Release of pesticides into the environment and initial concentrations in soil, water, and plants

2003 ◽  
Vol 75 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1905-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. Racke

Considerable information exists as to the initial concentrations of pesticide residues to be expected in soils, plants, and water. Empirical or theoretical models have been developed for incorporating this data into exposure assessments for humans as well as terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. In addition, monitoring data exists for many older products, especially with respect to typical concentrations observed in food commodities for human consumption and in surface and ground waters. Estimated and observed concentrations of pesticides in these matrices have been routinely employed for more than 30 years in assessing the potential impacts of pesticides on a variety of biologically relevant endpoints. The same data will also prove useful for exposure assessments of endocrine active substances. There are some additional research needs, however. First, further research and development is needed to ensure that estimation and monitoring methods for pesticide concentrations in soil, water, and food are applicable and utilized for all important and relevant cultural, agronomic, and environmental conditions. This is especially true with respect to developing countries and tropical climates, which are often disproportionately ignored in favor of developing countries and temperate climates. Second, methodologies for collection of monitoring data and generation of modeled estimates for pesticide residues in soil, water, and food need to be carefully designed with the requirements of higher-tier, probabilistic exposure assessments in view. Although worst-case, point estimates or analyses may be useful for screening-level assessments, advanced assessments targeted at addressing the likelihood of biologically relevant exposures are urgently required by scientists and regulatory authorities for reaching sound risk assessment and risk management decisions.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chem Int

Aflatoxins (AFTs) are toxic products of fungal metabolism, associated with serious health consequences and substantial economic losses to agriculture, livestock and poultry sectors, particularly in the developing countries. This review outlines the current information on AFTs in terms of historical background, classification, relative occurrence and co-existence with other mycotoxins in various food commodities. The phenomenon of aflatoxin (AFT) biosynthesis has been elucidated with reference to molecular basis, genetic regulation and factors affecting the AFT production. Moreover, the in vivo disposition kinetics, toxicological action and toxico-pathological consequences of AFTs have also been highlighted. Currently employed strategies for the detection and detoxification of AFTs, biomarkers of exposure assessment, potential economic impact and regulatory considerations regarding the AFTs have been emphasized.


Author(s):  
C. S. Okoye ◽  
C. E. Oguh ◽  
O. J. Umezinwa ◽  
C. C. Uzoefuna ◽  
B. C. Nwanguma ◽  
...  

Quantification of pesticide residues in retail samples of food is one way to determine the level of human exposure to these chemicals and hence their potential health hazards. The study was aimed at quantifying the level of some known pesticides in retail samples of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Cowpea) from two cropping seasons. Five cultivars of cowpea from two different harvest seasons (2016/2017 and 2017/2018) were purchased from Ogige Market, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. The cowpeas were identified based on city/state where they were cultivated. Two foreign samples were also purchased from London, UK. The pesticide residues were determined using gas chromatography coupled with electron capturing detector (GC-ECD). The results showed that the retail samples of cowpea contained residues of one or more organochlorines and organophosphates. The levels of post-harvest pesticides, 2, 2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate (DDVP) in 2016/17 season (0.02 μg/g) exceeded the international permissible standards (0.01 μg/g). The levels of the pre-harvest pesticides, glyphosate was low in both seasons (0.01 μg/g) when compared to the international permissible standards (0.1 μg/g).  The DDVP was not detected in the two foreign samples. HCB (Hexachlorobenzene), α-HCH (alpha-Hexachlorocyclohexane), Chlorpyrifos, g-chlordane, t-nonachlor, p-p’-DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), p-p’-DDE (Dichlorodiphenyldichlo-rowthylene), and p-p’-DDD (Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane) were detected in the cowpea from two cropping seasons despite being banned from agricultural use. This could be due to the additional application of pesticides during storage of the cowpeas. The findings concludes that the levels of some of the residues exceeded the safety limits while some were below the safety limits, suggesting that some of samples of the cowpea were not safe for human consumption as bioaccumulation, persistence, and toxicity of these residues was likely to pose serious health risks to the consumers. Generally, cowpea from the 2016/17 season contained higher pesticide residues than those from the 2017/18 season.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Pierre A.E.D. Sombie ◽  
Ibrahim Ouedraogo ◽  
Jean Baptiste D.L.S. Tignegré ◽  
Adama Hilou ◽  
Tinga J. Ouedraogo ◽  
...  

Cowpea is consumed as a staple food in many developing countries. The present study was undertaken to determine the variation in mineral elements and phytate concentrations in 30 cowpeas seeds varieties consumed in Burkina Faso. The composition of the thirty cowpeas seeds in total mineral varies from 5.08 % ± 0.00 to 3.55 % ± 0.08. The genotype CR06-07 showed the high content of total mineral (ashes) and the genotype Kondesyoungo local, the low content of ashes. IT81D-994 showed the high content of iron (7.07 ± 0.057 mg/100g of seeds dw), zinc (4.42 ± 0.012 mg/100 g of seeds dw), magnesium (239.80 ± 1.192 mg/100 g of seeds dw), calcium (123.39 ± 2.31 mg /100 g of seeds dw) and potassium (1201.97 ± 25.66 mg/100 g of seeds dw). Na and Se levels in the seeds showed about 4.5-fold and 7.6-fold variations between the cowpeas varieties. The genotype komcallé showed the high content of sodium (5.45 ± 0.20 mg/100 g of seeds dw) and the genotype KVx 414-22-2 had the high content of selenium (0.006 ± 0.0002 mg/100 g of seeds dw). The phytate content of the cowpeas genotypes varied from 555.61 ± 7.48 for TVU 14676 to 13.50 ± 1.14 mg/100 g of seeds dw for KVx 30-309-6G. The [Phy]/[Fe], [Phy]/[Zn], [Phy]/[Ca] and [Phy] x [Ca]/[Zn] ratios showed that the phytate content might compromise the Fe, Zn and Ca bioavailability in some cowpeas varieties. This study indicates that the cowpeas varieties might be considered as mineral source suitable for animal and human consumption.


Author(s):  
Tamika A. Garrick ◽  
Oscar E. Liburd

The world population is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050 and most of this growth will occur in developing countries. As population increases, more arable lands will be used to construct cities and these activities increase CO2 in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Climate assessments have shown rising sea levels and increase in the frequency of droughts in many dry areas. Prolonged droughts can decrease the relative amounts of water available for human consumption and agriculture. In developing countries agriculture contributes to more than 15% of GDP and when crops and livestock are deprived of water they become more susceptible to pests and diseases. As climate change continues to occur there is a need to develop strategies to manage key invasive pest and disease species that threaten agricultural production. Thrips are major agricultural pests with the majority of species in tropical regions. They are cosmopolitan in nature and damage crops when they feed and lay eggs in many parts of the plant. Thrips are also vectors for spreading plant diseases. They disperse quickly into new areas where susceptible hosts exist. This chapter focuses on a few important thrips species that threatens agricultural production in the Americas including Central and South America and the Caribbean. The chapter discusses the ecology and pest management strategies for key invasive thrips species and examines the potential effects of climate change on these troublesome species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (01) ◽  
pp. 1950005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilson de Paula ◽  
Wellington Pereira ◽  
Mary Jane Parmentier

Food commodities have been used worldwide for both human consumption and energy, amid concerns of environmental degradation and damaging effects on local food systems. Presently, strategies of rural development have encompassed the use of green resources to produce biofuels and an agenda of food security. We argue that by the strengthening of a Sectorial System of Production and Innovation involving farming activity, industrial transformation and institutional support, production for food and for energy can be balanced. Our discussion contributes to the resolution of the potential conflict between agro-energy and food production and the role of public policies in stimulating second-generation ethanol based on remaining biomass. Based on the current literature and empirical evidences, the prospects for sugarcane ethanol in Brazil are examined, bearing in mind the development of a system able to produce second-generation ethanol, as a strategy able to mitigate negative effects on food security.


Author(s):  
Sheng-Nan Li ◽  
Ming-Na Sun ◽  
Fan Wang ◽  
Xing Xu ◽  
Xin-Hong Zhang ◽  
...  

Before being administered as medicinal products, Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) must be processed and decocted for human consumption. While the presence of pesticide residues in CHMs is a major concern, pesticide dissipation behavior during CHM processing has rarely been reported. In this study, the dissipation of three pesticide residues in the CHM Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA) was investigated during each step of industrial processing. The boiling process was found to significantly reduce pesticide residues (61–89%), and the peeling process also contributed to pesticide degradation (29–68%). The high temperature (60 °C) during the drying process led to further pesticide degradation. The processing factors of all three pesticides after each processing step were less than one, and the processing factors for the overall process were lower than 0.027, indicating that industrial processing clearly reduced the amount of pesticide residues (97.3–99.4%). The findings provide guidance for the safe use of fungicides in CHMs and can help establish maximum residue limits for PRA to reduce human exposure to pesticides.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Tonima Mustafa ◽  
M Niamul Naser ◽  
Gulshan Ara Latifa ◽  
Mohammad Shoeb ◽  
Nilufar Nahar

The present study was carried out to assess the concentrations of organochlorine pesticide residues (DDTs; DDE, DDD, 2,4´-DDT and 4,4´-DDT) in natural fishes and prawn species during rainy-season (June-September, 2014) from flood plains of Sonargaon upazila, Bangladesh. The samples were extracted by Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) method and the extracts were cleaned-up by using H2SO4. Analysis of the samples for DDTs residues were carried out by using Gas Chromatograph with Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD). Controlled fish sample (Cultured Rui fish) was used for the recovery experiments. Percent (%) recovery was found to be in the range of 70%- 113%. The total DDTs contents of the head of different fish and prawn species ranged from 7.53 ± 0.50 ng/g in Jatpunti (P. sophore) to 39.20 ± 3.76 ng/g in Bele (G. giuris) and of the body from 7.55 ± 0.50 ng/g in Jatpunti (P. sophore) to 41.93 ± 3.63 ng/g in Chewa (P. elongatus). While the total DDTs of the total body of seven fish and two prawn species ranged from 4.56 ng/g in Gurachingri (unidentified) to 37.15 ng/g in Chewa (P. elongatus). In the present study, 66.66% samples having value of (DDE + DDD)/DDT, lower than 0.5 ratios indicated the presence of new DDT inputs in the environments of Sonargaon area. The concentrations of total DDTs in all the samples were within the permissible MRL level i.e. for human consumption recommended by FAO-IAEA-WHO. As DDT is a long persistent and bioaccumulative substance in the environment, intake of significant amount of these toxic elements with our diet is a matter of great health concern. Bangladesh J. Zool. 47(1): 137-148, 2019


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Marijani ◽  
Emmanuel Kigadye ◽  
Sheila Okoth

The rapid population growth in developing countries has led to strong pressure on capture fisheries. However, capture fisheries have reached their maximal limits of fish production and are supplemented by farmed fish. The growth in aquaculture has led to high demand for fish feeds, which play a very important role in fish nutrition and health. Use of animal protein in fish feeds is expensive; hence, a majority of farmers from developing countries use local feed ingredients from plant origin as a source of dietary protein. However, these ingredients of plant origin provide the best natural substrates for fungi, which can be easily accompanied by mycotoxin development under suitable conditions. The locally made feed comprises ingredients such as soybeans, cottonseed cake, and wheat and maize bran which are mixed together and ground after which the compounded feed is pelleted and stored. Among the ingredients, maize and oilseeds are more susceptible for mycotoxigenic fungi compared to other ingredients. The outcomes of mycotoxin contamination in fish feeds are not different from other animal species intended for human consumption, and they are directly associated with production losses, particularly decreased weight gain and feed conversion, impaired immune system and reproductive performance, and increased fish mortality. Fish may also carry mycotoxin residues along the food chain, thus compromising human health. Hence, it is important to ensure the control of mycotoxin contamination in fish feeds, especially during the production and storage.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Galt

This paper addresses pesticide residues on vegetables in developing countries through the specific case of Costa Rica.  Pesticide residues are often very high on vegetables in developing countries, generally considerably higher than in industrialized countries.  Using a political ecology approach, I combine qualitative and quantitative primary data with secondary data to answer two questions.  Why do farmers use pesticides in a manner that results in high levels of residues on vegetables?  And, how do markets with unequal regulatory strength affect farmers' pesticides use, and, by inference, the resulting exposure of different populations fed by different market segments?  While usually attributed to farmer ignorance, I argue that the pesticide residue problem arises from a triad of causes: higher efficacy of more residual and toxic pesticides, combined with many vegetables' biological trait of consecutive harvests, and a volatile vegetable market upon which farm household reproduction depends.  With high input costs and low farm gate prices, farmers in markets with minimal regulation will use more residual and toxic pesticides.  Using the idea of a double standard, I show that lax regulation in the open national market means that farmers are less cautious about residues on national market produce than export produce, and that some export farmers use the open national market as an outlet for their produce when they use highly residual pesticides.  Uneven regulations between North and South are manifested in farmer's management decisions, and lead to the injustice of higher residues in developing country vegetables.Keywords: pesticide residues; pesticide use; uneven regulation; Costa Rica; developing countries; national market vegetables; export vegetables; environmental injustice


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