ed to high amounts of malathion.
There is no evidence that exposure to malathion at levels found in the environment causes birth defects or other developmental effects in people. Malathion has caused adverse developmental effects in animals, but only when administered to the pregnant mothers in amounts high enough to affect the health of the mothers. A study of people in California found that the use of pesticides, malathion among them, at home during pregnancy did not increase the risk of brain tumors in children.
Animal studies have shown that malathion and/or its breakdown products can be transferred from a pregnant mother to the developing fetus and that it can also be passed to newborn animals in the maternal milk. There is no information in humans regarding transfer of malathion to the fetus or to nursing infants.
More information regarding children's health and malathion can be found in Section 3.7.
How can families reduce the risk of exposure to malathion?
If your doctor finds that you have been exposed to significant amounts of malathion, ask whether your children might also be exposed. Your doctor might need to ask your state health department to investigate.
The general population is not likely to be exposed to large amounts of malathion. The populations living in the areas where malathion is used on crops or those who use the insecticide extensively in their gardens or near their homes, however, may be exposed to greater amounts of malathion. Malathion is often detected in foods and air samples collected where malathion is used. People who live close to areas of malathion use, such as where it is sprayed over urban/residential areas to control medflies or mosquitos, may also be exposed to larger amounts of malathion, because small amounts of the pesticide will move from the place where it is used to nearby areas. These exposures may take place during activities such as touching contaminated plants, soils, or man-made surfaces such as playground equipment, sidewalks, or pavements; breathing the mist formed from the sprayed chemical; drinking contaminated water; or eating recently sprayed fruits and vegetables. People who are most likely to receive the highest exposures are those who work in the factories that make malathion or make products that contain the insecticide, workers who spray it on crops, and farmers. Entry of malathion into the body after contact with the skin is expected to be the major exposure pathway for those working in these operations. Breathing the mist containing malathion may also occur.
Families can reduce the risk of exposure to malathion in the soil, on plants, or in the air by staying away from fields that have been recently sprayed. If families wait at least a week before entering sprayed fields, then the amount of malathion present in the air or on plants is expected to be small. In areas where malathion is sprayed to control medflies or mosquitos, families may reduce the risk of exposure to the chemical by remaining inside during the spraying periods, and by washing their hands and clothes if they come into contact with sprayed surfaces within a few days of the spraying. For children who play in dry sand boxes, on sidewalks, or on playground equipment that is located in or near the treated areas, the amount of time that caution should be used (that is, the time during which they should make sure to wash thoroughly after contact with sprayed surfaces) may need to be longer. Families may also reduce the risk of exposure to malathion by wearing protective equipment, such as gloves, when applying the insecticide in their homes and gardens, and washing their hands and clothes after they have been in a backyard garden or yard that has been treated with the insecticide. Foods grown in a garden treated with malathion may contain some of the residues on their surface. To reduce the risk of exposure to malathion that may occur when contaminated vegetables or other produce grown in a backyard garden is eaten, it is important to wash the foods prior to eating them.
Families should also be awa