The Effects of Herbicides & Pesticides on Humans

Herbicides and pesticides are chemical constituents in products such as insecticides, weed killer, rodent poison and swimming pool chemicals. They offer many benefits to farming and gardening by killing unwanted organisms. But their utilization has been regulated, taking into account their negative effects on human health and the environment.

Cancers

• Herbicides and pesticides have been suspected by the National Cancer Research Institute as a probable cause of certain cancers (i.e., cancers of the brain, prostrate, stomach and lip, as well as leukemia, skin melanomas and Hodgkin's lymphoma) especially among farmers.

Infants and Children

• The National Academy of Sciences reported that infants and children, because of their developing physiology, are susceptible to the negative effects of herbicides and pesticides in comparison to adults.

Reproductive Health

• Some herbicides and pesticides can mimic estrogen hormones and disrupt the endocrine system in humans and animals. Estrogen plays a very crucial role in human reproduction and child development, so anything inflicting damage on the endocrine system will interfere with reproductive health.

Nervous System

• Organophosphate pesticides inhibit the beneficiary effects of enzymes that regulate acetylcholine, a substance which transmits nerve impulses across synapses, thus affecting the nervous system.

Infertility

• Arbitrary and indiscriminate usage of herbicides and pesticides can result in endometriosis, a common cause of infertility in women.