Settling the debate on the safety of pesticides

In response to public concerns about the use of sprayed pesticides in agriculture, IOM conducted research funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs that measured real-life pesticide exposure in the urine of adults and children living close to sprayed crops.

The results showed that the pesticide exposures of residents following a spraying event was no higher than during other days when no spraying took place. The study concluded that overall, for residents living close to agricultural land, exposure to pesticides was low. The researchers concluded that the small amounts of pesticide found in the urine of residents living close by was down to diet rather than exposure to spraying.