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Farmworker children exposed to pesticides
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., July 17 (UPI) -- Two studies of immigrant farmworker families in North Carolina and Virginia found evidence of pesticide exposure in young children.

Researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., report that urine samples from 60 children revealed higher levels of pesticide exposure than had been found in similar studies elsewhere.

"Efforts to reduce the exposure of these children to pesticides must be redoubled," said study leader Thomas Arcury. "While science continues to grapple with the question of 'how much is too much' measures need to be taken to minimize exposure."

The researchers conclude in Health Education & Behavior, that workers' spouses need more education to protect their children from pesticide exposure.

Mothers were interviewed to learn more about risk factors for exposure. Researchers found 40 percent of mothers and 30 percent of fathers were employed in farmwork, but had not received pesticide training, which would violate Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Three in five children lived in households in which farmworkers did not shower immediately after work and four in five lived in households in which workers changed their clothes in the dwelling.