A study conducted in Indiana, one of the country’s top agricultural producers, found an increased amount of a toxic weedkiller in the urine of pregnant women.

The research, published in Agrochemicals, found 70% of pregnant women tested in Indiana between 202o and 2022 had dicamba in their urine.

The figure is an increase from 28% in an analysis between 2010 and 2012.

However, the prior study tested women from Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio.

The Guardian reports:

Notably, the study also found that along with a larger percentage of women showing the presence of dicamba in their bodies, the concentrations of the weed-killing chemical increased more than fourfold.

Both studies found that 100% of the women tested had 2,4-dichloroacetic acid, better known as 2,4-D, in their urine; the more recent study showed detectable, but not significant, increases in concentration levels.

The findings add to a growing body of literature documenting human exposure to chemicals used in agriculture, and various known and potential health impacts. Many scientists have particular concerns about how farm chemicals affect pregnant women and their children, but say more research – and more regulatory scrutiny – is needed.

“These are two chemicals we’re concerned about because of their increasing use,” said Paul Winchester, a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University school of medicine who was not involved in this study.

“Fetal DNA is being shaped by these exposures,” Winchester said.

“What we’re seeing in other chemicals that have had longer pathways of study is that this is not benign exposure,” he added.

From Daily Mail:

Results also showed the concentration of the chemical increased from 0.066 micrograms of dicamba per liter of urine to 0.271 micrograms of dicamba per liter of urine.

Dicamba is usually sprayed on top of crops – including soybeans – and the Environmental Protection Agency has previously acknowledged the substance can evaporate and spread through the air as a vapor.

The study authors said their findings highlight the need to track exposure to the herbicide and monitor adverse maternal and neonatal side effects.

While dicamba is sprayed on crops, the US Department of Agriculture has found residue of the chemical is minimal in foods.

Therefore, the USDA said it is more likely people are exposed to the chemical through inhalation and contaminated drinking water.

A 2020 study found dicamba was associated with an increased risk of liver and bile-duct cancers, but more research is needed to learn the full effects. The study also looked at the presence of another chemical in the women’s urine, 2,4-dichloroacetic acid, better known as 2,4-D.

Read the full study, titled ‘Dicamba and 2,4-D in the Urine of Pregnant Women in the Midwest: Comparison of Two Cohorts (2010–2012 vs. 2020–2022)’, HERE.

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