Pesticides usage

There is a strong relationship between the amount of pesticide appHed and the amount detected in soil and water. Some background information on pesticide usage and terminology is useful in understanding their impact on the environment. 

The total pesticide usage in the United States almost doubled between 1964 and 1977 and has been quite stable since that time, at about 500,000 t of active ingredient (3). Most of the increase in usage has been for agriculture, increasing from 145,000 t in 1964 to 439,000 t in 1995. 

New Herbicides. There are also several significant developments that will have longer-term impact on pesticide usage and residues in water. There has been a steady decrease in the amount of herbicide needed to control weeds since the 1940s (Eig. 7). 

Sustainable Agriculture. The third factor that will influence the future of pesticide sales is the emphasis on sustainable agriculture systems that rely on more natural pest control methods and reduced pesticide usage. These are integrated systems that requke nutrients and crop protection chemicals from on-farm natural sources and cultural methods. Many current sustainable farms are site-specific systems that may depend on the soils in a... 

MAFF/SOAFD Pesticide Usage Survey Group, Arable Farm Crops in Great Britain 1994, 1995. Water Research Council, Atmospheric Sources of PoUntion. Inputs of Trace Organics to Surface Waters, R D Report No. 20, Water Research Council, 1995. 

FIGURE 5.7 Peregrine population size in Britain (1930-1939 = 100) showing the 1961 population decline and subsequent recovery, together with an outline of pesticide usage (from Ratcliffe 1993). 

The primary focus of FIFRA is to provide federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and use. Under FIFRA, the ERA was given authority to study the consequences of pesticide usage. FIFRA requires that all pesticide uses in the United States be registered by ERA. Registration assmes that pesticides will be properly labeled and that if produced and used in accordance with specifications, pesticides will not cause unreasonable harm to the environment. ... 

Ideally, to support a higher tier assessment that accurately portrays the risks to individuals depending on where they live and who they are, one would have monitoring and pesticide usage data from across the nation for multiple years in such exquisite... 

A large variety of insects, mites, and soil nematodes also infest tea. Pesticide usage is now well controlled so that only materials approved by the U.S. FDA are generally employed. 

Gianessi LP. 1986. A national pesticide usage data base, summary of report submitted to the office of standards and regulations, U.S. EPA under cooperative agreement CR 811858-01-0 by Resources for the Future, Washington, DC. 

Autopsies of 77 Hawaiian individuals between 1966 and 1968 found heptachlor epoxide in tissues at levels ranging from 1 to 32 ppb (Klemmer et al. 1977). The highest levels of heptachlor epoxide occurred in bone marrow and liver, although the actual levels were not provided in the study. Autopsies of 271 patients with various terminal diseases detected heptachlor epoxide concentrations in fat (0.21 0.11-0.48 0.37 ppm) and to a lesser degree in liver and brain (trace to 0.05 ppm and trace to 0.01 ppm, respectively) (Radomski et al. 1968). There appeared to be no correlation between the cause of death and the heptachlor epoxide concentration or pesticide usage during the lifetime of the individual. 

The objective of the research reported here was to determine whether the 66-lamp unit would detoxify waste pesticide solutions generated on a farm with high daily pesticide usage. 

FIGURE 8.1 Pesticide usage for com, soybeans, cotton, wheat, sorghum, potatoes, barley, rice, tobacco, sugar beets, peanuts, and oats, 1960 through 1995. 

Fig. 2 Pesticide usage in the Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior Basins in 1995 total pesticide usages in Lakes Erie, Michigan, and Superior Basins were 8280250, 13401918, and 33422 lbs, respectively. Lake Erie Basin includes Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania Lake Michigan Basin includes Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin Lake Superior Basin includes Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin. Lrom [15] (originally from USDA/NASS Chemical survey reports for 1994-1995)...

The only phenoxy-acid herbicides to have significant current agricultural use in the USA are 2,4-D, esters of 2,4-D, and MCPA [79]. The total amount of phenoxy compounds used in the US agriculture has remained stable over the last two decades [79]. In Ontario, 2,4-D, MCPA, MCPB, mecoprop, and dicamba accounted for about 10% of the herbicide used in agriculture in 1998 [2], A 1993 pesticide usage survey carried out in Ontario indicated urban applications of phenoxy-acid herbicides similar to agricultural usage [76]. 

Fig. 10 Pesticide usage (in 1000s of pounds of active ingredients) in the Lake Erie-Lake St. Clair drainage basins of the Great Lakes Basin during 1994-1995. From [15]...

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