And it was just one of dozens of recent studies that have linked even small amounts of fetal chlorpyrifos exposure to neurodevelopmental problems, including ADHD, intelligence deficits, and learning difficulties. Women who lived less than a mile from fields where chlorpyrifos was sprayed during their second trimesters of pregnancy, as Magda did, had their chances of giving birth to an autistic child more than triple. In 2014, the first and most comprehensive look at the environmental causes of autism and developmental delay, known as the CHARGE study, found that the nearby application of agricultural pesticides greatly increases the risk of autism. When they sprayed, the smell was different.” “You can tell, it’s different from mulch and manure. And there was a third odor, too - “the smell of the chemical,” said Galindo. At other times she sniffed the must of fertilizer. Sometimes the distinct essence of cow manure filled the air. And Magda could smell them from the patio where she spent much of her pregnancy. The Galindos could see the planted fields just down the street from their stucco house.

At the time, the family was living in Salida, a small town in central California surrounded by fields of almonds, corn, and peaches. And in some ways, that is still true both the causes of these neurodevelopmental conditions and their increase among American children remain mysterious.īut a study the family participated in when Eva was 3 has pointed to one possible culprit: chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide that was sprayed near their home when Magda was pregnant. Nine years ago, when her pediatrician diagnosed her with autism, he told the Galindos that nobody really knew why children developed such problems. As she got older, Eva was slow to talk and make friends. Photo: Shaun Lucas for The InterceptThe Galindos wish they could have protected their daughter from whatever originally caused her troubles, which began in infancy, when she screamed incessantly. The Galindo family at home in Modesto, Calif.

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