Calvert Geoffrey M, Alarcon Walter A, Chelminski Ann, Crowley Mark S, Barrett Rosanna, Correa Adolfo, Higgins Sheila, Leon Hugo L, Correia Jane, Becker Alan, Allen Ruth H, Evans Elizabeth
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2007 May;115(5):787-91. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9647. Epub 2007 Feb 21.
There is little evidence linking adverse reproductive effects to exposure to specific pesticides during pregnancy.
In February 2005, three infants with congenital anomalies were identified in Collier County, Florida, who were born within 8 weeks of one another and whose mothers worked for the same tomato grower. The mothers worked on the grower's Florida farms in 2004 before transferring to its North Carolina farms. All three worked during the period of organogenesis in fields recently treated with several pesticides. The Florida and North Carolina farms were inspected by regulatory agencies, and in each state a large number of violations were identified and record fines were levied.
Despite the suggestive evidence, a causal link could not be established between pesticide exposures and the birth defects in the three infants. Nonetheless, the prenatal pesticide exposures experienced by the mothers of the three infants is cause for concern. Farmworkers need greater protections against pesticides. These include increased efforts to publicize and comply with both the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency's Worker Protection Standard and pesticide label requirements, enhanced procedures to ensure pesticide applicator competency, and recommendations to growers to adopt work practices to reduce pesticide exposures. RELEVANCE TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: The findings from this report reinforce the need to reduce pesticide exposures among farmworkers. In addition, they support the need for epidemiologic studies to examine the role of pesticide exposure in the etiology of congenital anomalies.
几乎没有证据表明孕期接触特定农药会产生不良生殖影响。
2005年2月，在佛罗里达州科利尔县发现了3名先天性异常婴儿，他们在彼此8周内出生，其母亲为同一家番茄种植商工作。这些母亲在2004年曾在该种植商位于佛罗里达州的农场工作，之后转到了北卡罗来纳州的农场。这3名母亲在最近使用过几种农药的田地中处于器官形成期时都在工作。监管机构对佛罗里达州和北卡罗来纳州的农场进行了检查，在每个州都发现了大量违规行为，并开出了创纪录的罚单。
尽管有这些提示性证据，但无法确定农药接触与这3名婴儿的出生缺陷之间存在因果关系。尽管如此，这3名婴儿的母亲在产前接触农药的情况仍令人担忧。农场工人需要得到更好的农药防护。这些措施包括加大宣传力度并遵守美国环境保护局的《工人保护标准》以及农药标签要求，加强程序以确保农药施用人员具备资质，并建议种植商采用减少农药接触的工作方法。与专业实践的相关性：本报告的研究结果强化了减少农场工人农药接触的必要性。此外，这些结果支持开展流行病学研究以检验农药接触在先天性异常病因学中的作用的必要性。
