Nonagricultural pesticides

The Directive covers 23 different product types specified in Annex V of the Directive. These include disinfectants used in different areas, chemicals used for preservation of products and materials, nonagricultural pesticides, and antifouhng products used on hulls of vessels. The Directive will not apply to certain product types already covered by other community legislation, such as plant protection products (PPPs) (Section 2.4.1.7.2), medicines, and cosmetics. 

Herbicides are the most important pesticide class in terms of production volume and market value. In agriculture they are used to control weeds. Weeds are unwanted plants, such as grasses, sedges, and broadleaf plants, that compete with the desired crop plants for nutrition, water, and land, thereby reducing the yield. Herbicides also have nonagricultural uses as they help in erasing vegetation on streets, railroad tracks, sports fields, and other public areas. 

Figure 1 Estimated amounts of pesticides use in the United States for agricultural and nonagricultural purposes...

Pesticides may further be transported from the workplace to the home on clothes, shoes, hair and skin [28,29]. Household dust concentrations of azino-phosmethyl, chlorpyrifos, parathion and phosmet were significantly lower in reference homes when compared with farmer/farmworker homes [30]. Organophosphate pesticides in house dust were elevated in homes of agrarian families (household members engaged in agricultural production) when compared with nonagricultural reference homes in the Seattle (USA) metropolitan area. Dialkyl phosphate metabolites measured in children s urine were also elevated for the agrarian children [31]. 

Herbicides are the most used pesticides in the world for more than 40 years, with 45% of the total market value in 1993. Among the top ten herbicides used in the world, atrazine and glyphosate are used worldwide, and interesting differences appear between the U.S.A and Europe regarding this top ten list. Urea herbicides belong to this list in Europe and contaminate many water sources whereas in the U.S.A these are not used at all. More than 80% of the herbicide use is concentrated in three agriculture areas North America, western Europe, and east Asia. 22% of the total herbicides are also found for nonagricultural uses with a lot of triazines and ureas in Europe. ... 

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