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Report of Committee on Persistent Pesticides Division of Biology and Agriculture National Research Councn to U.S. Departinent of Agriculture AUG . 2 200l
CONTENTS Introduction 1 Need for Pesticides 2 Man and the Ecosystem 5 Production and Use of Pesticides 6 Significance of Residues 7 Monitoring Residues in the Environment 19 Control of Pesticide Residues 22 Alternatives to Persistent Pesticides 25 Conclusions 27 Recommendations 29 Appendix -.------· l ' .. , J --.J
PREFACE Release of chemicals into the environment must be evaluated continually in relation to human health, food production, welfare of the biota, and status of the environment. Some pesticidal chemicals persist long after they are applied, and they retain such toxicity that the advisability of their continued use has been challenged. The Committee on Persistent Pesticides was estab- lished by the National Research Council (through the Division of Biology and Agriculture) to examine the subject of persistent pesticides. The Council's action was in response to a request made to Dr. Frederick Seitz, President, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, by Dr. George L. Mehren, formerly Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture. In his request, made on November 29, 1966, Dr. Mehren referred to certain recommendations contained in a report on the use of pesticides that was issued by the President's Science Advisory Committee in 1963. The report included a recommendation for "a monitoring program conducted by Federal Agencies to obtain timely, systematic data on pesticide residues in the environment." The report recommended that "the accretion of residues in the environment be controlled by orderly reduction in the use of persistent pesticides" and stat~d that "elimination of the use of persistent toxic pesticides should be the goal." Pointing out that several agencies had undertaken monitoring studies to obtain information on residues, Dr. Mehren stated that it seemed appropriate to consider the most recent information on residues and to appraise the significance of residues from the standpoint of their effects on "the safety of our food supply and on the safety of man and our environment."
The Committee held its first meeting in December 1967. This was followed by a series of meetings in which the Committee heard representatives of government agencies, industrial and user groups, and conservation organizations. The assistance of those who provided information to the Committee is gratefully acknowledged. Without it, this review could not have been made. A list of the persons interviewed appears in the appendix. The Committee believes that demonstrable progress has been made in further understanding some of the issues raised and in implementing some of the recommendations in the report by the President's Science Advisory Committee. How- ever, it is concerned about what remains to be accomplished and about the many gaps in our knowledge of pesticides. It is convinced that there is an immediate need for world- wide attention to the problem of buildup of persistent pesticides in the total environment.
