ES&T Views: Controlling Toxic Chemicals

Abstract

The use of pesticides in agriculture and the disposal of industrial chemical wastes constitute two major pathways by which people are inadvertently exposed to toxics. These practices release hundreds of millions of tons of potentially hazardous substances into the environment each year. In many ways the situation with industrial chemical waste parallels the predicament with pesticides: Not only are current practices contaminating the environment and creating health risks, but they are unsustainable over the long term. Strategies that reduce pesticide use in agriculture and minimize waste generation in industry offer cost-effective approaches to decreasing risks from toxics. Such strategies differ fundamentally from current practice and require new ways of thinking. The quick fixes of pesticide spraying and end-of-pipe pollution control are replaced with new production systems aimed at reconciling economic profits with environmental protection. Current efforts in integrated pest management and industrial waste reduction, although clearly promising, only hint at their long-term potential for detoxifying the environment.