SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Scientific research has played an important role in informing and advancing public policy in many areas, including health, education, and early childhood development.
(b) Scientific research has identified early childhood as a critical period of intervention during which children develop the foundation for educational achievement. Young children are especially vulnerable to environmental contaminants and toxic stress.
(c) Chlorpyrifos and other organophosphate pesticides affect the nervous system through inhibition of cholinesterase, an enzyme required for proper nerve functioning. Acute poisoning occurs when nerve impulses pulsate through the body, causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, convulsions, respiratory paralysis, and, in extreme cases, death.
(d) There is substantial scientific evidence, including from epidemiological studies, that chlorpyrifos threatens the healthy development of children. Chlorpyrifos is acutely toxic and associated with neurodevelopmental harm in children. Prenatal and early life exposure to chlorpyrifos is associated with elevated risks of reduced IQ, loss of working memory, delays in motor development, attention deficit disorders, and structural changes in the brain.
(e) Children and pregnant women can be exposed to chlorpyrifos through residues on food, contaminated drinking water, and toxic spray drift from nearby pesticide applications. Exposure during pregnancy to even low levels of chlorpyrifos that caused only minimal cholinesterase inhibition (10 percent or less) in mothers can lead to measurable long-lasting and possibly permanent neurobehavioral and functional deficits in prenatally exposed children.
(f) Children experience greater exposure to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides because, relative to adults, they eat, drink, and breathe more in proportion to their body weight. A growing body of evidence shows that prenatal exposure to very low levels of chlorpyrifos can lead to lasting and possibly permanent neurological impairments.