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ANNUAL INSECTICIDE LOADINGS
Description:
Pesticides, Herbicides, Fungicides...etc, are used for a variety of purposes, including control of household, lawn, and garden pests; for control of mosquitoes and other insect vectors of animal and human diseases; for control of brush in rangelands, on roadsides, and along power line rights-of-way; as wood preservatives; as disinfectants; and in golf courses, parks and forest lands. The toxicity that makes pesticides useful in agriculture, silviculture, disease vector, and nuisance control can, however, also endanger humans, nontarget wildlife, and ecosystems. EPA carries the mandated responsibility for solving this policy and regulatory dilemma, first through registering pesticides so that their labels explain how to avoid unreasonable risks when using them, and second by setting allowable levels of pesticide residues to ensure the safety of drinking water and the food supply (Schierow 1996).