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Limitations of the ecotoxicity data
Ecotoxicity
data are not available for many species, and most studies conducted
to date focus on acute (immediate) toxicity. However, a pesticide
with low acute toxicity may still pose signficant chronic hazards
(cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, endocrine disruption,
genetic effects, etc.) or cause behavioral changes that affect species
survival. The availability of studies on the chronic toxicity of
pesticides to plants and animals is limited. Additionally, there
are a number of reasons ecotoxicity hazard ratings can be incomplete
or unrepresentative of the true hazard posed by a particular pesticide,
including:
- Laboratory
conditions under which studies were conducted may not be representative
of actual environmental conditions.
- In laboratory
studies, only a single chemical is present in the test solution.
In the environment, multiple pesticides are often present simultaneously,
which can lead to additive or synergistic effects.
- Many species
have not been tested, or the species that have been tested are
not necessarily representative of those that inhabit a particular
geographic area.
- Fewer studies
have been conducted on newly registered chemicals, resulting in
the appearance that they are less hazardous than those that have
been on the market for a longer time and have been more thoroughly
studied.
For a more
detailed look at the ecological effects of pesticides and a summary
of the recent literature on the subject, you can download Disrupting
the Balance: Ecological Impacts of Pesticides in California,
a report published in 1999 by Pesticide Action Network and Californians
for Pesticide Reform.
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Last updated
December 19, 2010
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