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Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air
risk assessment, which assessed impacts to pollinators, human health,
aquatic risks, and ecological risks. Although DPR is preempted from
requiring changes to pesticide product labels, U.S. EPA proposed several label changes in their Preliminary Interim Decision to protect bees
and address other risks. The comment period for this document closed
on June 18, 2020, and the next steps are to review the comments and
publish a fnal decision.
2.4 Biopesticides
Biopesticides are the newest generation of pesticides (Seiber et al., 2014).
The category of all “pesticides” are chemicals, including mixtures of chemicals, used by humans to restrict or repel pests, such as bacteria, nematodes,
insects, mites, mollusks, birds, rodents, and other organisms, that adversely
affect food production or human health. The subcategory of “biopesticides”
includes natural chemicals, or mixtures of natural chemicals, which are
based upon natural products and that manage pests. The EPA defnes biopesticides as “certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as
animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals.”
Biochemical pesticides are naturally occurring substances that control pests by nontoxic mechanisms. Conventional pesticides, by contrast,
are generally synthetic materials that directly kill or inactivate the pest.
Biochemical pesticides include substances that interfere with mating, such
as insect sex pheromones, as well as various scented plant extracts that
attract insect pests to traps. The EPA notes that “As of April 2016, there are
299 registered biopesticide active ingredients and 1401 active biopesticide
product registrations.”
Important qualities sought out in biopesticides include target selectivity,
lacking undue persistence, and low or minimal nontarget toxicity. The EPA
notes the following “advantages of using biopesticides”:
• Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional
pesticides.
• Biopesticides generally affect only the target pest and closely related
organisms, in contrast to broad spectrum, conventional pesticides that may affect organisms as different as birds, insects, and
mammals.
• Biopesticides often are effective in very small quantities and often
decompose quickly, resulting in lower exposures and largely avoiding the pollution problems caused by conventional pesticides.
Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air
risk assessment, which assessed impacts to pollinators, human health,
aquatic risks, and ecological risks. Although DPR is preempted from
requiring changes to pesticide product labels, U.S. EPA proposed several label changes in their Preliminary Interim Decision to protect bees
and address other risks. The comment period for this document closed
on June 18, 2020, and the next steps are to review the comments and
publish a fnal decision.
2.4 Biopesticides
Biopesticides are the newest generation of pesticides (Seiber et al., 2014).
The category of all “pesticides” are chemicals, including mixtures of chemicals, used by humans to restrict or repel pests, such as bacteria, nematodes,
insects, mites, mollusks, birds, rodents, and other organisms, that adversely
affect food production or human health. The subcategory of “biopesticides”
includes natural chemicals, or mixtures of natural chemicals, which are
based upon natural products and that manage pests. The EPA defnes biopesticides as “certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as
animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals.”
Biochemical pesticides are naturally occurring substances that control pests by nontoxic mechanisms. Conventional pesticides, by contrast,
are generally synthetic materials that directly kill or inactivate the pest.
Biochemical pesticides include substances that interfere with mating, such
as insect sex pheromones, as well as various scented plant extracts that
attract insect pests to traps. The EPA notes that “As of April 2016, there are
299 registered biopesticide active ingredients and 1401 active biopesticide
product registrations.”
Important qualities sought out in biopesticides include target selectivity,
lacking undue persistence, and low or minimal nontarget toxicity. The EPA
notes the following “advantages of using biopesticides”:
• Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional
pesticides.
• Biopesticides generally affect only the target pest and closely related
organisms, in contrast to broad spectrum, conventional pesticides that may affect organisms as different as birds, insects, and
mammals.
• Biopesticides often are effective in very small quantities and often
decompose quickly, resulting in lower exposures and largely avoiding the pollution problems caused by conventional pesticides.