Many commercial applicators will tell you that pesticides will not pose any harm to you or the environment if instructions for their use are followed carefully. However, several studies have shown that certain pesticides are linked to many different cancers.

What is the evidence of such a link?

In a study by Tufts Medical Center in Boston, low doses of the most commonly used pesticides were shown to cause breast cancer cells to proliferate.

Researchers have found that certain pesticides "mimic" the action of estrogen when they accumulate in body fat, where they remained stored for years. While the causes of breast cancer are not fully understood, it is known that estrogen plays a big roll in the development of this disease.

At Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, researchers found high levels of DDE, a residue of DDT, in blood samples of women who had breast cancer.

After banning two pesticides in 1978—Lindane and DDT—both of which were used heavily in farming, Israel became the only country in the world that reported a decrease in breast cancer.

Are children at risk?

In February 1995, a report published in the American Journal of Public Health showed that children whose yards were treated with insecticides had four times the risk of developing certain cancers than those whose lawns were not treated. Children are more exposed to pesticides than adults, since they are physically closer to the ground and are more likely to play on lawns where pesticides have been applied. In addition, young children usually cannot read or understand warning signs.

Are men at risk?

According to the Pesticide Education Center in San Francisco, California, numerous studies show an association between pesticide exposure and certain types of cancer—such as prostate and testicular cancer—in workers occupationally exposed to pesticides. Pesticides that are classified as organochlorides create havoc in both males and females by disrupting their endocrine systems. Some researchers theorize that these "endocrine disrupters" may account for the decline in sperm counts to a level in 1990 of nearly 50 per cent of what they were in 1930.

Are animals at risk?

Reproductive damage from pesticide exposure is evident in wildlife population. In Apopka, Florida, male alligators that were exposed to the pesticide Dicofol had drastically diminished genitals that left them reproductively incompetent.

Do the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government agencies protect us from the dangers of pesticides?

Pesticides are registered by the environmental protection agency, but not all of them have been adequately tested. Many pesticides used today were registered with the EPA before Congress strengthened pesticide-testing requirements in 1978. As a result most other pesticides used for lawn care have only been tested for a limited number of the health effects which are of concern. EPA registration is not a consumer product safety program.

What can I do?

Fortunately, there are many alternatives to reducing exposure and use of toxic pesticides.

1.) Increasing numbers of landscapers, gardeners, and arborists is practicing integrated Pest Management—or IPM—. IPM uses the least toxic approach first to control insect populations and fungus. A careful evaluation of your own pesticide usage may reveal some of it is unnecessary.

2.) Careful sanitation may replace cockroach pesticides; insecticidal soaps control aphids and other garden pests; and Bacillus thuringienis (B.t.) can control caterpillars such as gypsy moths and worms

3.) Physical controls such as hand weeding as well as traps and barriers are effective in limiting pesticide use.

1. Biological controls include releasing natural predators such as praying mantises and ladybugs to control aphids and spider mites. include releasing natural predators such as praying mantises and ladybugs to control aphids and spider mites.
2. Adding bird feeders and birdhouses to increase the number of birds on your property will help reduce gypsy moths and Japanese beetles.
3. All of these non-toxic approaches help to reduce the use of pesticides and make our environment a safer, healthier place.

Some of the Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals:

1 in 9: The Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition makes no
representation as to, and cannot vouch for, the accuracy or statistical
significance of these sources.

The information above was compiled from the following sources:
Tufts Medical Center, Boston MA
Mount Sinai Hospital, Mary Wolff
American Journal Public Health, Feb 1995
Pesticide Education Center, San Francisco, CA