Children Suffer Brain Damage from Bug-Killing Pesticides, Company Face Lawsuits

A pesticide produced by a chemical company in California was allegedly causing brain damage in babies and children.

A lawsuit was filed, Monday, against Dow Chemical Company, an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan and its successor company for the alleged link to long-term effects of the bug-killing pesticide causing brain damage in children.

The chlorpyrifos pesticide is typically used on crops, with 80 among them including oranges and berries had been approved to be used. However, California just recently banned selling of the pesticide the previous year and spraying of it this year. Even other states like New York are joining on the ban.

(Photo : Photo by Christopher Pillitz/Getty Images)
AUGUST 5, 2008 - MANAGUA, NICARAGUA: Peasant farmers play chess in an encampment opposite the national assembly and the Ministry of Agriculture in Managua, demanding from the government compensation for negligence on the part of an american chemical company for the use of "Nemagon" a pesticide which reportedly has had far reaching consequences on many users, such as brain damage, deformities and other related illnesses, Managua.

The Pesticide's Lingering Effects

After investigating homes and agricultural communities of Central Valley, lawyers led by Stuart Calwell, lead attorney, found that the chlorpyrifos, after decades of use, had left behind measurable levels of chemicals in his clients' homes.

"We have found it in the houses, we have found it in carpet, in upholstered furniture, we found it in a teddy bear, and we found it on the walls and surfaces," Calwell said. "Then a little child picks up a teddy bear and holds on to it."

At least 100,000 homes in total were found to have similar condition, making the nation as the largest agricultural state that have been contaminated with the pesticide, leaving them with no choice but to dispose of most of their personal belongings.

According to Calwell, disposing of the household items is the rational choice as "it's not going away on its own."

Also read: The World Does Not Need More Babies: Declining Birth Rate Benefits Society

How Chlorpyrifos Causes Brain Damage

First used in 1965, scientific researches show that chlorpyrifos damages the brains of fetuses and children, which prompted its ban in the household in 2001. Parents have been suing on behalf of children who suffered from severe neurological problems that were believed to have gotten during pregnancy. Many lawsuits had blamed exposure to the chemical as the culprit.

According to lawsuits, these children were usually born in places where contact of the chemical was very frequent, especially when a parent or relative comes and goes in fields they work for, get contaminated with the chemical, and ultimately passing it on the child.

First of those related lawsuits were found to have caused autism, cognitive and intellectual disabilities in those born in 2003. The child's parents who have been working on farm fields, spraying, packing, and 'spending years marinating in the pesticide', said that aside from nearby spraying, their everyday direct contact with their now grown-up child, including when he was still in the womb, must have caused the disabilities.

Calwell confirms in the lawsuit the produce in the facility was treated with the chlorpyrifos pesticide, and usually sprayed aerially.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still weighing in factors of whether the pesticide should be banned completely or declare it safe for infants and children, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April ordered the EPA to make a decision after further investigation.

At this time, Dow officials and its affiliated company, Corteva Inc., have not yet commented.

Also read: New Study Suggest Blinking Gives Brain a 'Short Rest,' Allowing us to Focus More