Can pesticides cause environmental problems?

Answer 1

Many of the problems caused by pesticides are environmental. "Pesticides" is a generic term that refers to herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, termiticides, etc etc...Human health aspects are probably looked at the most, and environmental aspects the least.

Specific environmental problems can include bioaccumulation (meaning they are biomagnified up the food chain), and non-target toxicity (killing fish, invertebrates that feed fish, killing beneficial insects that keep pests down, killing birds, killing algae that feed the food chain, etc.). They oftentimes have unlooked for effects such as DDT making the shells of birds very frail.

A strange way that pesticides can harm the environment is by the so-called "inert" ingredients that EPA doesn't even test for toxicity. The most famous (right now) case of that is a surfactant in Round-up (glyphosate) that harms frogs and all sorts of other non-target organisms). It's weird that we apply these poisons and don't realize that they don't just kill what we want them too....

Anywho, yes, pesticides *are* causing environmental problems and email me if you want more specifics.

Answer 2

Yes. Pesticides can contaminate soil and water and many of them carry such warnings on their labels. In agricultural areas in New York State and around the country, drinking water wells have been closed due to pesticide contamination of groundwater. When it rains, pesticides are carried by storm drains into streams and rivers, where they can kill small plants and animals that fish depend on for food. Pesticides can also poison fish and wildlife. As discussed above, diazinon has killed ducks, geese and other water fowl. There is substantial evidence that it also has killed song-birds.

Answer 3

Yes indeed.

Answer 4

Yes they can. That's why they're controlled and dangerous.