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Protecting the Environment and Public Health from Pesticides Yongbo Liu,† Fengqiao Liu,‡ Xubin Pan,§,* and Junsheng Li†,* †
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China ‡ School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States § School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China Two countries, Cook Islands and Iceland, consumed the smallest amount of insecticides, less than 1 tonne per year on average. We used the insecticide data of 32 countries from 1993 to 2009 from FAO database to identify the insecticide consumption trends, based on which the 32 countries were divided into four groups: with increased, decreased, unimodal and no obvious trends (one country selected from each group as shown in Figure 1). Among them, 12 countries (Austria,
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t has long been tough to balance the use of pesticides used for increasing agricultural production to feed the growing population and the protection of environment and human health from severe pollution. Millions of tonnes of pesticides are used to protect crops against insect pests, which can also be detrimental to nontarget species. For example, as important pollinators, bees visit flowers of blooming crops and are exposed to pesticides, leading to decrease in foraging success, colony growth, and queen production.1,2 The application of pesticides has caused a striking decrease in zooplankton and periphyton populations, and a substantial increase in amphibian mortality, like frogs, through a trophic cascade.3 The overuse of pesticides has already resulted in severe environmental deterioration, such as contamination in aquatic ecosystems and groundwater. In addition, pesticide residues in agricultural products can threaten human health through the food web. Inadequate protection from the exposure to pesticides also put the peasants and workers into danger, especially in developing countries. According to FAO database, there are 140 countries with insecticide consumption data from 1993 to 2009. For 50 countries (36%), each used more than 1000 tonnes of insecticides per year on average. Among them, 10 countries, 7 developing and 3 developed, each consumed an average of over 10 000 tonnes of insecticides per year. The United States consumed the largest amount of insecticides with 96 000 tonnes each year, followed by India (34 000), Mexico (25 000), Japan (24 000), Brazil (17 000), Italy (17 000), Turkey (14 000), Vietnam (13 000), Bangladesh (11 000), and Columbia (10 000). © 2012 American Chemical Society
Figure 1. Insecticide data of selected countries (Bangladesh, increased; Italy decreased; Columbia, unimodal; Turkey, no obvious trend) from 1993 to 2009 based on FAO database.
Bangladesh, Camerron, Chile, Czech, Ghana, Hungary, Lithuania, Mauritius, Poland, Ukraine, and Uruguay) showed an increased trend in pesticide consumption from 1993 to 2009, of which 10 (except Austria and Czech Republic) were developing countries from central Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. Nine countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and UK) displayed a decreased trend, most of which (except Japan) were from Europe, with seven developed countries and two developing countries with high GDP per capita. Seven countries (Columbia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Iran, Jordan, Madagascar, and Yemen) exhibited a unimodal trend, with insecticide use increasing first and then decreasing, and most of them (except Cyprus) Received: April 21, 2012 Accepted: April 25, 2012 Published: May 7, 2012 5658
dx.doi.org/10.1021/es301652v | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012, 46, 5658−5659
Environmental Science & Technology
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were developing countries. For the remaining four countries (Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey), the insecticide consumption showed an interannual variation but no obvious trend, although the Switzerland and Germany both consumed a large amount of insecticides in 2009. To sum up, the insecticide consumption decreased in most developed countries, which might be due to their less dependence on chemical compounds but more on advanced scientific technologies to protect crops from insect pests. If the unimodal-stable model should be a dominant trend in insecticide consumption, the use of insecticides in most nonunimodal countries may continue to increase with global economic development, especially the developing countries that need to first feed their increasing population. To alleviate the negative effects of pesticide application, more measures should be adopted to improve pesticide production, operation, and regulation. Effective operation and management of pesticides can not only reduce their consumption, but also protect the ecosystem and public health. Inventing environmental friendly pesticides is another choice but requires more financial support and stronger industrial base. An alternative is to breed insect resistant crops through traditional methods or modern molecular procedure. For example, from 1996 to 2008, genetically modified plants (GMPs) in the world reduced 8.4% of pesticide consumption.4 Of course, to ensure the GMPs’ safety and remove the public’s concern about them, we should fully evaluate the biosafety of GMPs before their releasing. Biological pest control is also important for reducing pesticide consumption. Besides natural enemy, ecosystem approaches such as constructed wetlands are an effective way to mitigate hydrophobic pesticides in irrigation tailwater.5
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected] (X. P.);
[email protected] (J. L.). Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was financially support from the Special Program for New Transgenic Variety Breeding of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (No. 2012ZX08011002 and No. 2011ZX08012).
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REFERENCES
(1) Whitehorn, P. R.; O’Connor, S.; Wackers, F. L.; Goulson, D. Neonicotinoid pesticide reduces bumble bee colony growth and queen production. Science 2012, 336, 351−352. (2) Henry, M.; Béguin, M.; Requier, F.; Rollin, O.; Odoux, J- F.; Aupinel, P.; Aptel, J.; Tchamitchian, S.; Decourtye, A. A common pesticide decreases foraging success and survival in honey bees. Science 2012, 336, 348−350. (3) Relyea, R. A.; Diecks, N. An unforeseen chain of events: lethal effects of pesticides on frogs at sublethal concentrations. Ecol. Applic. 2008, 18, 1728−1742. (4) James, C. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2010. In ISAAA Brief; Ithaca, NY, 2010, 42. (5) Budd, R.; O’Geen, A.; Goh, K. S.; Bondarenko, S.; Gan, J. Efficacy of constructed wetlands in pesticide removal from tailwaters in the central valley, California. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 2925−2930.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/es301652v | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012, 46, 5658−5659
