What to do if you have been drifted on
Secondhand Pesticides: Airborne Pesticide Drift
Drift Occurs During and After Pesticide Applications
Catch My Drift: Pesticides Don't Stay Put
Measuring Pesticide Drift at Distances to Four Miles
Trespassing toxins
Identifying Populations Potentially Exposed to Agricultural Pesticides Using Remote Sensing and a Geographic Information System
New U.S. Reports Find Pesticides in People
Strengthen Controls on Pesticide Spray Drift
Comments on Drift by Beyond Pesticides
EPA: Spray Drift of Pesticides
EPA: Spray and Dust Drift Label Statements for Pesticide Products
ATSDR's report addressing community health concerns about potential harmful effects from exposure to pesticides being applied at nearby nurseries
The movement of spray particles and vapors off target by air is referred to as spray drift. Unfortunately, when applying pesticides there is a chance that some will escape from the target area.
The Drift Catcher
PANNA has developed a user-friendly and accurate air monitoring device called the Drift Catcher to measure the concentration of pesticides in the air.
''Pesticide drift is unavoidable whenever pesticides are applied. Drift is greatest from aerial applications, when typically 40 percent of the pesticide is lost to drift. Drift from aerial applications routinely is measured hundreds of yards away from the application site, and has been measured miles away. Ground applications of pesticides can drift for hundreds of feet.Health effects of drift are difficult to study, but several careful studies have documented health problems related to drift exposure. Laws concerning drift are written to protect farmers from each other's pesticides. They are not designed to protect individuals from unwanted exposure or nearby residences.
There are no simple solutions to drift problems. Changes in application techniques, setting up buffer zones, and systems for notifying nearby residents about pesticide applications can all help. The best solution for drift problems is to replace chemically-based pest management techniques with sustainable alternatives.''
''Indiscriminately from the Skies'' by Caroline Cox -- Journal of Pesticide Reform, Spring 1995, Vol. 15, No. 1 Full article is online: http://www.pesticide.org/drift.pdf
Amounts of pesticides reaching the target pests: environmental impacts and ethics Pimentel, David. 1995, J. Agric. Environ. Ethics 8:17-29.Approximately 2.5 million tons of pesticides are applied to crops every year, but less than 0.1% actually reach the target pests. The excess pesticide spreads into the environment where it can detrimentally affect human health through the contamination of soil, water, and the atmosphere. The current management of pesticides threatens the quality and health of the environment and is an ethical issue that farmers must confront. The author maintains that the major reason for pesticides not reaching target pests is poor application methods. Under the conventional method of aircraft application with ultra-low volume spray, only about 25% of the spray reaches the target area. However, this method is popular because about five times as much pesticide can be distributed per flight. The droplets must be very small to reach the target area. Thus, even under ideal weather conditions the pesticide can easily spread to surrounding areas. Ground application of pesticides with air-blast sprayers is more effective at reaching target pests than aircraft but still allows 35% of the pesticide to drift away. Crops require very little pesticide to kill pests and therefore the author concludes that with better application, the amount of pesticide currently used could be reduced by 99%. Using new poisoned insect bait is one method that will improve application efficiency and reduce the threat of contamination to humans and the environment.
A Photographer Responds to Pesticide Poisoning Tümer's images, inspired by the research of Dr. Richard Fenske, provide a picture of the ubiquitous presence of pesticides. For the past 20 years, Fenske has developed the use of fluorescent tracers to show farmworkers how their skin is exposed to pesticides during application. If pesticides could be seen on our clothes, skin and children's toys, this is what they would look like. IPM Basics: Minimizing Spray Drift Are you paying out claims due to pesticide drift? Is it resulting in unexpected visits from your state Department of Agriculture? Is it causing your neighbors to be irate?Drift, or movement of pesticides away from the target area, is expensive, dangerous and illegal. Excessive drift can cost you money through pest damage to poorly covered target plants or even legal action resulting from contamination of non-target food crops, livestock, wildlife, surface water, vehicles or other private property.
U.S. Senator And Others Fully Doused With Roundup "On the very first flyover by the cropduster, the U.S. Senator, the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, the Lieutenant Colonel of the Colombian National Police, and other Embassy and congressional staffers were fully doused -- drenched, in fact -- with the sticky, possibly dangerous (herbicide) Roundup. Read more...1301 Howze Beach Road, Slidell, LA 70458-8503, Phone/Fax 985 649-6574