| A Case for Revisiting the Safety of Pesticides: A Closer Look at Neurodevelopment Theo Colborn1,2 1University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; 2TEDX
(The Endocrine Disruption Exchange) Inc., Paonia, Colorado, USA Abstract
The quality and quantity of the data about the risk posed to humans by individual pesticides vary considerably. Unlike obvious birth defects, most developmental effects cannot be seen at birth or even later in life. Instead, brain and nervous system disturbances are expressed in terms of how an individual behaves and functions, which can vary considerably from birth through adulthood. In this article I challenge the protective value of current pesticide risk assessment strategies in light of the vast numbers of pesticides on the market and the vast number of possible target tissues and end points that often differ depending upon timing of exposure. Using the insecticide chlorpyrifos as a model, I reinforce the need for a new approach to determine the safety of all pesticide classes. Because of the uncertainty that will continue to exist about the safety of pesticides, it is apparent that a new regulatory approach to protect human health is needed. Key words: adverse effects, behavior, chlorpyrifos, fetal development, human function, neurodevelopment, pesticides, toxicity. Environ Health Perspect 114:10-17 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7940 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 7 September 2005]
Address correspondence to T. Colborn, PO Box 1253, Paonia, CO 81428, USA. Telephone: (970) 527-6548. E-mail: colborn@tds.net I thank the three anonymous reviewers for their comments. This study was supported by The Starry Night Foundation, The Organic Center, the New York Community Trust, the Mitchell Kapor Foundation, and the Winslow Foundation. The author is employed by The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose goal is to reduce exposure to substances that interfere with development and function. Received 17 January 2005 ; accepted 7 September 2005. The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |
