Buffer Zone Requirements For Agricultural Pesticide Applications

Page 16 Pesticides and You Vol. 24, No. 2, 2004 As suburban sprawl extends further into the countryside, the numbers of people who live, play and work near agricultural land is increasing. Due to pesticides drifting, thousands of individuals are directly affected by adjacent or surrounding agricultural fields where pesticide use totals nearly a million pounds a year. Pesticides used on lawns, ornamentals and trees also drift on to neighboring property. Both scenarios result in chemical trespass causing involuntary exposure. Government and independent studies show that drifting pesticides pose serious environmental and human health risks miles away from the treated fields. With 77% of all pesticides in the U.S. being used in agriculture, people, especially vulnerable high risk population groups like children, the elderly and infirm, are directly exposed to pesticides drifting on to homes, schools, health care facilities and other sensitive sites throughout communities. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Each year, states receive about 2,500 complaints of drift from individuals.” In 2002, nearly half of the reported pesticide illness cases in California were individuals who were exposed as a result of pesticide drift. Researchers believe that reported occurrences are a fraction of actual incidents. While EPA has proposed changes to product labels that will instruct users to “not allow spray to drift from the application site...,” the health effects associated with drift exposure are not calculated or incorporated into agency risk assessments. Could EPA allow pesticides to be used if it had to calculate the real world impacts of drifting chemicals on people suffering cancer, neurological disease, asthma, etc.? Are there requirements EPA could impose on users to prohibit drift under penalty of law? Are drift reduction or mitigation strategies effective? Should the need to stop drift require the adoption of feasible non-toxic alternatives (e.g. organic)? Getting the Drift on Chemical Trespass