The glacial pace of government decision-making on pesticides is
costly. Not just the cost of years of paperwork, collecting and
reviewing the endless stream of industry studies. And not just
the cost of medical care for those who are damaged by toxins
before they are taken off the market. Sometimes, slow decisions
result in pesticide exposures that cause such harm they
fundamentally change the course of a child’s life. A cost that’s
so high, it really can’t even be measured. In Indiana last week,
a jury tried to put a price tag on such harm. They awarded $23.5
million to the Ebling family, whose children suffered seizures
and permanent damage to their nervous systems when their
apartment was sprayed with the pesticide diazinon. The spraying
took place back in 1994; EPA got around to banning this use of
diazinon 10 years later. The Ebling’s children, Christina and
Alex, are now 20 and 17. Christina can feed herself, but needs
help getting showered or dressed. Her mother Cynthia says her
daughter is about where