Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others. The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all pesticide use globally. Most pesticides are used as plant protection products, which in general protect plants from weeds, fungi, or insects. In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors. Along with these benefits, pesticides also have drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other species.
Bromomethane, commonly known as methyl bromide, is an organobromine compound with formula CH3Br. This colorless, odorless, nonflammable gas is produced both industrially and biologically. It is a recognized ozone-depleting chemical. It was used extensively as a pesticide until being phased out by most countries in the early 2000s. From a chemistry perspective, it is one of the halomethanes.
Under United States law, pesticide misuse is considered to be the use of a pesticide in a way that violates laws regulating their use or endangers humans or the environment; many of these regulations are laid out in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Pesticide misuse encompasses a range of practices, including overapplication, incorrect timing, and the use of banned substances. This global issue not only threatens environmental safety but also undermines efforts towards sustainability. The risk of pesticide pollution at a global scale necessitates a concerted effort to understand and mitigate misuse. The most common instances of pesticide misuse are applications inconsistent with the labeling, which can include the use of a material in any way not described on the label, changing dosage rates, or violating specific safety instructions. Pesticide labels have been criticized as a poor risk communication vehicle, leading some officials and researchers to question whether "misuse" is an appropriate term for what are often "unintended uses" resulting from a poor understanding of safety and application instructions. Other kinds of pesticide misuse include the sale or use of an unregistered pesticide or one whose registration has been revoked and the sale or use of an adulterated or misbranded pesticide. Under most jurisdictions, it is illegal to alter or remove pesticide labels, to sell restricted pesticides to an uncertified applicator, or to fail to maintain sales and use records of restricted pesticides.
A pesticide poisoning occurs when pesticides, chemicals intended to control a pest, affect non-target organisms such as humans, wildlife, plants, or bees. There are three types of pesticide poisoning. The first of the three is a single and short-term very high level of exposure which can be experienced by individuals who die by suicide, as well as pesticide formulators. The second type of poisoning is long-term high-level exposure, which can occur in pesticide formulators and manufacturers. The third type of poisoning is a long-term low-level exposure, which individuals are exposed to from sources such as pesticide residues in food as well as contact with pesticide residues in the air, water, soil, sediment, food materials, plants and animals.
Chlorpyrifos (CPS), also known as chlorpyrifos ethyl, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, and animals in buildings, and in other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems of insects by inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase enzyme. Chlorpyrifos was patented in 1966 by Dow Chemical Company.
Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despite the crucial roles that rodents play in nature, there are times when they need to be controlled.
Sulfuryl fluoride (also spelled sulphuryl fluoride) is an inorganic compound with the formula SO2F2. It is an easily condensed gas and has properties more similar to sulfur hexafluoride than sulfuryl chloride, being resistant to hydrolysis even up to 150 °C. It is neurotoxic and a potent greenhouse gas, but is widely used as a fumigant insecticide to control termites.
Chloropicrin, also known as PS and nitrochloroform, is a chemical compound currently used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, and nematicide. It was used as a poison gas in World War I and during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Its chemical structural formula is Cl3C−NO2.
Iodomethane, also called methyl iodide, and commonly abbreviated "MeI", is the chemical compound with the formula CH3I. It is a dense, colorless, volatile liquid. In terms of chemical structure, it is related to methane by replacement of one hydrogen atom by an atom of iodine. It is naturally emitted in small amounts by rice plantations. It is also produced in vast quantities estimated to be greater than 214,000 tons annually by algae and kelp in the world's temperate oceans, and in lesser amounts on land by terrestrial fungi and bacteria. It is used in organic synthesis as a source of methyl groups.
Aluminium phosphide is a highly toxic inorganic compound with the chemical formula AlP, used as a wide band gap semiconductor and a fumigant. This colorless solid is generally sold as a grey-green-yellow powder due to the presence of impurities arising from hydrolysis and oxidation.
Organophosphate poisoning is poisoning due to organophosphates (OPs). Organophosphates are used as insecticides, medications, and nerve agents. Symptoms include increased saliva and tear production, diarrhea, vomiting, small pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and confusion. While onset of symptoms is often within minutes to hours, some symptoms can take weeks to appear. Symptoms can last for days to weeks.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation, also known as DPR or CDPR, is one of six boards and departments of the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).
Health effects of pesticides may be acute or delayed in those who are exposed. Acute effects can include pesticide poisoning, which may be a medical emergency. Strong evidence exists for other, long-term negative health outcomes from pesticide exposure including birth defects, fetal death, neurodevelopmental disorder, cancer, and neurologic illness including Parkinson's disease. Toxicity of pesticides depend on the type of chemical, route of exposure, dosage, and timing of exposure.
Pesticide regulation in the United States is primarily a responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In America, it was not till the 1950s that pesticides were regulated in terms of their safety. The Pesticides Control Amendment (PCA) of 1954 was the first time Congress passed guidance regarding the establishment of safe limits for pesticide residues on food. It authorized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban pesticides they determined to be unsafe if they were sprayed directly on food. The Food Additives Amendment, which included the Delaney Clause, prohibited the pesticide residues from any carcinogenic pesticides in processed food. In 1959, pesticides were required to be registered.
Agricultural safety and health is an aspect of occupational safety and health in the agricultural workplace. It specifically addresses the health and safety of farmers, farm workers, and their families.
Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ingestion. Poisoning can be brought on by swallowing, inhaling, injecting or absorbing toxins through the skin. Toxicology is the practice and study of symptoms, mechanisms, diagnoses, and treatments correlated to poisoning.
Despite the best efforts of the government, health, and environmental agencies, improper use of hazardous chemicals is pervasive in commercial products, and can yield devastating effects, from people developing brittle bones and severe congenital defects, to strips of wildlife laying dead by poisoned rivers.
Pesticide incidents in the San Joaquin Valley is a topic covering the justice and health issues of people living in the San Joaquin Valley resulting from the use of pesticides in the region. Pesticide use in the San Joaquin Valley began in the 1880s when certain insects were known to be causing harm in the region, much of whose economy is still based on the successful agriculture and farming of many different kinds of crops. Pesticide illnesses were reported sporadically during that time frame but were not focused as a major issue until the post-World War II agricultural boom in the late 1940s when pesticide poisonings became more widely publicized. Though Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the use of chemicals in weapons during the Vietnam War led the federal government to pass restrictions on pesticide use, residents, primarily of low income, have struggled with the health impacts of pesticide use due to persistent over-spraying by agriculture companies working for profit.
The Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, or SB 391 (Florez-Escutia), is a California act that was passed in 2005. This act was put into place in order to help victims of California's pesticide drift problem.
Angelita C. et al. v. California Department of Pesticide Regulation is an administrative complaint filed in June 1999 with the US Environmental Protection Agency about disproportionate harm to Latino children from toxic pesticides used near schools. It said that the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) had caused discriminatory harm to Latino children when it renewed the registration for methyl bromide in January 1999 without considering the effect on nearby schools, which in some cases lay immediately adjacent to the fields.
