Exposing America s toxic burden
People in the us, especially children, women and Mexican Americans, carry dangerously high levels of pesticides in their bodies, according to a recent study. Many of these toxic chemicals have serious health effects: cancers, infertility and birth defects. The study also zeroes in on companies responsible for the population's high rate of exposure and suggests remedial steps.
The report " Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in Our Bodies and Corporate Accountability', released in May 2004, has been prepared by the Pesticides Action Network North America (panna), an international non-governmental organisation that advocates ecologically sound pest management. panna analysed pesticide-related data released in January 2003 by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc) in its Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. The cdc tested 9,282 people for 116 chemicals, including 34 pesticides. The panna report "takes a closer look at what the cdc data tells us about our