Unintended Pesticide Impacts

Drinking water, soil, aquatic organisms, birds, bees, fish, beneficial insects, biodiversity

Eagle populations declined in 1960s

DDT reduced predatory bird populations by weakening their egg shells

AgVANTAGE-Requested & EPA Registered Fungicides

Fungicides

• Copper hydroxide (Cuproflo, Cuprocsat) • Copper sulfate (Bordeaux mixture) • Cymoxanil (Iteral) • Difenoconazole (Dividend, Score) • Kresoxim-methyl (Stroby) • Mancozeb (Mancozeb) • Metalaxyl (Ridomil) • Metiram (Polyram) • Mono- & Di-Potassium salts of phosphorous acid (Topaz (Fosphite) 53% EC) • Triadimefon (Bayleton) • Trifloxystrobin (Zato)

AgVANTAGE-Requested & EPA Registered Insecticides

Insecticides

• Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)* • Cypermethrin (Arrivo)* • Deltamethrin (Decis)* • Diazinon (Basudin) • Dimethoate (Bi-58) • Hexythiazox (Nissoran) • Imidacloprid (Konfidor, Prestige) • Lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate)* • Propargite (Omite) • Pyridaben (Sunmite) • Thiamethoxam (Actara) • Thiacloprid (Callipso)

*restricted-use products

AgVANTAGE-Requested & EPA Approved Herbicides & Nematicide

Herbicides

• Bentazon (Basagran) • Fluazifop-p-butyl (Fusilad Forte) • Glyphosate (Kline, Roundup, Uragan) • Prometryn (Gezagard) • Metribuzin (Senkor)

Nematicide

• Dazomet (Basaid)

• • Some pesticides & toxic chemicals are known to go through the soil to drinking water wells (EPA) • 2,4-D 2,4,5-TP (Silvex) Acrylamide Alachlor Atrazine Benzoapyrene Carbofuran Chlordane Dalapon Di 2-ethylhexyl adipate Di 2-ethylhexyl phthalate Dibromochloropropane Dinoseb Dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) Diquat Endothall • Endrin Epichlorohydrin Ethylene dibromide Glyphosate Heptachlor Heptachlor epoxide Hexachlorobenzene Hexachlorocyclopentadiene Lindane Methoxychlor Oxamyl [Vydate] PCBs [Polychlorinated biphenyls] Pentachlorophenol Picloram Simazine Toxaphene

Ground and surface water contamination •

In the USA, 10% of community wells and 4% of rural domestic wells have detectable levels of at least one of the 127 pesticides tested in a national survey (EPA 1990)

AgVANTAGE-requested pesticides that

may

enter drinking water wells

Fungicides

• Kresoxim-methyl (Stroby) • Metalaxyl (Ridomil) • Triadimefon (Bayleton)

Insecticides

• Diazinon (Basudin) • Dimethoate (Bi-58) • Imidacloprid (Konfidor, Prestige)

Herbicides

• Glyphosate (Kline, Roundup, Uragan) • Prometryn (Gezagard) • Metribuzin (Senkor)

Nematicide

• Dazomet (Basaid)

Honey bees pollinate crops

Honey bees in the hive

Pesticide sprays can kill honeybees

Honeybee

•

20% of all honeybee colonies are adversely affected by pesticides

•

5% of U.S. honeybee colonies are killed during winter because of pesticide residue exposure in stored pollen (Mayer 1990)

AgVANTAGE-requested pesticides toxic to bees

Fungicides

• Copper sulfate (Bordeaux mixture) • Mancozeb (Mancozeb)

Insecticides

• Chlorpyrifos (Dursban) • Cypermethrin (Arrivo) • Deltamethrin (Decis) • Diazinon (Basudin) • Lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate)

To avoid bee kills

Try to select a pesticide & dosage that will kill

•

the pest & not kill bees

If this is NOT possible: 1. Use the pesticide in the formulation least harmful to bees 2. Apply the pesticide early morning or early evening when bees are not visiting the crop 3. Warn local beekeepers before applying the pesticide 4. Move bee colonies away from sites where toxic pesticides are used

Any susceptible honey bee hives in Georgia?

Bee hives along road

Many pesticides kill fish

AgVANTAGE-requested pesticides toxic to fish

Fungicides

• Copper sulfate (Bordeaux mixture) • Mancozeb (Mancozeb)

Herbicides

• Fluazifop-p-butyl (Fusilad Forte) • Prometryn (Gezagard)

Insecticides

• Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)* • Cypermethrin (Arrivo)* • Deltamethrin (Decis)* • Diazinon (Basudin) Hexythiazox (Nissoran) • Lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate)* • Propargite (Omite) • Pyridaben (Sunmite)

*very highly toxic to fish

Any susceptible fish farms in Georgia?

Other environmental issues with pesticide use • Pesticides kill beneficial insects (those that eat crop pests) • Some pests become resistant to pesticides, requiring the use of much more pesticide to kill them, or change to another pesticide • Pesticides can poison cows, sheep, pigs • Toxicity to other plants & crops

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF PESTICIDE USE IN THE USA •

Impact Costs Millions of US Dollars/year __________________________________________________________ Public health impacts 1,140

• • • • • • • • •

Domestic animals deaths and contaminations 30 Loss of natural enemies that eat pests 520 Cost of pesticide resistance 1,500 Honeybee and pollination losses 334 Crop losses 1,391 Fishery losses 100 Bird losses 2,160 Groundwater contamination 2,000 Government regulations to prevent damage 470 TOTAL 9,645

Source: Pimentel