How Pesticides Enter Our Water

     Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill, control, or repel insects, plant diseases, weeds, rodents, and germs. (Most pesticides are used in agriculture production, to killing pests found on hundreds of different crops including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and cereal grains.) All these foods form a good majority of North America’s diet, and the majority of these foods consumed contain pesticide residues. Pesticides are also used to get rid of unwanted pests in homes, schools, and parks. All of these chemicals are especially harmful to children because they can routinely come in contact with various pesticides through their distinctive diet and play activities. Water and apple juice are proven to

Modern farming and agricultural operations contribute to the degradation and contamination of our environment as well as the neighboring ecosystems. Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, animal manure and other Argo-chemicals are rich in chemical nutrients and toxic substances which are often the major sources of agricultural pollution. The use of these various types of products can affect water quality when it rains, and the contaminated soils and water is washed into the waters or into ground waters. These chemicals can also be absorbed by plants which are then consumed by animals and even humans, harmful to animal and human health. There are many causes of this pollution.

To understand pesticides, we must look at the facts about them. According to the EPA, pesticides are chemicals specifically designed and sold to prevent, destroy, or repel pests from garden, greenhouses, fields, and orchards (Learn About Chemicals Around Your House). Charlotte Gerber’s article, How Do Pesticides Kill Bugs, explained that pesticides targets insects and kills them by attacking the nervous system and then when the muscles are over-stimulated, this will lead to paralysis and death. The effect of the organophosphates that cause that in pesticides was discovered in the 1930's during World War II. They were used in the creation of nerve gas, which was used in chemical warfare. When used in lethal dosages for humans, organophosphates cause extreme excitability, convulsions, paralysis and in most cases, death (Gerber). According to Effects of Pesticides on Human Health, The World Health Organization estimates that there are 3 million cases of pesticide poisoning each year and up to 220,000 deaths, primarily in developing countries (Lah and Glibert 2011). Children, and any other young and developing organisms, are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides. Even very low levels of exposure during development may have adverse health effects. Exposure can even lead to neurological health effects such as memory loss, loss of

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in our lakes, rivers, streams, and drinking water sources cause the degradation of these water bodies and harm fish, wildlife, and human health." In the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory, states reported that agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution was the leading source of water quality impacts on surveyed rivers and lakes, as well as the second largest source of impairments to wetlands, and a major contributor to contamination of surveyed estuaries and groundwater. Agricultural activities that cause NPS pollution include poorly located or managed animal feeding operations; overgrazing; plowing too often or at the wrong time; and improper, excessive or poorly timed application of pesticides, irrigation water and fertilizer. Since the 1960s, the high input of agriculture production has resulted in the surplus of nitrogen and phosphorus in farm fields, which run off into surface waters. High concentrations of nitrates and phosphates in surface waters could lead to eutrophication and instability of the aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication is caused by the over-enrichment of water with phosphates and nitrates, a problem that has become a widespread in rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal

It has been a prime location for studies to be conducted by health organizations to see if there are any links to the pesticide usage occurring along with people living in the vicinity of where it is being used. ARTICLE PESTICDES STUDY (Kehoe) The study correlates a link between certain chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of pesticides and these chemical ORGANOCHLORINES to Alzheimer’s disease along with many autism related defects between children. Children are who we try to keep safe as they are the young and will be our future. Pregnant women living in pesticide applied areas were more likely to have a child with birth defects as the chemicals are absorbed through the air and can reach the fetus via the bloodstream. These are also the most susceptible to these chemicals being used by farmers and the by the produce they

Pesticides are also found in the Great Lakes. These pesticides are made up of dangerous chemicals like toxaphene and chlordane. The rain transports the pesticides from crops to bodies of water like the Great Lakes. They are then absorbed by phytoplankton and it moves up the food chain from there. Pesticides

Use of pesticide in farming has long been a topic of debate in both developed and developing countries. Significantly, Canadian farming also relies heavily on the use of pesticides. In Canada, Pest Management Regulatory Agency, a division of Health Canada regulates the use of pesticides. Although, the Ministry of Environment has banned the sale of a large number of highly toxic “pesticides for cosmetic purposes on lawns, gardens, parks and schoolyards….but the ban makes exceptions for agriculture, forestry and golf courses, and for public health or safety issues” (News Staff, 2009). However, this regulation does not wholly satisfy the majority of Canadians that supports pesticide bans on a larger scale due environmental and health concerns.

The chemical pesticides used in farming affect the quality of water because of run off which then go into lakes or rivers. In chapter four, Carson concentrates on the water pollution caused by pesticides. The pollution can be unsafe for use and causes fish to die. An example used is a study done by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1960 that showed that “our waters have become almost universally contaminated with insecticides.” (pg.41) The pesticides are especially threatening to groundwater which is an important source of drinking water for humans. Consequently, the chemicals in pesticides can cause cancer and other harm effects on our health. Another issue is that the pesticides in water and can mix with other chemicals and become a new chemical. Therefore, it can lead to the creation of an unknown chemical with harmful

Pesticides could cause everyday complications such as headaches or nausea. Additionally, pesticides could cause the significantly worse cancer, reproductive harm, or endocrine disruption. According to Toxics Action Center, “There is also mounting evidence that exposure to pesticides disrupts the endocrine system,” they later added, “Endocrine disruption can produce infertility and a variety of birth defects and developmental defects in offspring” (“The Problem”). Endocrine disruption, one of the health concerns that could come from pesticides, should be especially concerning for soon-to-be parents. No parent wants to come to learn their child is hormonally imbalanced, has a behavioral disorder, or is impaired in brain development. While chemical pesticides are affecting their children’s growth, they could also be giving parents trouble of their own. Studies by the National Cancer Institute report, “American farmers, who in most respects are healthier than the population at large, had startling incidences of leukemia, Hodgkins disease, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and many other forms of cancer.” One would think there should be a ban on cancer-causing matter, yet because of the benefits, people continue using pesticides. Farmers, using the chemicals more than an average person, are often discovered to have cancers linked to their pesticide use. Are the benefits of pesticides really worth harm like this? Sure, it makes

Remediating Agricultural Water Contamination: Problem, Solution, and Barriers Paper Student Name COMM 2367 MWF 9:10 Instructor Name September 29, 2012

Factory farms also produce staggering quantities of waste and greenhouse gases, polluting the air, land, and water. Because most rural communities use groundwater in everyday life, groundwater pollution from factory farms is a huge problem in today's society. High levels of nitrates from fertilizers and animal waste have been shown to contaminate the groundwater used to drink, bathe, etc. Another way of pollution in water is polluted runoff. It comes from animal fertilizer, the use of pesticides, and soil erosion. The annual damages from this runoff is estimated between $2 billion - $8 billion (Erwin, David). The clean water act of 1972 “established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States”

Agricultural pollution has historically not been regulated under the United State’s most powerful water quality control law, The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA). But as the U.S. agricultural industry has become more industrialized, additions have been added to the CWA that attempt to curb increasing pollution from industrial animal farm housing facilities, technically known as Concentrated Animals Feeding Operations (CAFOs). One of these additions — the “Waters of the United States,” (WOTUS) Rule — came in 2015, providing scientific evidence for the regulation of CAFOs and other highly toxic sources alike under the CWA. In the name of all farmers, President Donald Trump has taken the side of industrial agriculture since taking office, and proposed

Factory farming reduced the amount of land needed for meat production, however, these farms are a serious water pollutant. The waste of these animals ends up in the surrounding water and poses the constant threat of drinking water contamination. Runoff from factory farms and livestock grazing are one of the leading causes of pollution in rivers and lakes. The EPA notes that “bacteria and viruses can be carried by the runoff and that groundwater can be contaminated.” The huge quantities of animal waste runoff produced by these operations leech into the water supply and affect the natural aquatic life cycle. Livestock manure is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous, and other fertilizers. These chemicals eventually work their way into our stream, rivers

It is also shown that pesticides are partly responsible for the rising cancer rates and birth defects among children (“Pesticides”).

Drinking water quality was not a concern until the last century when the use of chemicals was greatly expanded. Chemicals are used to kill weeds, insects, and other pests. Chemicals are typically sprayed on an area and are designed not to harm the crop, grass, or other plants that you want to remain. This mass application procedure allows much-unutilized chemical to soak into the soil and eventually leach into the