Knowledge Section: Things you know Question Section: Things you know that

you don’t know

- Pesticides accumulated in crops and - What are the effects of long

animals through the food chain by exposure to toxins from pesticides in
bioaccumulation. humans?
- There is more impact when eating -
animals more than the plant.

Things you learned.

The most common way most infants, children, and adults are exposed to pesticides is by
eating them on and in our food. Workers in agriculture and occupational settings touch and
breathe in pesticides, putting them at risk for acute and chronic poisoning.

There have also been many studies in groups of people who work with pesticides but who
have not experienced acute poisonings serious enough to result in these kinds of symptoms.
These studies have found that chronic, lower dose exposure is associated with respiratory
problems, memory disorders, skin conditions, depression, miscarriage, birth defects, cancer
and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease. There have been fewer studies of
people without known occupational exposures, but one study with a nationally representative
sample showed increased odds of ADD/ADHD for 8-15-year-olds with increasing levels of
OP pesticides metabolites in urine.

While there have been reports and some research conducted on the effects of atrazine, the
most concerning factor is that, the research was done with such low doses of the herbicide.
Atrazine has been known to alter the genetic characteristics of frogs and even low doses of
atrazine can cause frogs to develop female organs. These feminized males can reproduce
with male frogs.

A study in the May 2004 Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives found prenatal
exposure to harmful chemicals poses an array of other dangers as well. The investigators
tested several common lawn and garden chemicals—including groundwater contaminants
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), atrazine, and dicamba—for their ability to harm
mouse embryos during a period corresponding to the first five to seven days after human
conception. These three chemicals, along with nine other common compounds, caused
increased cell death among the embryos.

Sources:
https://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/downloads/FF_Pesticides.pdf Commented [1]: APA format

Knowledge Section: Things you know Question Section: Things you know that
you don’t know

- The weak regulation in Thailand may
have caused an increase in the use of
pesticides.
- The pesticides can also go into the
water system affecting not only crops
but also another ecosystem such as
the lake or the sea.
- How can pesticides get into the
human body (other than
consumption)?
- The situation of pesticides in
Thailand
- What is the main cause of the
increase in pesticides in Thailand’s
crops?

Things you learned.

 Since the publication of Rachel Carson’s landmark 1962 book Silent Spring, the impacts
of pesticides on the environment have been well known. Pesticides are toxic to living
organisms. Some can accumulate in water systems, pollute the air, and in some cases have
other dramatic environmental effects. Scientists are discovering new threats to the
environment that are equally disturbing.

During the past decade, Thailand has experienced an approximately four-fold increase in
pesticide use.
One of the main obstacles to effective pesticide regulation in Thailand is the lack of a
consolidated, uniform system designed specifically for pesticide management. This deficit
has weakened the enforcement of existing regulations, resulting in misuse/overuse of
pesticides, and consequently, increased environmental contamination and human exposure.
This article provides a systematic review of how agricultural pesticides are regulated in
Thailand. In addition, we provide our perspectives on the current state of pesticide
management, the potential health effects of widespread, largely uncontrolled use of
pesticides on the Thai people and ways to improve pesticide management in Thailand.

Sources:
https://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/downloads/FF_Pesticides.pdf
https://www.oecd.org/env/ehs/pesticides-biocides/43045062.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3269779/ Commented [2]: Apa

Knowledge Section: Things you know Question Section: Things you know that
you don’t know
 - Bioaccumulation and - How bioaccumulation affects other
biomagnification are how the toxin of species ( marine)? accumulation
the pesticides go through the food - How have these cases been dealt
chain and into humans. with?
- If they are not successful in
- The famous case of bioaccumulation decreasing the toxins why?
the effects the member of the food
chain includes that of those bald eagle
where their eggshells got thinner due
to the consumption of toxin in the
prey that the digested.

Things you learned.

"Based on the weight of evidence from a couple of decades of research, PCBs remain the
number one pollutant of concern at the top of the food chain for wildlife in the northern
hemisphere," says Peter Ross, one of Desforges’ co-authors and a marine mammal
toxicologist at Ocean Wise, the research arm of the Vancouver Aquarium in British
Columbia.

Knowing this, Desforges and colleagues compiled research on PCBs in 351 killer whales
from around the world, creating the most far-reaching database of its kind anywhere. They
used population-growth trends and the risks posed by specific PCB levels to forecast
survival rates over a century of exposure.

They found 10 of the 19 populations they studied were already in decline, and that PCB
exposure led to fewer animals over time. Especially hard-hit are killer whales living near
industrialized areas around the Straits of Gibraltar and the United Kingdom, where less
than 10 are thought to remain. Also at risk were populations in Japan, Hawaii, and the
northeast Pacific Ocean, which tend to eat marine mammals that are themselves high in
PCBs. Populations in high latitudes—around Iceland, Norway, and the poles—have
minimal contamination and face far less risk.

In the late 1980s, harbor seals in Europe were staging a great comeback after major
declines from PCBs and pesticides in the 1960s. But shortly after government officials
declared the crisis over, more than half of the seals died after being hit with a virus. Their
immune systems likely had been weakened by years of exposure, Ross says.
 Deforges and Ross say banning PCBs clearly made the situation better for orcas "Without
that, we probably wouldn't have killer whales today," Ross says.

But both maintain that countries need to act more quickly to clean up legacy pollutants,
both at home and through the Stockholm Convention. In the meantime other threats to
orcas—particularly from food scarcity, ocean noise, and the looming risks from climate
change—need to be curbed quickly to pull some populations back from the brink.

Sources:
https://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/downloads/FF_Pesticides.pdf
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/orcas-killer-whales-poisoned-
pcbs-pollution/

21.05

Knowledge Section: Things you know Question Section: Things you know that
you don’t know

- When pesticides get into the water
supply and make its way into the
ocean the whole ecosystem under the
sea is affected since they are all
contaminated by the pesticides.
- Pesticides may change the behavior of
the organism making it more
vulnerable to predator.
- What are the effects of pesticides in
the ocean asides from the given
example?
- How pesticides get into the ocean
(other than from the contamination
of the runoff)
 Things you learned.

All pesticides are toxic at some level, but each varies in their toxicity to humans and other animals.
Organophosphates, including diazinon and chlorpyrifos, are insecticides that contain phosphorus; they are nerve
poisons and act by inhibiting important enzymes in the nervous system in animals. Pyrethroids are another class
of insecticides that are not as toxic to humans and other mammals, but are quite toxic to fish and invertebrates.
Both the organophosphates and pyrethroids pose serious threats to aquatic invertebrates in California
waterways.

Irrigation increases the chance that pesticides will migrate to groundwater and surface water. Irrigating
saturated soils or irrigating at a rate that exceeds the infiltration rate of soil promotes runoff that can carry
pesticides with it. Irrigation that promotes the frequent downward movement of water beyond the root zone of
plants also promotes the leaching of substances including pesticides to groundwater. This is of particular
concern in areas where frequent irrigation is necessary because of coarse-textured soils. Proper irrigation
management is critical to minimize the risk of pesticides infiltrating groundwater.

The health effects of pesticides depend on the type of pesticide. Some, such as the organophosphates and
carbamates, affect the nervous system. Others may irritate the skin or eyes. Some pesticides may be carcinogens
(cancer causing). Others may affect the hormone or endocrine system in the body. Pesticide mixtures may be
derived from common sources (such as point sources) or from multiple nonpoint sources, and may include
several different types of pesticide compounds with different mechanisms of toxicity.

Sources:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/WATER/U/stormdrain.html
https://www.safewater.org/fact-sheets-1/2017/1/23/pesticides

Knowledge Section: Things you know Question Section: Things you know that
you don’t know
 - The solution to prevent more runoff
of pesticides into the ocean maybe to
regulate laws that can control the
runoff from agriculture.
-
- What can be done to sole the issue
and how can it work best
-

Things you learned.

- Conservation buffers are areas designed to intercept and trap chemicals before
they reach surface water. Often native grasses are planted alone or in
combination with shrubs and trees along field borders between the crop and a
waterway. Buffers trap pesticides, bacteria, fertilizers, and soil sediment,
reducing the amount of potential contaminants that move off the site. Buffers are
one of the best management tools a landowner can install, as they offer multiple
benefits, and often require little maintenance.
Choose these sites for more information on conservation buffers:

- An IPM program combines the best techniques to prevent pests and to keep them
below economically damaging threshold levels and ensure that pesticides are used
appropriately. If a pesticide is prone to reach surface or groundwater, suitable IPM
tactics can reduce or eliminate the risk of surface or groundwater contamination.
- The IPM program also facilitates the selection of a pesticide to be delivered
precisely on target and at the proper time. Crop scouting, or monitoring, correctly
identifies the pest and collects information needed so that applications are made
only when needed, and only when the pest is vulnerable, allowing for a more
effective pesticide application. Reducing the need for multiple applications of
pesticides reduces the chance that pesticides may reach and contaminate water.
Visit the PES site Integrated Pest Management.
- Best Management Practices (BMPs) are conservation practices, or systems of
practices, and management measures that control soil loss and reduce water quality
degradation caused by nutrients, animal wastes, toxics, and sediment. BMPs can
improve the environment while also improving the farmer’s bottom line.
- Irrigation increases the chance that pesticides will migrate to groundwater and
surface water. Irrigating saturated soils or irrigating at a rate that exceeds
 infiltration rate of soil promotes runoff that can carry pesticides with it. Irrigation
that promotes the frequent downward movement of water beyond the root zone of
plants also promotes the leaching of substances, including pesticides, to
groundwater. This is of particular concern in areas where frequent irrigation is
necessary because of coarse-textured soils. Proper irrigation management is
critical to minimize the risk of pesticides moving to groundwater.

Sources:
https://pesticidestewardship.org/water/prevent-contamination/
Summary
How pesticides got invested into the crops and food that we eat?

: Pesticides can enter through water source.

As pesticides are used, some of the water may run through the soil that
contain DDT. These waters might go through the soil and turn into ground
water which can be dig up and used in agriculture. Runoff are water that can
also go into the larger water source such as river, lakes or the ocean by small
vessels . This could be a potential threat to many ecosystem as the toxins are
dispersed into the environment.

: Pesticides are
used to kill pest
that might damage the crops but it gets
accumulated in the next trophic level

Through bioaccumulation the pesticides that

are used in agriculture are transferred into the
food that we eat. When pesticides such as
DDT are used, the most of the pest are killed
in the process however some might survive.
The one that does survive will contain DDT
in them. Not only does the DDT weakens
them, it also makes them potential prey for
the predators in the ecosystem. The predators will eat the weaken prey and indirectly congest some of the
pesticides. As we go up the food pyramid the higher the accumulation of toxins level and can pose
potential threat to the top predator.As the toxins are passed down through the next trophic level by the
accumulation of toxins that is stored in the fatty tissue in the prey.

How DDT affects American Bald Eagle/ brown

pelican/ osprey
: All of the bird species listed above ate fish founded
in water source contaminated by DDT pesticides. The
effects of DDT to these birds is that their eggshells
became thinner. Thus are less likely to survive before
they hatched. This threatens the survival of the
species of bird greatly. In the picture shows the
difference between normal eggs and eggs that came
from American Bald Eagles that have high level of DDT in them.
How PCB affects orgas through generations
: Orcas are known to eat large marine mammals such as seals and other large fish. They became
especially exposed to the accumulated PCB in the water. Although the PCB was banned from agricultural
use, the population of orcas still decline violently.Researchers from Aarhus University have
documented that the number of orcas is rapidly declining in 10 out of the 19 orcas. This is the
result of the PCB attacking the orcas immune system and accumulating in the breast milk which
the mother used to feed to its young. This increases the impact of the PCB because the PCB can
be passed down to the next generation therefore further weakening the next generation.

Effects of indirectly consuming pesticides in

human
: The congestion of pesticides can depend of the
type of the pesticides. Some, such as the
organophosphates and carbamates, affect the
nervous system. Others may irritate the skin or
eyes. Some pesticides may be carcinogens (cancer
causing). Others may affect the hormone or
endocrine system in the body. Pesticide mixtures
may be derived from common sources (such as
point sources) or from multiple nonpoint sources,
and may include several different types of
pesticide compounds with different mechanisms
of toxicity.
How to prevent further damage cause from pesticides released
:
- Conservation buffers are areas designed to intercept and trap chemicals before they reach
surface water. Often native grasses are planted alone or in combination with shrubs and trees
along field borders between the crop and a waterway. Buffers trap pesticides, bacteria,
fertilizers, and soil sediment, reducing the amount of potential contaminants that move off
the site.

- Best Management Practices (BMPs) are conservation practices, or systems of practices,

and management measures that control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation caused
by nutrients, animal wastes, toxics, and sediment
- An IPM program combines the best techniques to prevent pests and to keep them below
economically damaging threshold levels and ensure that pesticides are used appropriately. If
a pesticide is prone to reach surface or groundwater, suitable IPM tactics can reduce or
eliminate the risk of surface or groundwater contamination.