pesticides for which U.S. registration was not sought) could unfairly prohibit the
export of products for which there is little evidence of environmental risk. Pesticides
may not be registered simply because manufacturers do not wish to sell them in the
United States, and some may be approved by regulatory agencies in other countries.
Other pesticides may not be registered for economic or marketing reasons or because
target pests are not a problem on crops grown in this country. The global nature of
pesticide production and distribution further complicates the issue: a U.S. law cannot
prevent the manufacture and use of pesticides in other countries. U.S. manufacturers
might simply relocate production facilities, or production by foreign manufacturers
might increase.
Environmentalists argue that any pesticide product not registered in the United
States has not been approved by the EPA and is potentially unreasonably harmful.
Thus, they support proposals to prohibit exports of unregistered pesticides as a means
of protecting the global environment. They also believe it would protect American
consumers from unsafe pesticide residues on imported foods.^26
Concluding Observations
In the Third World, often both adults and children are involved in the application
of pesticides; many mix pesticide formulations with their hands and must work the
fields in bare feet. In addition to exposure during the direct application of pesticides,
farmers and agricultural workers face exposure when they re-enter sprayed fields for
crop management and harvesting activities. Moreover, contamination of water sour-
ces, proximity to aerially sprayed fields, inadequate storage facilities, and the reuse of
pesticide containers can affect entire families or communities. Not even unborn chil-
dren are safe: exposure to chemicals, especially endocrine disrupters, during fetal de-
velopment can cause permanent damage.
For farmers in the tropics, fully protective garb is too hot and costly to maintain;
farmers there accept illness as a necessity. Integrated Pest Management has previously
been demonstrated to reduce pesticide use with no loss of crop yield. The frequency
of spraying should be reduced through widespread training in IPM.^27
Governments in developing countries need to invest more in the skills required to
interpret scientific and technical data and use it to make sound local risk assessments
and to implement regulations. Resources for raising awareness are equally crucial:
most users of pesticides in developing countries not only have limited perceptions of
the risks, but also a high acceptance of risks due to competing priorities essential for
survival.
The most effective controls over pesticides are good national registration schemes
that require tests backed by solid information appropriate for the local conditions.
Each different pesticide mixture or formulation should be registered for use on each
crop on which it is intended to be used. Aided by the FAO, many developing coun-
tries have now introduced pesticide registration programs. The problem is they do
not have the capacity to implement these regulations.
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