Researchers at the University of Miami interviewed 319 people with Parkinson’s and an equivalent number of their unaffected relatives. They found that people who had the highest levels of pesticide exposure were two to three times more likely to have Parkinson’s disease. This relationship was dose dependent, which means the higher the pesticide exposure, the higher the risk of Parkinson’s.

Pesticides are already known to cause birth defects, nerve damage and cancer. Does this mean that we should avoid them at all costs, regardless of the effects on our lawns, backyard gardens and food supply? Could we even do that if we wanted to?

Pesticides are everywhere. There are over 1000 active ingredients registered as pesticides and they are used in our homes, our yards, our food, even on our pets. Can they be avoided completely in this modern, pest-phobic society? I don’t think so. Eating organic produce, or at least washing our fruits and vegetables well, is prudent. And I wouldn’t let my kids play on recently treated lawns.

But all of us will ingest, inhale or absorb some amount of pesticide over our lifetime. Just accept it. Thankfully, the health risks of pesticides are a function of toxicity and exposure, which means the less toxic the chemical is, the more exposure we can tolerate. Hopefully, if our government regulators are doing as we ask, the most toxic pesticides are prevented from entering the market, or at least removed once their health risks are apparent. A large exposure to a minimally toxic pesticide can still be harmful. So it is up to us to keep our exposure to these pervasive chemicals as low as possible.

The Parkinson’s study did not find that casual exposure to pesticides, from drinking well water or living on a farm for example, was associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s Disease. The higher risk was found in people who had directly applied pesticides for at least 10 days a year. The lesson here, as I see it, is that we must have respect for the power of pesticides. We are so used to using them – to kill weeds, Japanese Beetles, and fleas – that we may have lost the fear that helps keep us safe.

Have you ever treated your lawn and then forgotten to wash your hands? Or maybe you’ve eaten a bunch of grapes right out of the fridge before they were cleaned. We need to find a comfortable space somewhere between panic and complacency. Yes, low levels of pesticide exposure are probably acceptable, but as the Parkinson’s study shows, repeated exposure can have consequences. This topic deserves further study to confirm the results. In the meantime, wash your hands!