Pregnant women in Indiana are being exposed to toxic herbicides at high rates relative to other states, according to a new study from IU School of Medicine.
Between 2020 and 2022, all pregnant women tested in Indiana had 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in their urine — an herbicide linked to lymphoma, kidney damage and potential birth defects. At least 70% were also exposed to dicamba, a weed killer with its own links to cancer. The study did not conclude whether the level of exposure in participants was harmful.
“The average person in the Midwest is exposed to at least four herbicides a day for much of the year,” said Chuck Benbrook, a co-author of the study and expert witness in pesticide lawsuits. “Even low levels of exposure can cause adverse pregnancy outcomes and disrupt the development of a child.”
Both chemicals can drift up to a hundred miles away from their application sites, Benbrook said, making their way into our bodies through drinking water, food and air. They are colorless and odorless, leaving the public unaware of exposure. People who live near farms or get their water from wells should have the source tested for pesticides, Benbrook said.
This month, a federal judge in Arizona banned three dicamba-based products used on soybeans and cotton, ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency broke the law by hastily approving them. The EPA announced last week that it will allow farmers who purchased the products before they were banned to use them during this year’s crop season.
“The science that the EPA has available to it is mostly conducted by the companies, and they work hard to generate studies that show their products are safe,” Benbrook said. “Concerns from independent scientists were not heeded.”
The team behind the paper will continue to monitor the effects of herbicides, Benbrook said, with plans to track 2,000 pregnant mothers and their infants for exposure in a future study.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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