Simply because a pesticide is available for sale doesn’t mean it is safe. Numerous now banned pesticides were once thought to be safe to use, but have since been implicated in causing health issues.

There are many reasons why young children are most at risk from exposure to hazardous chemicals, not just because they are closer to the ground or because they tend to put things in their mouths. The down side of keeping your home pest-free is that chemical residues can linger in the air and soil, and on floors, carpets and indoor surfaces, where we can breathe them in or absorb them through the skin. Some chemicals can have immediate and acute poisoning effects, while others can accumulate and remain in our bodies for years.

History shows a consistent failure of regulatory authorities to prevent the contamination of the environment and human heal by products said to be safe such as Asbestos, Lead, Mercury, Dioxins, DDT, Dieldrin and other Persistent Organic Pollutants. These products were not (and are still not in many cases) withdrawn until decades after good scientific evidence was presented to demonstrate their damage.

Regulatory authorities around the world seem to be ignoring a large body of published science showing that the current methods of determining the safety of the agricultural poisons are grossly inadequate.

Our Regulatory approach needs to change. “Current regulatory practices give the chemical manufacturers the benefit of the doubt”. Substances can be removed from the market only if their health impacts can be demonstrated with scientific certainty. This burden of proof needs to be shifted as products should not be allowed on the market until they can be proven safe.