Definition of Pesticides
According to Robert Friis (2012), a pesticide can be defined as any substance or mixture of chemical nature produced with the intention of killing, repelling, preventing, or even decreasing the pest population. Friis (2012) goes ahead to assess how organisms respond when exposed to such toxic substances in what he terms as dose-response relationships. Besides defining pesticides, this paper also analyzes their effects on the environment, safe handling, and alternatives.
The Uses of Pesticides
Pesticides are classified according to their intended uses and composition. Some of the examples of pesticides are fungicides that are designed to either control, disarm or eliminate fungus, insecticides that suppress, kill or stupefy one or many types of insects ( Friis, 2007 ). In addition, there are also herbicides that are vital for the elimination or reduction of invasive plant weeds. Besides, there are also others such as baits, repellants, rodenticides and lures that serve specific roles. It is also important to note that some genetically modified organisms serve as pesticides because such organisms are either resistant or less attractive to the pests.
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Should People Be Concerned about their Health/Environment?
There is a need for people to be concerned about the environment because environmental health has a direct relationship with human and other organisms’ lives. Furthermore, when human beings protect the environment, a world in which air is safe for human breathing is created. Besides, human beings should also show concern to the environment because, without a conducive environment, water will never be safe for human consumption. The well-protected environment would also ensure that human beings have arable lands that are free from toxins. In addition, when people show concern to the environment, it would be significant in infectious diseases management. The physical environment which includes water, soil and air as well as social environments which comprise urban development, land use, transportation, housing, agriculture, and industry have vital roles in the lives of communities and individuals. If the two environments are not cared for by human beings, then they would suffer from exposure to physical, biological and chemical agents of environmental degradation. As a result, there is a need to strike a balance between the needs of the growing world population and that of environmental preservation.
The Disadvantages of Using Pesticides
Although farmers in the agricultural fields yield huge benefits from pesticides, there are several environmental hazards that their use pose to the environment. Most of the pesticides are mobile and therefore never remain only in the places of application ( Friis, 2008 ). As a result, they find their ways into the water, air, and soil. During this mobility of pesticides, chances of them coming into contact with other living organisms to which they were not intended to become high. Consequently, such organisms are faced with the possibilities of getting harmed.
Pesticides have the tendency of disrupting the balance within an ecosystem. In most cases, whenever pesticides are used, there are situations in which they kill non-pests. The intention of the user is never targeted towards certain organisms that unfortunately die in the process. By eliminating the non-pest from the ecosystem, pests may find the new environment favorable and thrive even better. As a result, the natural ecosystem balance would become drastically altered. In addition, pesticides that travel beyond their intended areas of application normally cause harm to humans. Whenever human beings or other animals are exposed to pesticides, poisoning occurs which may result in cases of cancer. Consequently, deaths of a significant number of people within the population may occur.
Moreover, Friis (2012) expresses that biological magnification and bioaccumulation are also problems associated with the use of pesticides. Bioaccumulation is a situation in which a dangerous substance may accumulate in the body of an organism since the organism lacks proper mechanisms of eliminating it. Generally, the majority of synthetic pesticides are not easily broken through natural body mechanisms. As a result, they permanently remain in the bodies of living organisms as stored tissues. Such foreign synthetic tissues have adverse effects on humans, as well as other animals’ health. Furthermore, predators of the organisms with accumulated substances are not safe as well. This is because the accumulated substances can be easily passed to the predator and the same adverse effects would be transferred to them. For instance, whenever floods sweep pesticides to the water bodies, the fish may end up consuming the chemicals and store them in their bodies until that time the fish is consumed by humans. As a result, the chemical would cause harm to the humans who initially never consumed it.
It is also vital to note that organisms that are found higher in the food chain would end up with more harmful chemicals as they accumulate them from various sources down the chain. As a result, the predators higher in the food chain are likely to suffer from biological magnification. This is a condition in which chemicals of the pesticide increase in concentration due to the upward movement in each level of the food chain. A pesticide known as DDT is a perfect example that is synonymous with this feature. In the early 1950s, DDT was widely used in killing and mitigating mosquito bites among human beings as well as spraying crops ( Friis, 2007 ). The pesticide got integrated into water bodies of planktons which are foods to small fish. The small fish were then consumed by large fish who were predated on by birds. However, it is the birds that died due to the accumulation of pesticides in the bodies of their prey. As a result, most predator birds of fish such as bald eagle faced extinction (Friis 2012).
Some Benefits of Using Pesticides
Chemical control of pests comes with various challenges and drawbacks. However, many reasons that still persuade farmers to remain persistent in the use of pesticides. The use of pesticides has led to a significant increase in food production, disease control, and prevention, as well as the increased returns to farmers. In using pesticides, it becomes easier to combat pests thereby producing food in larger quantities ( Levine, 2007) . One of such reasons that cannot be avoided by the farmers is that pesticides are easy to use and readily available. In addition, the chemical pesticides are easy to plan with, minimize the time of application and have an immediate effect in controlling pest destruction. Further, pesticides are cost-effective to farmers especially in situations where control targets a large geographical area. The cost-effectiveness is also evident since the application of pesticides requires less human labor. To reduce its adverse effects on the environment, its application is made in such a way that controls its likelihood pests becoming resistant to its effect.
In addition to saving livestock and crops from pests, human beings have also had direct benefits in terms of their health. It is estimated that more than the lives of seven million people have been saved from malaria-related deaths world over due to the use of pesticides to control mosquitoes ( Friis, 2008 ). Other diseases whose prevalence have been mitigated include bubonic plague carried and spread by rat fleas. The influence of body lice and fleas on transmitting typhus has also reduced in significant measures.
Safe Ways of Using Pesticides
The use and application of pesticides should target the minimization of environmental contamination as much as possible. The user should mainly perform spot treatment in which the application is mainly at the point where the pest is most prevalent. By practicing spot treatment, the spread of the chemicals is highly mitigated, hence preventing environmental degradation. Some of the areas that are suitable for spot treatment include bait stations for ants, tree trunk application for insects and herbicides ( Carson, 2002 ).
Moreover, the wind has a bad influence on the spread of pesticides. As a result, it is vital that the application of pesticides should be made on a calm or less windy atmosphere. Windy conditions can easily aid the spread of the pesticides into areas or surfaces where the chemicals are not required. Furthermore, it is advisable that the user should only purchase pesticide quantities that are sufficient for immediate use to help minimize the need to stock or dispose of leftovers. It is even safer to share the excess pesticide with another needy person to use them instead of storing ( University of California Integrated Pest Management Program, 2016) .
When dumping the excess pesticide, the user should avoid dumping the material or the content into the waterways, sewers, storm drains, soil, and gutters or in the trash. The remains should be forwarded to the hazardous waste disposal facility within the local household ( Friis, 2008 ). Moreover, it is essential to choose less toxic alternatives of pesticides that may have little killing effects to close organisms that may not be the target. Some pesticides may not be toxic to people but have fatal effects on other beneficial insects, such as honey bees. As a result, it is vital to put consideration beyond human health alone. Herbicides should selectively kill weeds but spare garden plants that are desired. Every user of pesticides should take time to read the labels on each pesticide to understand the instructions before following them during the application and handling of such drugs.
The Alternative to Using of Pesticides
Despite the numerous benefits of pesticides, there exist situations where their use attracts more dangers than good to the environment. In such instances, the use of alternatives to pesticides is recommended. The most common alternative to pesticides is the use of biological pest control ( Hond, Groenewegen, & Straalen, 2003) . In this method, there is no use of chemicals to mitigate pest activities. Instead, pests’ natural predators are introduced into the ecosystem infested by the targeted pest. In the bio-control method, there are many advantages. For instance, the natural balance of the ecosystem remains undisturbed in reasonable measures. When using pesticides, sometimes even the unintended organisms including pests’ predators may also be killed. When pest predators are eliminated, this poses threats of pests reinvading the area in a stronger formation than before. This is because their predators will be unavailable to mitigate their influence.
Moreover, the biological control of pests does not pose a threat to air and water pollution Wilen, 2006). This is because these are majorly living organisms whose movements can be controlled. In addition, animals’ pollution to air and water is in minimal quantities that may not spill to organisms in the higher levels in the food chain. The biological pest control agents do not release toxins to the water bodies. Instead, the animals only give wastes that are used to enrich the soil. The animals also offer natural solutions to ecosystem equilibrium without influencing artificial measures.
Furthermore, the bio-control measures are vital in reducing pests but do not completely eradicate the targeted pests. As a result, the pests which may be useful elsewhere will always have continuation into the ecosystem without facing the threats of extinction ( Matthews, 2006) . It, therefore, means that the biological control of pests requires a careful and successful application, as well as the level to which the controller can tolerate the pest. The biological control measures are mainly suitable in situations where pests have high tolerant levels but do not have damaging effects on the yields or health.
In conclusion, the biological control and use of pesticides are useful in different situations to fight pests. Chemical pesticides have proven to be effective against pests that attack crops directly over a wide region. However, safe handling and use must be observed, as well as taking into account the concerns of economic problems associated with modern pesticides. Biological control, on the other hand, offers a safe and healthy alternative to chemical pesticides. However, they are also only limited to pests with good tolerance for suppression. Considering environmental safety, biological control ranks top. Besides, it is also more profitable compared to chemical pesticides.
References
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Friis, R. (2008). Epidemiology for public health practice, 4th ed (9780763751616) . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Friis, R. (2012). Essentials of environmental health. Retrieved from: http://samples.jbpub.com/9781284026337/78903_ch00_FMxx_5807.pdf
Friis, R. H. (2007). Essentials of environmental health . Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.
Hond, F.. , Groenewegen, P., & Straalen, N. M. (2003). Pesticides: Problems, improvements, alternatives . Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science.
Hsaio, J. (2015). GMOs and Pesticides: Helpful or Harmful? Harvard University . Retrieved from: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/gmos-and-pesticides/
Levine, M. J. (2007). Pesticides: A toxic time bomb in our midst . Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishers.
Matthews, G. A. (2006). Pesticides: Health, safety , and the environment . Oxford: Blackwell Pub.
National Research Council (U.S.)., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2000). The future role of pesticides in US agriculture . Washington, D.C: National Academy Press.
Subramanyam, B., & Hagstrum, D. W. (2000). Alternatives to pesticides in stored-product IPM . Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
University of California Integrated Pest Management Program, (2016). The safe and effective use of pesticides .
Wilen, C.A. (2006). Pesticides: Safe and Effective Use in the Home and Landscape: Integrated Pest Management for Home Gardeners and Landscape Professionals. Retrieved from: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PDF/PESTNOTES/pnpesticideingarden.pdf
