viewpoint Parke C.Brinkley President, National Agricultural Chemicals Association
Pesticides are important as antipollutants Pollution is not confined to man-made wastes which befoul the environment. Rather, it includes many other factors which make the environment unsuited to your existence and comfort. We seldom stop to think about the many and varied forms that pollution takes. Many forms are not as obvious as the clutter along a river bank or the fumes from the family automobile but are no less important and often more deadly. Food poisoning with its violent reaction is often the result of pollution of the food by Salmonella. Other forms of food and water ''pollution" are responsible for typhoid and amoebic dysentety. A sack of flour or cake mix found crawling with weevils and cockroaches slithering along among the boxes and packages in the supermarket storeroom are pollutants which get into your spotless kitchen as you return from your shopping trip. Cockroaches spread their filth throughout the kitchen areas where you store food, china, and cooking utensils, contaminating with every step. Mice and rats can be costly and dangerous polluters, serving as hosts for fleas and disease organisms which can cause human suffering and death. Most food removed from the market by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is seized because it is contaminated with filth, including animal hairs and droppings. Pesticides offer pond solution to these Dolluters in the field. the ..... a ..~...~ ..... L~ Yarehouse, and in your home. Some pollutants of the airborne variety stem di.ectly from the development of vegetation. One of these s plant pollens which are formed as weed flowers )loom. Ragweed and goldenrod pollens are so great a :ause of suffering to many persons that the pollen connt s of great interest and concern during the hay fever ;eason. Our homes and surroundings are literally bomlarded with pollutants we rarely consider. Carpet ieetles, silverfish, clothes moths, and crickets rnin fine :apestry and eat holes in clothing, rugs, woolen articles, ind our prized book collections. Parasitic insects such as ~~~~~
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pets and attack humans as well. Aside from creating discomfort, these polluters also spread disease to humans. Lawn and garden areas are polluted as well. Soil insects such as ants and termites pollute the soil to attack
wooden structnres and the very foundation of modem living. Larvae of the Japanese beetle pollute the soil to attack the roots of fine turf in our lawns, and when the adult beetles emerge, they pollute the rose gardens, eating the flowers and other valuable shrubs and trees. Underfoot, a myriad of undesirable plants pollutes our lawns and grassy areas. Crabgrass, quackgrass, knotweed, plantain, dandelions, and other weeds suppress desirable species of life the same as other types of pollution. Desirable plants are attacked by many pollutants such as the scale insects, chafers, aphids, spider mites, and caterpillars. Insects chew the foliage, drain the sap, retard growth, kill plants, and leave an unsightly mess to spoil the beauty of our surroundings. Mosquitoes and other pollutants move in to take over our recreational areas, making them unfit for any use. Ornamental pools, farm ponds, small lakes, arid waterways are often found partially co'irered or choke:d with green pond scum. Specific pesticiaes w u prevent this polluting scum of algae that thrive on organic wastes. When uncontrolled algae die, they not only produce obnoxious odors as they decay but deplete the oxygen supply of the water, often kil!ling fish by the thousands. Unlike many other types 01 pollution where
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those mentioned here are already available. The list antipollution services by pesticides is a long one. of *. . are .. calculated . in terms . Benefits derived easily of your comfort, your health, and life itself.
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been NACA president since 1962 and is a former Virginia Commissioner o f Agriculture (1950-62) Volume 4, Number 5. May 1970 369
