Pesticides, Gulf War Illness Linked
in Pentagon Report Source: Reuters
January 16, 2001
WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A new Defense Department
report on environmental exposure to pesticides during the Gulf War
draws a tentative link between pesticide use and health problems later
reported by returning soldiers.
But the report stresses that a lack of data on which
pesticides were actually used and the passage of time since the
conflict make it hard to draw any real conclusions about the causes of
Gulf War syndrome.
``Based on the scientific literature, a potential role
of some pesticides cannot be ruled out in the undiagnosed illnesses of
Gulf War veterans,'' Dr. Bernard Rostker, special assistant for Gulf
War illnesses, told a briefing held here Friday to release the report.
The study, conducted by RAND, involved a random survey
of 2,005 Gulf War veterans who served on the ground in Kuwait between
October 1990 and July 1991. RAND also did a literature search on the
health effects associated with exposure to pesticides.
In addition, Pentagon (news - web sites) personnel
interviewed hundreds of experts on preventive medicine and pesticide
use and developed a health risk assessment in conjunction with the
Environmental Protection Agency to look
at possible links between pesticide use and health effects observed
during the war.
With the exception of about 13,000 servicemen (3%) who
reported using pet tick/flea collars at some time during their Gulf
War duty, the survey revealed few instances of intentional pesticide
misuse.
One area of concern, however, involved soldiers who had
the task of spraying pesticides in designated areas. In those
instances, ``adequate safeguards such as masks and gloves were not
necessarily taken,'' RAND's Roy Anthony told reporters.
Pesticides were widely used during the Gulf War to ward
off insect-borne diseases, a leading killer of servicemen in previous
wars. Roughly half of those surveyed used pesticides containing DEET,
with a median exposure of 30 times a month. Another 6% of troops
reported using Permethrin, on average 20 times monthly. About 38% of
soldiers reported no pesticide use during their time in the Gulf.
Multiple exposures were another concern for the
investigators. According to the report, 31% of soldiers used more than
one pesticide at a time, and 9% used three or more simultaneously. The
Army was the heaviest user, followed by the Marines, the Navy, and
finally the Air Force.
Of particular concern, the report notes, was the
possibility that some soldiers may have come in contact with
pesticides known as carbamates and organophosphates. These belong to a
larger chemical group known as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors
that have been associated with chronic symptoms like those reported by
Gulf War veterans--fatigue,
muscle and joint pain, headaches, cognitive impairment and sleep
problems. AChE is essential to proper nerve signaling.
The research turned up only one instance of a soldier
being hospitalized for pesticide exposure, involving an over-exposure
in a warehouse. The soldier was treated and has not reported any
further problems, Anthony said.
If there is a silver lining to the report, it is that
using pesticides was highly effective in preventing illness among Gulf
War troops. Only 40 cases of pest-borne diseases were reported during
the war, Anthony said.
by Meg Bryant