The research example I am using for this exercise is titled “Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Neurodevelopment in Young Mexican-American Children”, this research can be found in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The topic of my research has been changed, instead of looking at the effects of pesticides of human health I will be looking at the environmental injustice linked to the widespread use of pesticides. The study conducted an investigation of the neurodevelopment and behavior of a cohort made up of Latino children from farmworker families in the Salinas Valley of California. Some background, billion pounds of pesticides are used per year in the United States, most of them are used in agriculture. The exposures of pesticides are widespread, this includes pregnant woman and children. This study researched the relationship of prenatal and child Organophosphate urinary metabolite levels. 6 nonspecific metabolites in maternal and child urine. The effects of organophosphate overtime were measured using the different age groups 6, 12, and 24 months of age. This form of testing better explains how the pesticides effect children as they develop in their first years of life. Each child was assigned Mental Development and Psychomotor Development Indices and a report on the Child Behavior Checklist. Fetuses and young children may be more susceptible to the neuro effects of pesticides. This has to do with how fast their brains are developing and their already lower-than-adult levels of detoxifying enzymes. Organophosphate and been known to break down an enzyme which prevents acetylcholine from building up in the neuronal junction. The research topic here is the environmental injustice’s related to pesticides and minorities, the research question is ‘are young Mexican-American Children at a higher risk of improper neurodevelopment due to organophosphate pesticide exposure’. The type of data needed to answer this question is demographic data, however in this case the study was conducted on a cohort so there was more data of the report type.

Eskenazi, Brenda, et al. “Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Neurodevelopment in Young Mexican-American Children.” Environmental Health Perspectives, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, May 2007, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1867968/.