The Impact of Pesticides - Academy Publish

Pesticide Risk Index of Del Azul Water Creek (Argentina):Tool for Predicting Its Overall Environmental HazardFabio Peluso, Fabián Grosman, José González Castelain, Natalia Othax,Lorena RodriguezINTRODUCTIONAccording to FAO, a pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intendedfor preventing, destroying or controlling any pest, including vectors of human oranimal diseases, unwanted species of plants or animals that cause damage orinterfere of any kind in the production, processing, storage, transportation ormarketing of food, agricultural products, wood and wood products or animal feedsor which may be administered to animals to control insects, arachnids or other pestson their bodies (FAO, 1986). It is now very intense the use of agrochemicals in theproduction systems in order to obtain higher yields, which directly results intohigher incomes. The province of Buenos Aires is the major agricultural producingdistrict of Argentina and accounts for 40% of national production (MAA, 2004).The main crops are soybeans (3.7x10 6 Ha. planted), wheat (2.9x10 6 Ha.), sunflower(1.1x10 6 Ha.), and maize (0.8x10 6 Ha.), according to data from the 2005/2006campaign (CITAB, 2010). These volumes are the product of the agriculturizationprocess, which started in 1970 in Argentina, which expanded the agriculturalfrontier at the expense of grasslands and other natural environments, and broughtgreater mechanization of the activity and the use of agrochemicals (Pengue, 2000;Pengue, 2001). The increased use of pesticides in the country (from 73 to 236million kg. between 1995 and 2005 (CASAFE, 2010) reported the presence of thesesubstances in different environmental compartments (soil, surface water andgroundwater, biota, foods derived from agricultural activities, etc.) as mentioned inPeluso et al., 2011a.In Argentina, local systems of environmental management (municipalities) areusually unaware of the type of substances used in its jurisdiction, theircharacteristics, volumes discharged to the environment and its potentialenvironmental effects. This creates a situation of great uncertainty.Water quality monitoring of Del Azul creek (36°00'/37º20'S - 60º12'/58º52'W,center of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina), has found different pesticides asa consequence of their wide use in the basin. This is a water course of plain terrainof 160 km long that, at about half its length passes through the city of Azul (60,000inhabitants) (Figure 1). Upstream from this city, there has been a widening of thechannel to create a bath resort that, in summer, can be visited by 10,000 people overthe weekend. Many of these visitors are bathers. In addition to this use, people alsoAcademyPublish.org - The Impact of Pesticides240