Current location:world >>
Study links pesticide to breathing problems in children living near farms
world3527People have gathered around
IntroductionVideo PlayerCloseSAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A new study by the University of California, Ber ...
Video PlayerClose
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A new study by the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that elemental sulfur, the most heavily used pesticide in California, may harm the respiratory health of children living near farms that use the pesticide.
Published this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the study establishes associations between elemental sulfur use and reduced lung function, more asthma-related symptoms and higher asthma medication use in children living about a half-mile, namely 800 meters, or less from recent elemental sulfur applications compared to unexposed children.
The research was conducted at the agricultural community in Salinas Valley, south of San Francisco Bay.
Generally considered to be safe for the environment and human health by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), elemental sulfur is allowed for use on conventional and organic crops to control fungus and other pests. It is the most heavily used agricultural pesticide in California and Europe, according to a news release from UC Berkeley. In California alone, more than 21 million kilograms of elemental sulfur were applied in agriculture in 2013.
However, previous studies have shown that elemental sulfur is a respiratory irritant to exposed farm workers. The chemical's effect on residential populations, especially children, living near treated fields has not previously been studied despite its widespread use and potential to drift from the fields where it is applied.
In the first study to link agricultural use of sulfur with poorer respiratory health in children living nearby, Rachel Raanan, a UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow and the study's lead author, and her colleagues examined lung function and asthma-related respiratory symptoms in hundreds of children living near fields where sulfur had been applied, leading to the discovery of several associations between poorer respiratory health and nearby elemental sulfur use.
Among them, a 10-fold increase in the estimated amount of elemental sulfur used within 1 kilometer of a child's residence during the year prior to pulmonary evaluation was associated with a 3.5-fold increased odds in asthma medication usage and a two-fold increased odds in respiratory symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath; and each 10-fold increase in the amount of sulfur applied in the previous 12 months within a 1-kilometer radius of the home was associated with an average decrease of 143 milliliters per second (mL/s) in the maximal amount of air that the 7-year-old children could forcefully exhale in one second.
For comparison, the research has shown that exposure to maternal cigarette smoke is associated with a decrease of 101 mL/s after five years of exposure.
The study's authors call for more research to confirm these findings and possible changes in regulations and application methods to limit impacts of sulfur use on respiratory health.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Culture Compass news portal”。http://mauritius.downmusic.org/html-84d599904.html
Previous:Demi Moore, 61, says full
Related articles
Kevin Pillar gets 1,000th career hit in Angels' win at Texas
worldARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kevin Pillar tucked a keepsake ball into his bag from his 1,000th career hit ...
【world】
Read moreYour morning coffee may be hundreds of thousands of years old
worldThat coffee you slurped this morning? It’s 600,000 years old.Using genes from coffee plants around t ...
【world】
Read moreWashington DC is crowned the hardest
worldWashington D.C. is not just the nation's capital - it's also the hardest-working city in the country ...
【world】
Read more
Popular articles
- US overdose deaths dropped in 2023, the first time since 2018
- IMAX announces new venues in China, expresses confidence in market
- A technicolor twist on Yu the Great
- Xi extends condolences to Putin over deadly Moscow concert hall terror attack
- Medics remove 150 MAGGOTS from a woman's mouth after dental procedure left her with rotting tissue
- Tuning in to Beijing's charms
Latest articles
Devout Christian doctor, 68, who punched dementia
Xi extends condolences to Putin over deadly Moscow concert hall terror attack
China's 17
Nina Dobrev and boyfriend Shaun White are loved
Patrick Reed withdraws from US Open qualifying and ends streak of playing the majors
A technicolor twist on Yu the Great
LINKS
- Afternoon tea makes a comeback thanks to the snap
- Police build a case against Lego gang: Thieves steal $300,000 worth of high
- Woman is branded a 'bad person' after insisting pet owners should not take on 'life
- Kanye West's ex Julia Fox gives Bianca Censori a run for her money in an X
- Ministry of Health proposes 134 job losses
- Harry Styles and Niall Horan soak up the action at The Masters with the Love on Tour star watching 6
- EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: John Lennon's son Julian to sell his £22 million 18th
- OJ Simpson's former NBC Sports co
- Ryan Gosling makes rare comment about daughters while discussing I'm Just Ken performance at Oscars
- Florence's iconic 700