ABSTRACT
Pesticides have been used widely to control agricultural pests, pests of medical importance, household pests, and others. Despite the methods of application, pesticides ultimately reach the soil, which serves as a reservoir for residues. From soil, they move into other segments of the environment as depicted in Figure 11.1. It can be seen that pesticide residues are absorbed by plants and enter the food chain, where they will be concentrated in animal fat. Some residues are carried by wind as vapor, which enables them to be transported long distances from the source and then collected by dust and rain before they deposit on the ground again. Pesticide residues also move to aquatic environments through runoff, leaching, and atmosphere disposition. In this chapter, four aspects of pesticides related to the environment will be covered, namely, (1) persistence of pesticides in soil, (2) photodegradation of pesticides, (3) pesticides and the food chain, and (4) sublethal effects of pesticides on wildlife. Several publications are very useful for understanding pesticides in the environment: Edwards (1973a,b), McEwen and Stephenson (1979), Matsumura and Krisna Murti (1982), Matsumura (1985), Ou (2000), and Gavrilescu (2005).
