Reproductive Health

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There is particularly strong research linking pesticide exposure to reduced sperm count and quality, early puberty in girls, birth defects, miscarriage, and stillbirth. 

 

Neonic Studies Show Harm to Human Health

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Monitoring by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that half the U.S. population is regularly exposed to neonics with the highest levels found in children (1). This is particularly concerning given human and animal research linking neonics to potential neurological, developmental, and reproductive harms, including malformations of the developing heart and brain (2). 

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A recent study by the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign also found neonics in the bodies of over 95 percent of pregnant women tested across the country. In Environmental Science and Technology a study found that neonics and their breakdown products (metabolites), like other chemical pesticide compounds,can readily transfer from mother to fetus (Beyond Pesticides). 

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One recent study Connects Neonicotinoids to Liver Damage in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. Scientists hypothesized that neonicotinoids are neither metabolized by the liver or excreted by urine. They found their hypothesis to be true. From the samples taken, at least one neonic was found in 99% of individuals tested. 

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Another study found Neonicotinoid Insecticides Adversely Affect Nervous System Health. The research published in Environmental Health Perspectives confirmed the presence of nine neonic insecticides and six neonic metabolites within human cerebrospinal fluid.  Cerebrospinal fluid is essential to the nervous system. The study determined that like past studies showing neonics neurotoxicity among insects and aquatic invertebrates, the same compounds also adversely affect the nervous systems of animals, including humans.