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submitted by the agrochemical industry for their effectiveness against disease
vectors and nuisance pests. It also includes evaluation of the toxicity of these
compounds to man and beneficial species. It has four phases: laboratory
evaluation, small-scale field evaluation on the natural population of pests,
large-scale field trials, and establishment of specification for pesticides.
Pesticides in drinking water
Some of the pesticides that contaminate drinking water are specifically evaluated
by a WHO ad hoc working group to provide appropriate information
for the production or revision of WHO Drinking Water Quality Guidelines
(WHO 1984).
Environmental health-criteria documents
The environmental health-criteria documents are designed for scientific
experts who are responsible for the evaluation of risk to human health and the
environment incurred by chemicals. They enable relevant authorities to establish
policies for the safe use of these chemicals. The risk incurred by some
physical factors is also studied. The information is detailed enough to allow
the scientific reader to make his or her own validation. Over 30 documents
dealing with pesticides have been published or are in press, and more are in
preparation.
Health and safety guides
The health and safety guides are designed for the wide range of administrators,
managers, and decision-makers in various ministries and governmental
agencies, as well as in commerce, industry and trade unions, who are involved
in various aspects of safe chemical use. They summarize toxicity information
in simple, nontechnical language and provide practical advice on safe storage,
handling and disposal of the chemical, accident prevention and health protection
measures, first aid and medical treatment in cases of overexposure, and
clean-up procedures. So far, over 30 guides have been published and more are
in preparation.
Pesticide data sheets
To provide member states, governments, and various institutions, public and
private, with basic toxicologic information on individual pesticides, WHO, in
collaboration with the FAQ, issues data sheets on pesticides. Priority is given
to compounds that are widely used in public-health programs and in agriculture
or have a high or unusual toxicity record. Since the program began in
1975, 70 data sheets have been published in English and French. Data sheets
are revised when appropriate. Draft versions are produced by a group of
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