Permission pending from
http://www.genomic.unimelb.edu.au/diabetes.jpg

Cancer cells Dividing.
Permission pending from
http://medix.marshall.edu/~sergeev/

Health hazards fall into two categories:

1. acute effects: health effects from exposure to large amounts of pesticides in a small time period.
2. chronic effects: health effects from long-term exposure to herbicides.

Acute Effects

The acute effects of herbicides include, but are not limited to poisoning.  Lack of medical attention following exposure in large quantities can be fatal.  Symptoms may include cramping, vomiting, and headaches (Masiunas 2002).

Chronic Effects

1. Cancer:  The link between herbicides and cancer is still a debated topic.  Some research shows significant results for a link, while others discard the idea. One study showed an increase in cancer mortality in four northern wheat-producing states.  The study compared rare cancer cases in different counties that are above and below the median of wheat acreage per county.  The findings showed increased mortality for cancer of the nose and eye in men and women, brain and leukemia for boys and girls, and all cancers in boys (Schreinemachers, 2000).  Another study, conducted in North Carolina, suggests that children under14 have four times the normal risk of contracting cancer, namely soft tissue sarcoma, if their gardens are treated with pesticides or herbicides (“Garden,” 1995).  Other studies linking herbicides to child cancer include one in which agent orange causes a form of leukemia in Vietnam veteran’s children (“Agent Orange Linked” 2001).  Moreover, three Swedish case-control studies suggest that exposure to 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D and similar compounds results in a six-fold increase in risk for soft tissue sarcoma.  Similar survey conducted in New Zealand, however, found these associations weak (Coggon, 1987).
2. Diabetes:  A report, sponsored by the US Department of Veteran Affairs, claims that there is suggestive evidence of a link between exposure to dioxin (a chemical found in Agent Orange and other herbicides) and the development of Type 2 diabetes.  Although any increased danger from dioxin exposure appears to be small, research findings linking dioxin with Type 2 diabetes have now accumulated over a long period of time ("Agent Orange Exposure," 2001).
   
   Mitochondrial Bioenergetics:  Three herbicides, paraquat, dinoseb, and 2,4-D, have been shown to affect mitochondrial bioenergetics.  Each herbicide causes the effects by different mechanisms.  Their effects lead to the disruption of cellular energetic and metabolism (Palmeira, 1999).
   
3. Infertility:  Scientists have observed reduced litter size in female lab mice exposed to small amounts of common herbicides.  The 10% to 20% litter reduction may be a result of herbicides interference with hormones that control uterus implantation (Withgott, 2002).  Another study compares the occupation of patients attending a tertiary referral center.  The study found that farmers were over-represented compared with the general population.  Farmers also demonstrated a significantly higher proportion of reduced sperm counts and severely reduced sperm concentrations in comparison to the entire infertile group of men.  The study further showed that significantly more farmers have maldescended testis than other groups (Kenkel et al, 2001).