without medical treatment

• 70 percent of the exposures were from pesticides applied on school grounds from custodians or gardeners accidentally exposed to pesticide during application, pesticides drifted into school buildings from a nearby or adjacent outdoor application

• 30 percent of the cases involved exposures to pesticides that had drifted into schools from neighboring farmland.

“Pesticide related illness and injury is important to prevent everywhere,” added Morrissey.

COORERATIVE FEDERAL FEFORTS
The issue has also been taken seriously on the national level. The EPA and the Office of Head Start (OHS) collaboratively developing an educational campaign entitled “Play it Safe” geared specifically to Head Start staff and parents.

“We have heard from our grantees that serve migrant and seasonal farm workers that this is an issue that affects many of the families they serve,” said OHS spokesman Kenneth J. Wolfe. “Over the past two years, EPA has presented this information at national Head Start conferences.”

The “Play It Safe” campaign provides useful, family-friendly information about what Head Start staff and parents can do to minimize the risks associated with exposure to household pests and pesticides. The campaign materials include “Play It Safe: Reduce Your Child’s Chances of Pesticide Poisoning” (a brochure that explains everyday risks children face from pesticides and strategies to poison-proof your home) and “Poison-Proof Your Home: One Room at a Time” (a pesticide poison prevention checklist that helps parents look for poisoning risks from a child’s perspective) for parents; and “What You Need to Know About Pesticide Poisoning” (a one-page reference sheet about the risks pesticides pose and how to support prevention efforts), “Pesticides and Their Impact on Children: Key Facts and Talking Points” (for use in presentations to staff), as well as additional Internet resources for Head Start Staff.

“The goal is to educate staff and parents so they can take necessary steps to reduce their children’s exposure to environmental contaminants in the Head Start programs and at home,” said Dale Kemery, a press officer with the EPA. “EPA has worked with Head Start not only on pesticides issues, but also on other children’s environmental health issues including, asthma/smoke-free environments, lead poisoning prevention, and safe drinking water. We are working to form partnerships with Head Start program leaders to ensure safe and healthy environments in Head Start facilities.”

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