Columbia.edu – When the EPA phased out the widespread
residential use of chlorpyrifos and other organophosphorus (OP)
insecticides in 2000-2001 because of risks to child
neurodevelopment, these compounds were largely replaced with
pyrethroid insecticides. But the safety of these replacement
insecticides remained unclear, as they had never been evaluated
for long-term neurotoxic effects after low-level exposure. In
the first study to examine the effects of these pyrethroid
compounds on humans and the first evaluation of their potential
toxicity to the developing fetal brain, scientists of the
Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Columbia
University’s Mailman School of Public Health found a significant
association between piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a common additive
in pyrethroid formulations, measured in personal air collected
during the third trimester of pregnancy, and delayed mental
development at 36 months. Findings from the study are online in
the journal Pediatrics. The study was conduct