From Reuters, 1/16/01
Pesticides, Gulf War Illness Linked in Pentagon Report
By Meg Bryant

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 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.