People Living Close to Sprayed Fields Have a Higher Exposure to Pesticides

Farms, edges of towns, schools

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Edges of cities and towns, cottage subdivisions

There are often no or very little buffer between houses and yards and sprayed fields.

Many schools, especially rural ones, are located near sprayed fields. In addition, children are exposed to pesticides on their long ride on the school bus.

People living at the edge of cities are also exposed to farming pesticides.

Sprayed fields also abut edges of towns and cottage subdivisions

Farm

Many farm yards are surrounded by fields.

There are often no or very little buffer between houses and yards and sprayed fields.

In Saskatchewan, the sprayed agricultural surface area is enormous.

In Saskatchewan, the sprayed agricultural surface area is enormous.

Many people in Saskatchewan live close to pesticide-sprayed fields. Farms, town edges, school yards, many cottage subdivisions, and most of our cities are surrounded by fields. (see subsection Farms for photos)     

People living closer to sprayed fields are exposed to more pesticide drift. Health effects of pesticide drift.    Pesticide Exposure, Intelligence and Children: Preliminary Results
Patricia Moulton, Ph.D., National Pesticide Forum  (May 19, 2006)

Home exposure to agricultural weed killers through contaminated dust increases as the acreage of nearby croplands increases.

Passive Sampling for Indoor and Outdoor Exposures to Chlorpyrifos, Azinphos-Methyl, and Oxygen Analogs in a Rural Agricultural Community (Environmental Health Perspectives.12 August 2016. Jenna L. Gibbs,1,2 Michael G. Yost,2 Maria Negrete,2 and Richard A. Fenske2) Overall, indoor air concentrations were lower than outdoors​.However, this study found that pesticide concentrations were higher in the air and on surfaces of farmworker households. There were less pesticides in households at 250 meters or more from the spray area. NOTE: Although chlorpyrifos is more volatile than some other pesticides, we know that 2,4-D and many other pesticides are volatile and also contaminate indoor air and surfaces.

Traveling on roads when the surrounding fields have been recently sprayed with pesticides also exposes us to pesticides. The day I took

Recently dessicated pea field to the right.