Rare Childhood cancer reports put pesticide use under scrutiny

Concerns over the health and environmental consequences of pollution are intensifying following a series of reports highlighting potential links between pesticides, wildfire smoke, contaminated wastewater and poor water quality and serious health and ecological risks.

In California, the Capistrano Unified School District has imposed a 60-day suspension of routine pesticide and herbicide applications after parents and residents of the affluent Ladera Ranch community demanded answers over a reported cluster of rare childhood cancers.

The district announced the temporary pause on Wednesday as officials review the chemicals approved for use on school grounds and other landscaped areas.

The decision followed a heavily attended community meeting where hundreds of residents called for greater investigation into reports that about nine children connected to Ladera Ranch have been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that primarily affects children and young adults, since 2007.

Families and community advocates have questioned whether the reported number represents the full extent of the cases. Health authorities, however, have said no environmental cause has been established.

The concerns come against the backdrop of emerging research into the possible health effects of environmental exposures.

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A systematic review published on August 4 in Occupational & Environmental Medicine found that people occupationally exposed to pesticides had about 60 percent higher odds of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than those without such exposure.

Researchers reviewed eight studies conducted between 1990 and 2025 and found that exposure to herbicides was associated with a slightly greater risk than exposure to insecticides or fungicides.

Among men, pesticide exposure was associated with roughly twice the risk of ALS compared with unexposed men. The review did not identify a similar statistically significant increase among women.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that damages nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement.

Meanwhile, researchers are also examining the growing contribution of wildfire smoke to air pollution exposure during pregnancy.

A University of Maryland study found that the proportion of air pollution exposure experienced by unborn babies that originated from wildfires more than doubled between 2003 and 2019.

Published on Friday, the study did not establish specific health outcomes associated with the prenatal exposure examined. However, researchers pointed to previous evidence linking wildfire-generated fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, to adverse pregnancy outcomes and childhood health problems.

PM2.5 particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Exposure has been associated with respiratory illness, lung damage and other serious health concerns.

Another study, published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, has linked exposure to fine-particle air pollution with worsening symptoms among people living with rheumatoid arthritis.

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Researchers led by Sung Cheol Jung of Seoul National University College of Medicine followed more than 1,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients for four years and examined pollution levels against disease activity recorded during more than 12,000 outpatient visits.

Of six major air pollutants assessed, PM2.5 showed the strongest association with increased disease activity and painful flare-ups. The risk was particularly evident after more than two weeks of elevated exposure.

The researchers said fine particles may move from the lungs into the bloodstream and trigger biological processes associated with cellular stress, DNA damage and inflammation.

They stressed that further research is needed to establish whether improving air quality could directly reduce rheumatoid arthritis activity, but recommended that people with the condition limit prolonged exposure to heavily polluted air, particularly when PM2.5 levels are elevated.

In the United States, environmental concerns have also emerged over the disposal of wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing.

In Washington County, Ohio, toxic and potentially radioactive material associated with failed fracking-waste disposal operations has reportedly reached shallow underground formations and surfaced near homes, farms, streams, schools and natural gas infrastructure.

Petroleum geologists and environmental advocates have warned that fracking wastewater can contain heavy metals, chemical contaminants and radioactive materials. They argue that underground disposal requires suitable geological formations capable of containing the waste and preventing it from migrating into groundwater or reaching the surface.

Concerns in Washington County centre on evidence suggesting that fractures in underground formations may be allowing injected wastewater to migrate into shallower layers and eventually reach the surface.

Agricultural use of wastewater-treatment sludge is also attracting scrutiny in the United States, particularly over so-called “forever chemicals.”

Farmers in Indiana and other parts of the country use treated sewage sludge, known as biosolids when applied to farmland, as a relatively inexpensive source of nutrients.

Indiana regulates the application of biosolids through permits governing where they can be used, the crops that can receive them and the concentration of certain pollutants.

Environmental advocates, however, have raised concerns about the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, in biosolids.

PFAS are synthetic chemicals that can persist in the environment for decades because of the strength of their carbon-fluorine bonds. Their persistence and widespread use have made them a growing environmental and public-health concern.

In England, meanwhile, an assessment by the Environment Agency has highlighted the deteriorating condition of the country’s waterways.

The agency’s first major update on water quality in six years assessed 4,658 rivers, lakes, estuaries, canals and coastal waters against standards covering wildlife, water quality and physical habitat conditions.

The assessment found that only 14.3 percent of surface water bodies achieved overall good ecological status in 2025.

Pollution from sewage discharges, agricultural nutrient runoff and contaminants associated with urban areas and roads—including litter, fuel residues and garden pesticides—were identified among the major pressures affecting waterways.

Only about 15 percent of England’s rivers were found to meet or exceed good ecological status, leaving the country significantly short of its target of restoring 75 percent of its water bodies to good ecological status by 2027.

Taken together, the findings have renewed calls for stronger monitoring of environmental contaminants, tighter controls on potentially hazardous chemicals and greater investment in clean air and water protection.