PesticidesJ.W. C.V.

Biology SB1-01

Pesticide – The Breakdown

Pest1. An annoying person or thing; a nuisance.2. An injurious plant or animal, especially one harmful to humans.3. A deadly epidemic disease; a pestilence.

Cide1. Killer: bactericide.2. Act of killing: ecocide.

Cide : A suffix that means "a killer of." It is used to form the names of chemicals that kill a specified organism, such as pesticide, a chemical that kills pests

The Problem

Pesticides are a toxic chemical that has more

harmful affects then positive affects on

human heath and environmental vitality

What Are Pesticides?

• It’s a poison designed to kill a variety of plants and animals such as insects, weeds, and mold or fungus

• It’s Function is to target specific organisms

• Includes active ingredients and inactive ingredients that are toxic

How do Pesticides reach us?

• Through the skin• Swallowed or inhaled• When applied, they float around in the air

and rest on ponds, laundry, toys, pools and furniture

Quick Fact: Only 5 percent of pesticides reach targeted weeds, the rest runs off into water or into the air where it can drift from 12 feet to 14.5 miles away

Use of Pesticides

Movement of Pesticides

1. Retention• The pesticide is

absorbed by the soil

2. Transformation• The pesticides

chemical structure changes

There are three main transformation processes

• Photochemical processes •Chemical processes •Microbial processes

3. Transport• Pesticide is

transported most commonly by mass flow and diffusion

4. Plant Uptake• The process of

pesticide being taken into the plant, where it now resides inside the plants internal structure

Who is most likely to be effected?

• Children, infants and fetuses- children have more rapid breathing - metabolic rates- greater surface to body mass ratios- thinner skins- spend more time in contact with the ground- more frequently place their fingers in their mouths

Quick Fact: Children whose homes and gardens are treated with pesticides have 6.5 times greater risk of leukemia than children living in untreated environments.

Who Else Is Affected?

• Adults - especially those with asthma, lupus

erythematosus, vacuities, dermatitis and chemical sensitivities

• Animals - pets, wildlife of all kinds and their

habitat

Besides sensitivity and toxicity, what other

health risks are there?Main risks for adults

• increased risk of leukemia • cancers (lung, brain,

testicular, lymphoma) • increase in spontaneous

abortions • greater genetic damage • decreased fertility • liver damage • disturbances to immune

systems (asthma/ allergies) • increases in stillbirths• decreased sperm counts

Main risks for children• cancer: leukemia and

brain cancer • asthma and allergies • polyneuritis with

numbness and pain in lower limbs.

• birth defects • gangrene (tissue death)

of the extremities

How are animals and wildlife affected?

Known affects • developmental and

behavioral effects in various animal species

• reproductive disruptions. • cancer in dogs• increased number of

abnormal sperm in exposed farmers.

• decreased fertility in male rats

• birds die after eating granular pesticides

Animals may develop• cancer • abnormal thyroid

function • decreased fertility • decreased hatching

success • demasculinization and

feminization of males • alteration of immune

function

Solutions• Non-toxic chemical-free lawn

care• Indoor and outdoor Bio-Tool

kits • Crop rotation• Companion planting

References

Rea, William J., 1996, Pesticides. Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine 6, 55-124.

Lowengart, et al., 1987, Journal of National Cancer Institute, 79: 39-46.

Eagles Eye, World Wildlife Fund Publication. Summer 1995.

Irwin, J. Pesticides, Are They Silent Killers? Family Practise July 20,1991

Journal of the American Medical Association 1989;30:1306. Mayo Clinic;Medical Toxicology 1988;3:350-75. National Poisons Unit, Guy's Hospital, London, England.

References ContinuedGoodman and Gillman, The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics,

1985, Macmillian Publishing Company, New York.

Seilier J.P. 1979, Phenoxyacids as inhibitors of testicular DNA syntheses in male mice. Bull. Environ. Cont. Toxic vol. 21:89-92.

Lerda, D. & R.Rizzi, 1991, Study of reproductive function in persons occupationally exposed to 2,4-dichloraphenoyactetic acid (2,4-D) Mut. Res. 262: 47-50.

Hammond, M., 1995, Pesticide Bylaws: Why We Need Them and How to Get Them. Consultancy for Alternative Education, Quebec.

Spears T., 1995, Toronto Star April 29.