Pesticides: Explanation

It's not good for the air because particles are being carried by the wind to other areas around the world, which could conaminate them. This is called pesticide drift. Pesticides that are applied to crops can evaporate and may be blown by the wind into nearby areas, which potentially can harm the wildlife area. Farmers can create a buffer zone around their crop, such as evergreen trees which can be used to absorb the pesticides.

Pesticide residues have also been found in rain and groundwater. Finding pesticides in groundwater is not safe at all for the population because it has potential toxicity to humans and to other animals. There are four major ways that pesticides get into the water: it may drift outside of the intended area when it is sprayed, it may percolate, or leach, through the soil, it may be carried to the water as runoff, or it may be spilled, for example accidentally or purposely. Another way that the pesticides have been carried to water is by eroding soil.

Factors that affect a pesticide's ability to contaminate water include the water's solubility. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency set a maximum amount of concentrations that are allowable for the individual pesticides in public bodies of waters, for example, lakes, rivers, and oceans. This is so that the population is not harmed by the water when they go in to it.

Pesticides are very dangerous considering that they are one of the leading factors of causing water pollution and soil contamination. Another danger of pesticides is that it threatens the life of endangered species because once one of the species get sick due to the pesticide there is a good chance that it can pass it on to their other friends. Lastly, the pesticides also brought out negative outcomes on humans such as neurological, birth defects, fetal death, and neurodevelopmental disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide