PESTICIDES: VULNERABLE GROUPS

Studies conducted over the last decade have shown that people of color tend to be most at risk from the harmful effects of pesticides. Hispanic and Latino farmworkers who regularly use pesticides in their fields are at greater risk of exposure. Additionally, individuals living in lower-income neighborhoods also are more likely to have markers of harmful pesticides found in their blood and urine samples, due to their close proximity to pesticide manufacturing plants and utilization in their residences. Infants and children are also impacted more from the toxic effects of pesticides, compared to adults, as they are particularly sensitive. The brain, organs, and nervous system are still developing during early childhood, which makes a child more at risk.