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1 BACKGROUND AND APPROACH TO THE STUDY
Pages 13-22

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From page 13...
... public against dietary pesticides and their potentially harmful effects, the U.S. Congress has enacted legislation to regulate residue exposures and to ensure that the food supply is safe as well abundant and nutritious.
From page 14...
... Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides such as DDT, BHC, dieldrin, aldrin, and toxaphene were enthusiastically adopted by farmers who hoped to control previously uncontrolled insects with what were believed to be relatively safe compounds with long environmental persistence. These chemicals were also used widely in the control
From page 15...
... Another important factor was the development and widespread adoption of synthetic pyrethroid compounds, which are applied in gram quantities rather than pounds per acre. During this period, fungicide use on peanuts and wheat declined, but because of the continued application of fungicides to fruits and vegetables and the increasing acreage of those crops under cultivation, the overall volume of fungicides used has remained steady.
From page 16...
... Insecticides control insects that damage crops through a variety of modes. Some work as nerve poisons, muscle poisons, desiccants, sterilants, or pheromones; others exert their effects by physical means such as by clogging air passages.
From page 17...
... Fungicides frequently provide direct benefit to humans by retarding or eliminating fungal infections that can produce toxicants such as aflatoxins. Fungicides that have been used heavily over the years include benomyl, captan, and the EBDC family of fungicides such as mancozeb.
From page 18...
... These tolerances constitute the principal mechanism by which EPA limits levels of pesticide residues in foods. A tolerance concentration is defined under FFDCA as the maximum quantity of a pesticide residue allowable on a raw agricultural commodity (RAC)
From page 19...
... To determine whether the current regulatory system in the United States adequately protects infants and children against dietary residues of pesticides, the committee considered two main issues- susceptibility and exposure: · Susceptibility: Are infants and children more or less susceptible (sensitive) than adults to the toxic effects of pesticides?
From page 20...
... Specific issues included: Howis exposure to pesticide residues associated with response? If special consideration needs to be given to childhood exposures that result in risk, how can laboratory data from lifetime animal studies be used to develop meaningful estimates?
From page 21...
... Then in Chapter 6 the committee reviews the data available on pesticide residues in food and gives particular attention to sampling of the foods consumed most by infants and children. In Chapter 7, the committee ties together the information on dietary patterns and residue levels from the two preceding chapters and provides examples for estimating the dietary pesticide exposures of infants and children.
From page 22...
... , along with data on tissue growth and changes in cell kinetics. The methods proposed here can be adapted and extended, based on the availability of appropriate data on dietary exposure to pesticides and on tissue growth and cell kinetics, to arrive at improved estimates of lifetime cancer risks that may be posed by dietary exposure to pesticides.


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