The study, published in the current issue of the journal
Toxicology and Industrial Health, suggests that combinations of
commonly used agricultural chemicals, in concentrations that
mirror levels found in groundwater, can significantly influence
the immune and endocrine systems as well as neurological health.
Conducted over five years, the study of mice suggests that
current methods used by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and others for studying the toxic effects of low-levels of
pesticides may be flawed. "The single most important finding of
the study is that common mixtures, not the standard one-
chemical-at-a-time experiments, can show biological effects at
current concentrations in groundwater," said Warren P. Porter,
the lead author of the study and a UW-Madison professor of
zoology and environmental toxicology. Although used worldwide,
"tests for these compounds in combination are very rare,
although they frequently co-occur." The experiments performed by
Porter's group suggest that children an