ABSTRACT
Pesticides are an integral part of modern agricultural and urban and rural pest control programs. They contribute significantly to the abundance and quality of food, clothing, and forest products and to the prevention of disease. Pesticides are developed specifically for their ability to interact and interfere with a variety of biological targets in the pests at which they are directed. Because of the fundamental similarities of organisms at the subcellular level, human and environmental health hazards must be evaluated. The role of risk assessment in characterizing the potential health effects associated with dietary, occupational, and residential exposures to pesticides continues to provide an important mechanism for the use of sound science in the risk management decision making for these chemicals. The manufacture, distribution, and use of pesticides in the United States are strictly regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This statute, which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requires that any pesticide registered in the United States must perform its intended function without causing “unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.” Thus, implementation of the statutory requirements of FIFRA includes consideration of the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of a given pesticide. This chapter is intended to provide an overview of how potential human health risks are assessed under FIFRA with regard to the agricultural, occupational, and residential 144uses of pesticides. The chapter is organized as follows: Introduction, Balancing Benefits Against Risks, Pesticides and Food Safety, Evaluation of Occupational Exposures to Pesticides, Evaluation of Residential Exposures to Pesticides, Questions for Students to Answer, and References.
