Story at a glance

• A new report found that people of color from low-income communities have a greater chance of being exposed to harmful pesticides. 

• The study was crafted by researchers at Texas Southern University, Spelman College, the Farmworker Association of Florida, Farmworker Justice, Advance Carolina, Migrant Clinicians Network, Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides and the Center for Biological Diversity.

• Researchers also found that low-income communities of color face a higher risk of pesticide exposure in their homes and work environments. 

People of color from low-income communities are more likely to be harmed by pesticides, a new study found.  

The study, published earlier this week in BMC Public Health, reviewed data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency in addition to other existing pesticide research.  

Biomarkers for a dozen toxic pesticides, tracked over the past 20 years, were found in blood and urine samples of Black Americans and Mexican Americans at an average amount that was five times higher than in white Americans, according to the report. 

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Researchers found low-income communities and Black and Latino communities had a higher chance of being exposed to pesticides in both residential and workplace environments, either because they are more likely to live close to pesticide manufacturing plants or because some form of a pesticide has been used in their homes to control rodents or insects.  

The study notes that people of color only make up 38 percent of the population of California, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri but comprise 63 percent of the population living near 31 pesticide manufacturing plants the EPA has designated in violation of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.  

In New York State, 80 percent of low-income housing units had pesticides regularly applied inside and, in a 2002 air-monitoring study, 30 percent of pregnant African American and Dominican women in New York City had at least eight pesticides in their home, the report states.  

Almost 90 percent of all pesticide use in the United States occurs in the country’s agricultural sector, which makes farm laborers and their families particularly susceptible to pesticide exposure and harm.  

Researchers also found major faults in the current legal protections for U.S. agricultural workers who are exposed to these toxic chemicals. Around 83 percent of all farm workers identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to a 2018 study referenced in the report. Between 10,000 to 20,000 mostly Latino agricultural workers become sick every year due to pesticide exposure but are not included in pesticide protection programs.  

“Like many other pollutants, pesticides are a major environmental justice issue,” said Robert Bullard, director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University. “The cost of these chemicals isn’t just paid for at the cash register, it’s also being paid for by communities that have been marginalized for centuries.”  

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Published on Apr. 22, 2022

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