Research finds pesticide use at or near schools in the United States made 2,500 children and school employees sick over a five-year period. The Associated Press reports researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found chemicals used to kill insects and wild plants on school grounds and disinfectants affect children adversely.

The study is published in Journal of the American Medical Association. While explaining the results of the study, lead author Dr. Walter Alarcon says about 600 students and staff members had to be evacuated from an Edinburg, Texas, elementary school in May after pesticides sprayed on a cotton field entered into the school's air conditioning system.

Almost 30 students and nine staffers developed mild symptoms including nausea and headaches. Continuous exposure to pesticides can increase risks for cancer, birth defects, and nerve damage.

A researcher says, "The chronic long-term impacts of pesticide exposures have not been comprehensively evaluated; therefore, the potential for chronic health effects from pesticide exposures at schools should not be dismissed."