The Impact of Pesticides - Academy Publish

Modifying Influence of a Pesticide Dump on Plants andAnimals of Wood, Meadow, Pond and Lake EcosystemsKrystyna A. Skibniewska, Jozef Szarek, Janusz Guziur, MiroslawGrzybowski, Katarzyna Sawicka-Kapusta, Marta ZakrzewskaABSTRACTA team of specialists from various specializations studied in 2001-2009 influence ofa pesticide dump on plants and animals living on a territory of a buriedorganochlorine pesticide wastes and its neighborhood. The dump in a form of 32concrete wells and two unsecured pits was located in a sandy hill. Due to low lightsoils potential of accumulation, low levels of the contaminants(dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, lead and cadmium) were determined in soils,sediments and plants. There were well-marked differences of contaminantsconcentrations in tissues of animals living close to the dump, in comparison to thoseliving at greater distances, anyway, the levels did not exceeded the Polish maximumlimits for food of animal origin. Influence of the hazardous substances was clearlyrevealed in the change of phytosociological relations of the wood and the lake nearthe source of contamination. Pathomorphological analysis of organs and cells ofmice and carps confirmed statistically more morphological lesions in rodents livingin the area of the pesticide dump and in carps bred in the pond nearby the tomb. Theresults of the research can serve as a methodology for searching for lost hazardoussubstances dumps in the environment.INTRODUCTIONAll over the world, the 20 th century left behind numerous improperly-secureddumping sites of plant protection chemicals past their expiry date and otherhazardous substances, which are slowly being released to the environment, posing athreat to human health. A significant part of the deposits contained organochlorinecompounds (OCls). Even 50 years ago, DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) wascommonly applied throughout the world. Apart from helping farmers, it preventedmillions of deaths by mass control of insects transmitting dangerous diseases suchas malaria, plague, typhus fever or dysentery. Initially, it seemed safe, since it didnot cause any visible symptoms of poisoning. Over time, it was realized that thiscompound decomposed in the environment only to a low degree and it accumulatedin the fat of living organisms and when their weight declined rapidly it causedpoisoning (Jandacek and Tso, 2001). Even at low concentrations in livingorganisms, it induces carcinogenic processes (Ennaceur et al., 2008), acts as anendocrine disrupter, causes disorders of the reproductive process (Ben Rhouma etal., 2001) and leads to diseases, e.g. osteoporosis or nervous system disorders (vanWendel de Joode et al., 2001).In the 1960s and 1970s, many countries introduced a ban on the application ofDDT-based preparations. In Poland, they were allowed to be used until 1974. Theremaining, unused reserves were to be deposited in a manner specified forhazardous waste. The most reasonable and safest way, so it seemed, was to depositthose substances underground. Thus, many so-called pesticide dumps were created;concrete bunkers or wells made of rings, often leaky, sometimes located in theAcademyPublish.org - The Impact of Pesticides155