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It is one of the most negative effects of pesticide application. Drift can damage human health, environment, and crops. [1] [2] Together with runoff and leaching, drift is a mechanism for agricultural pollution. [3] Some drift results from contamination of sprayer tanks. [4] Farmers struggle to minimize pesticide drift and remain productive. [5]
The Earlimart incident resulted in organization for better regulation and awareness regarding pesticides. “The Earlimart incident really helped to put pesticide drift on the map, partially because there was media coverage of the way that people were treated after the incident, and real concerns about how effective the emergency response system was at that time.”
From 2013 to 2020 Alpine had been directly involved in causing a multitude of pesticide drift incidents. Pesticide drift involves the migration of pesticide particles into non-regulated areas through the air. [11] Aerial application is the application method that most regularly causes pesticide drift, being the cause of 39% of drift incidents. [12]
The Earlimart pesticide poisoning refers to a November 13, 1999 pesticide drift event which occurred in the vicinity of a community in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley. This event saw 24 victims sent to hospital after coming into contact with the pesticides directly, and a further 150 people were ordered to evacuate the township.
Ground spraying produces less pesticide drift than aerial spraying does. [54] Farmers can employ a buffer zone around their crop, consisting of empty land or non-crop plants such as Evergreen trees to serve as windbreaks and absorb the pesticides, preventing drift into other areas. [55] Such windbreaks are legally required in the Netherlands. [55]
The word pesticide derives from the Latin pestis (plague) and caedere (kill). [5]The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has defined pesticide as: . any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals, causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the ...
These tests evaluate: whether the pesticide has the potential to cause adverse effects (including cancer and reproductive system disorders) on humans, wildlife, fish, and plants, including endangered species and non-target organisms; and possible contamination of surface water or ground water from leaching, runoff, and spray drift. [4]
Many countries have severely limited aerial application of pesticides and other products because of environmental and public health hazards like spray drift; most notably, the European Union banned it outright with a few highly restricted exceptions in 2009, [2] effectively ending the practice in all member states.