Consultations to establish the link between pediatric pathologies and pesticides: what could they do ?

This consultation therefore aims to establish a link between parents' professional exposure to pesticides and the child's pathology. Currently, four pathologies are targeted: two congenital malformations, hypospadias (a malformation of the penis) and cleft lip and palate (known as hare lips), brain tumors and leukemia. Certain neurodevelopmental disorders will also soon be affected.

The father’s exhibition, recent research

Concretely, the CHU doctors who follow the little patients inform the parents that a consultation exists to determine if their pathology is linked to exposure to pesticides. If the parents wish, they complete a questionnaire, one concerning the mother, the other concerning the father. If it is established that there was occupational exposure of one or both parents before or during pregnancy, the child is seen for consultation. This could open the way to a claim for compensation. " In terms of temporality, we retained the following criteria: exposure to pesticides during pregnancy for the mother and 6 months before pregnancy for the father", note Sylvain Chamot.

Questioning the role of the father, his exposure to pesticides, is a fairly recent concern in France. "Epidemiologically, we observe associations, but we do not yet have physiological explanations of the mechanisms actually at work. While for the mother, the role of the placenta in transmission to the fetus has been widely documented ", points out the doctor.

As for the molecules involved, they are currently difficult to determine. "This is a global exhibition at this stage. In France, we do not have sufficiently in-depth data to carry out an epidemiological study on the incriminated pesticides ", he adds.

A hundred children affected

Sick children because of their parents' profession. The subject is very sensitive and requires caring and empathetic support for these families. "They already feel guilty about their child's illness so telling them that it is linked to their profession is very hard. But we really want to relieve their guilt and relieve them by giving them very precise information, adds Professor Elodie Haraux. Since January, Sylvain Chamot has noticed an increase in the importance of the consultation, "we are given questionnaires every day". In the region, a A hundred children could be affected according to him.

Currently the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund only covers occupational exposures. This primarily concerns farmers but also all professions that involve the maintenance of green spaces, contact with treated wood… Shouldn't the fund also be open to patients exposed to pesticides through their place of residence ? "Currently, according to the literature, the link between the appearance of these diseases and environmental exposure is much more difficult to establish than for occupational exposure", supports the doctor. "And we must understand that these diseases and malformations probably have several causes, including the environment. For us, what matters thanks to this fund is that we now have an answer to give to patients: occupational exposure is a risk factor and it must be recognized. It’s a real step forward, completes Elodie Haraux. This first consultation should be emulated; our interlocutors have already been contacted by the CRPPEs in other regions.

"I see this fund as a debt that society owes to farmers. It is not them who are responsible for the consequences of pesticides, it is society and our way of consuming which are responsible. This is similar to the compensation fund for asbestos victims (now banned, editor's note) ",< /em> illustrates Dr. Chamot. In France and the European Union, reducing the use of pesticides remains a very thorny debate, difficult to implement.