Although people of color and low-income groups bear a disproportionate share of the health risks from exposure to pesticides, research attention has been meager, and data on acute and chronic health effects related to their toxic exposures are generally lacking. Increased resources are needed both to study this issue and to mitigate problems already identified. People of color should be a major research focus, with priority on long-term effects, particularly cancer, neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral effects, long-term neurological dysfunction, and reproductive outcome. Suitable populations at high risk that have not been studied include noncertified pesticide applicators and seasonal and migrant farm workers, including children.

PTSS related to war zone trauma warrants additional prospective research study and attention in clinical screening and assessment as a potential contributor to the often debilitating physical health problems experienced by Persian Gulf War veterans.

Standardized tests or test batteries for neurotoxic effects are needed for premarket testing of chemicals (and related regulatory needs) and for the development of a neurotoxicity data base. Three widely known human test batteries based on past research findings and developed to screen for a broad range of neurotoxic effects are currently in use. One was developed by Finland's Institute of Occupational Health, one was recently recommended by the World Health Organization, and one was recently developed as a computer-implemented battery by US researchers. Each of these batteries assesses many frequently occurring neurotoxic effects, but each is limited by the lack of tests for some motor and sensory functions and affective responses that often occur following chemical exposures. Problems with field or worksite assessments using these test batteries involve age, education, socioeconomic, and job differences between exposed and comparison groups, and the lack of normative data on these batteries. To address some of these problems, the human neurobehavioral test batteries are currently undergoing reliability or validity assessments on a national and international scale. This will provide an assessment of their utility and accelerate development of a data base of neurotoxic effects of chemicals.