Agricultural insecticide risky for farmers

[The Straight Story]

Agricultural insecticide risky for farmers

United Press International

Friday, April 29, 2005

BETHESDA, Md., Apr 29, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- U.S. farmers exposed to agricultural insecticides are at risk for neurological problems even if the products no longer are used, government researchers said.

A study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Cancer Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency is available online and will be included in the print June edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The study included data from 18,782 North Carolina and Iowa farmers and linked use of insecticides, including organophosphates and organochlorines, to reports of reoccurring headaches, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, hand tremors, numbness and other neurological symptoms.

Some of the insecticides in the study are still on the market, but some, including DDT, have been banned or restricted.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_24369.html

[leesa]

1. We seem to see alot of ag workers with lymphoma or leukemia too