Pesticides active ingredients are used worldwide in around 5,000 different spraying agents. This wide variety of pollutants can endanger any of our elemental bodily functions, depending on the mode of action. Interactions of the toxins with each other and their degradation products have so far hardly been studied and represent a further risk. Many toxicologists therefore consider the existing limit values to be insufficient. But even these limits are exceeded in many foods today. Pesticides are one of the most common causes of acute and creeping poisoning.
DANGERS FOR CONSUMERS
The slow and time-delayed effects of pesticides are particularly dangerous for consumers: they can disrupt cell division, promote the development of cancer, alter the genetic material, impair the immune system, trigger allergies. The doctors at the International Cancer Congress 1999 in Lugano (Switzerland) explained that pesticides promote the formation of certain cancers.
Another problem arises from hormonally effective and difficult-to-degrade chemicals (permanent toxins), which are now found everywhere in the environment. The EU lists more than 50 active substances that are highly likely or proven to affect the human hormonal system. It is undisputed that not only the quality of human sperm, but also their quantity has decreased drastically.
For several animal species, the link between pesticide exposure and reproductive disorders has been established; the effect of numerous pesticides on the hormonal system of mammals. These findings at least suggest that the decline in human fertility may be due to the creeping but sumbing exposure to pesticide residues. For example, the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences found increased levels of pesticides alachlor, atrazine, and diazinone in the urine of men with reduced sperm count and quality. They were also more likely to detect 2.4-D and metolachlor.
DANGER IN THE LIVING ROOM
Consumers who use pesticides in their homes or possess pesticide-treated furniture or textiles were exposed to additional hazards. Environmental Health Perspectives reported conspicuously high residues of pyrethroids or active substances such as chlorpyrifos in the urine of 386 pregnant women in January 2003 and warned of abnormalities in the nervous system of the unborn. The Stiftung Warentest gives good tips in its guide to living without poisons.
FOOD ALARM
Pesticide residues are often the source of EU-wide food alerts and recalls. In 2002, pesticides were used for about 20 percent of all EU chemical exposure alerts.
DANGERS FOR USERS
Farmers and hobby gardeners are often exposed to significant pesticide exposures – with serious consequences: studies over the last 30 years show an increased risk of developing lymphatic cancer for people who come into regular contact with pesticides.
One of the few long-term studies of agricultural workers was submitted to the Cancer Registry of Central California in 2002. Compared to the control group, 59 percent more agricultural workers were diagnosed with leukemia, 63 percent more with cervical cancer and 68 percent more with uterine cancer and 69 percent more with stomach cancer. The fact that the researchers were mostly seasonal workers of Hispanic descent also sheds light on the social component of pesticide-related health risks.
DANGERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Users in developing countries are exposed to even higher risks – usually without their knowledge. On the one hand, most third world countries still allow active substances that have long since been banned from the market in Europe, and on the other hand, legislation is even easier to circumvent. Controls hardly exist.
Under the given working conditions, the appropriate precautionary measures can rarely be taken: many workers are lawless and illiterate. This is how hardly anyone understands the application instructions – if they printed on the packaging in the language of the users. There is a lack of protective clothing or accessories and equipment to spread the pesticides as safely as possible. Pesticides are often sprayed over plantations from the aircraft, regardless of whether farm workers are there.
PESTICIDE WASTE
After all, old pesticides pose a particular risk to farmers and the population seofes in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union: around 500,000 tons of pesticide waste have accumulated over the last 30 years and their disposal is largely unregulated. The disposal costs are estimated at about three dollars per kilogram.
However, with a few exceptions from manufacturers, they have been supported by governments and aid organizations, including the Netherlands, Germany, the USA, Sweden and the FAO. Only a few thousand tons of toxic waste have been disposed of in Africa and the Middle East.
We all now know that pesticides are toxic and bad for the health. If you have a pest problem you can visit VPD cannabis. They are offering organic pest control services to ensure your safety and uses the latest pest control technology.