Agricultural Chemical Residues Research Articles

History and Future of Animal Welfare Science

It is suggested that Mench give credit to the books that started the farm animal welfare movement--Harrison's (1964) Animal Machines and, arriving 1 year later, Huxley's (1965) Brave New Victuals. Huxley covered the use of chemicals on the land and "factory fanning," a phrase coined by Harrison. They both discussed the rearing of animals indoors in huge numbers, closely confined, artificially lit, mechanically supplied with food, and treated with drugs and hormones to prevent disease and to speed growth. Are intensive methods necessarily cruel to animals? Are agricultural and industrial chemical residues contaminating the environment? What is the influence of new methods on the quality of food and what are the effects on the human organism? These were relevant questions back then, and almost 30 years later Harrison (1988, 1993) wondered how much real progress has been made in answering them.

Chemical residues in foods of animal origin: overview and risk assessment

A review of the process used to assess health risks for chemical residues in foods of animal origin was carried out. Important and problematic areas in risk assessment (selection of outcomes, identification of hazards, sources and interpretation of data) its management, and communication with the public are discussed, and opportunities for improvement are suggested. This review serves as the basis for four other papers outlining our current state of knowledge about the public health risks of residues of agricultural insecticide groups, industrial chemicals, antibacterial and antiparasitic drugs, and hormones in foods of animal origin.

Characterization of Wind Erosion Sediments in the Red River Valley of North Dakota

AbstractWind erosion is a serious problem in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. Wind erosion sediments were characterized to evaluate their potential as nonpoint source pollutants for surface water and shallow groundwater. Thirty‐four sites from the South Dakota border to the Canadian border were sampled to measure physical and chemical characteristics of displaced sediment and field soils. Collected sediments originated from fields with soils having silt loam, silty clay loam or silty clay textures. Sediments had >98% water‐stable aggregates and average NO−3‐N levels of 105 mg kg−1. Calcareous sediments (22 samples) were significantly higher in pH, NO−3‐N and electrical conductivity (EC), while noncalcareous sediments (12 samples) were higher in P and K. Soils from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and small grain fields tended to have higher NO−3‐N levels than fields with other crops or cropping practices. Agricultural chemical residues were detected and identified at two sample sites. A comparison of displaced sediments with field soils showed significant increases in NO−3‐N, P, K and EC in the sediments and a significant reduction in pH. Nearly 96% of the NO−3‐N could be leached out of the sediments in an initial leaching. Wind erosion sediments have the potential to be nonpoint sources of NO−3‐N and salinity for surface and groundwater.

Detection of agricultural chemical residues on plant leaf surfaces with secondary ion mass spectrometry

The high sensitivity of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for materials residing on a sample surface makes it well suited for detecting the presence of chemicals sprayed onto surfaces. To investigate the possibility that agricultural chemicals could be detected by direct analysis of a plant leaf surface, two common agricultural chemicals, 2,4-D and malathion, were sprayed onto separate plants at label-recommended concentrations (6.7 p.p.t. and 5.0 p.p.t., respectively) and individual plant leaves were analyzed using SIMS over a period of up to 9 weeks after spraying. The plants were located in a greenhouse and were not exposed to rain (or overhead watering) during the experiment. Characteristic negative fragment ions of the chemicals were used as marker peaks; the molecular ions were not obtained. The 2,4-D was easily detectable during the first few days after spraying but only marginally detectable thereafter. The malathion was easily detected up to 9 weeks after spraying. The minimum detectable limit for malathion on this particular plant leaf type was determined to be ∼10 ng. The results indicate that SIMS may be a useful analysis technique when screening for residual chemicals on plant surfaces.

Developing Management Practices for Preventing Residues of Agricultural Chemicals in Drinking Water Wells

Groundwater Monitoring & RemediationVolume 9, Issue 4 p. 75-78 Developing Management Practices for Preventing Residues of Agricultural Chemicals in Drinking Water Wells Russell L. Jones, Russell L. JonesSearch for more papers by this authorArlin L. Bostian, Arlin L. BostianSearch for more papers by this author Russell L. Jones, Russell L. JonesSearch for more papers by this authorArlin L. Bostian, Arlin L. BostianSearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1989 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6592.1989.tb01014.xCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume9, Issue4December 1989Pages 75-78 RelatedInformation

Residues of Agricultural Chemicals on Fruits and Vegetables

Do residues of agricultural chemicals on fruits and vegetables really present a potential health risk to consumers in the United States? What, if anything, should be done by consumers, retailers, processors and distributors, growers and chemical manufacturers? These complex and controversial questions involve issues of science and of judgment. This article reviews current laws and regulations and some key questions under study by policymakers.

Problems Relating to Application of Agricultural Chemicals and Resulting Drift Residues

The very first use of agricultural chemicals for pest control probably re­ sulted in undesirable residues on nearby households, persons or animals, wild life areas, or adjacent crops. The extent of these early drift problems was, of course, proportionate to the limited methods of application. A man carrying a sack of Paris green dust which he shook over each tomato plant would not cause drift problems as extensive as those created by his modern counterpart operating a powered ground-duster or an aircraft pilot discharging dust at 300 to 500 pounds per minute-a crop cover-rate 1000 times that of the man with a hand sack. Multiply a single aircraft by the many that frequently work in a crop area, and some dimension of the drift potential can be seen. Drift damage can result in lawsuits being filed against applicators, farmers, and chemical manufacturers. As early as 1927, California enacted regulations on agricultural chemical residues (1). The number of such chem­ ical formulations remained small except for the arsenicals. During the 1945-46 season large amounts of calcium arsenate were used on tomatoes, and the drift of this chemical caused the death of several dairy animals fed with hay from an adjacent alfalfa field. This damage resulted in the enact­ ment of county ordinances related to drift damage (2). However, with the discovery of the hormone herbicides (2,4-D, and similar formulations) and their resulting widespread use, drift problems be­ came acute, causing at least nine crop-dusting cases to reach appellate courts during 1952-53 (3). The cases filed in lower courts must have been numerous to have so many reach the higher court. Regulations on chemical application now began to increase. California, for example, put limitations on hormone herbicides in two ways: (a) through the older hazardous-chemical sections of the regulations; and (b) in a new regulation governing application in so-called hazardous areas (4). The new regulation was enacted as the result of widespread damage to cotton and grapes from 2,4-D used on nearby cereal grains. Through the Civil Aero­ nautics Administration (now FAA), the Federal Government banned the use of 2,4-D dust (5), but the benefits to farmers from hormone herbicides could not be ignored and spray applications increased in spite of threats in several states to ban 2,4-D because of possible damage to cotton. Susceptible crops such as grapes, cotton, tomatoes, and many other broad­ leaf plants are unquestionably damaged by 2,4-D. Under specific weather conditions, the drift from a large sprayed area could produce symptoms on