Children from several Latin American countries have traces of the pesticide DDT in their blood, according to a study coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization. The children studied belong to 11 rural communities in Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama). In all but Guatemala, the researchers found exposure to DDT.
Children from several Latin American countries have traces of the pesticide DDT in their blood, according to a study coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization.
The children studied belong to 11 rural communities in Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama). In all but Guatemala, the researchers found exposure to DDT.
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In Mexico, the levels were from nine to 28 times higher than in other countries. "This is because Mexico was the last country to stop using DDT," said San Luis Potosi, who led the research, published in the journal Chemosphere.
Potosi added that the children of Guatemala had no trace of because it was the first countries to restrict their use in 1979, while Mexico and Nicaragua did in the year 2000. The other countries surveyed prohibited it in the 80's.
DDT and its metabolites (such as DDE) have been associated with neurological disorders, asthma, immunodeficiency, cell death and DNA damage of immune cells.
Since 1955, DDT was widely applied in homes around the world to control the mosquito vector of malaria. In 2004 the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants eradicated its use in 25 countries severely affected by malaria.
In Mesoamerican countries scattered around 85,000 tons of DDT between 1946 and 1999 for malaria control programs.
Children who live in places that were sprayed have residual exposure to DDT that occurs cumulatively by ingestion or inhalation of soil and dust, and food intake, including breast milk, says the study.
While the pesticide in Mesoamerica was eradicated in 2000, "Our research showed that there are some rural communities that still use DDT," said Diaz. According to the study, this could occur in Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
However, "the question is no longer with DDT, the issue is with DDT residual", since the half-life spans decades. Diaz considers important to continue monitoring it "because we're going to have DDT for the next 50 years". It must be detected and eliminated from the environmental cycles.
Translated by ENN.
