Special Environmental Concerns
Protecting Ground Water and Endangered Species
Concerns about wildlife and the environment are becoming more Important in decisions about which pesticides will be registered and what they may be used for. Two environmental concerns are receiving particular attention:
- protection of ground water, and
- protection of endangered species.
Federal and State efforts to protect ground water and endangered species are resulting in new instructions and limitations for pesticide handlers. Whether you apply pesticides indoors or outdoors, in an urban area or in a rural area, you must become aware of the importance of protecting these two vital national resources. Pesticides that are incorrectly or accidentally released into the environment -- either during application or during other handling activities, such as mixing, loading, equipment cleaning, storage, transportation, or disposal -- pose a threat to ground water and endangered species.
Protecting Groundwater
Ground water is water located beneath the earth's surface. Usually, it is located in rock and soil. It moves very slowly through irregular spaces within otherwise solid rock or seeps between particles of sand, clay, and gravel. Surface water may move several feet in a second or a minute. Ground water may move only a few feet in a month or a year. If the ground water is capable of providing significant quantities of water to a well or spring, it is called an aquifer. Pesticide contamination of aquifers is very troubling, because these are sources of drinking, washing, and irrigation water.
Pesticide Contamination of Groundwater
When water that is moving downward from the surface contains pesticides -- or comes into contact with them as it moves -- the pesticides may be carried along with the water until they eventually reach the ground water.
Five major factors determine whether a pesticide will reach ground water:
- the practices followed by pesticide users,
- the presence or absence of water on the surface of the site where the pesticides are released,
- the chemical characteristics of the pesticides,
- the type of soil in the site where the pesticides are released,
- the location of the ground water -- its distance from the surface and the type of geological formations above it.
By being aware of these considerations, you can handle pesticides in ways that will make the potential for ground water contamination less likely.
Practices for Pesticide Users
The best way to keep from contaminating ground water is to follow labeling directions exactly. Be sure to note whether the labeling requires you to take any special steps to protect ground water. In addition, remember the following:
- Avoid using more pesticide than the labeling directs.
- Consider whether your application method presents any special risks. For example, soil injection of some pesticides may not be wise when ground water is close to the surface.
- Take precautions to keep pesticides from back-siphoning into your water source.
- Whenever possible, locate mix-load sites and equipment-cleaning sites at least 100 feet from surface water or from direct links to ground water. If you must locate one of these work sites near a water source, use methods such as dikes, sump pits, and containment pads to keep pesticides from reaching the water.
- Do not contaminate ground water through improper disposal of unused pesticides, pesticide containers, or equipment and container rinse water. Dispose of all pesticide wastes in accordance with local, State, tribal, and Federal laws.
The Applicator's Role
Some pesticides or certain uses of some pesticides may be classified as restricted use because of ground water concerns. As an applicator, you have a special responsibility to handle all pesticides safely in and near use sites where ground water contamination is particularly likely. Take extra precautions when using techniques that are known to be likely to cause contamination of ground water, such as chemigation and soil injection.
When a pesticide product has been found in ground water or has characteristics that may pose a threat of contamination of ground water, the pesticide product labeling may contain statements to alert you to the concern.
Protection of Endangered Species
An endangered species is a plant or animal that is in danger of becoming extinct. There are two classifications of these plants and animals in danger -- "endangered species" and "threatened species." The term "endangered species" is used here to refer to the two classifications collectively. Scientists believe that some pesticides may threaten the survival of some of America's endangered species if they are used in the places where these plants and animals still exist.
A Federal law, the Endangered Species Act, requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that endangered species are protected from pesticides. EPA's goal is to remove or reduce the threat that pesticide use poses to endangered species. Reaching this goal will require some limitations on pesticide use. These limitations usually will apply only in the currently occupied habitat or range of each endangered species at risk. Occasionally the limitations will apply where endangered species are being reintroduced into a habitat they previously occupied.
Habitats, sometimes called "critical habitats," are the areas of land, water, and air space that an endangered species needs for survival. Such areas include breeding sites; sources of food, cover, and shelter; and surrounding territory that gives room for normal population growth and behavior.
Limitations on Pesticide Use
Read all pesticide labeling carefully to find out whether the use of that product requires you to take any special steps to protect endangered species. The label may direct you to another source for the details about what you must do. When limitations do apply, they usually will be in effect only in some specific geographic locations. Use of a particular pesticide is usually limited in a particular location when:
- the site is designated as the current habitat of an endangered species, and
- the endangered species that uses the site might be harmed by the use of the pesticide within (or close to) its habitat.
Habitats of Endangered Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for identifying the current habitat or range of each endangered species. For aquatic species, the restricted habitat often will include an additional zone around the body of water to keep any drift, runoff, or leachate in the watershed from reaching the water.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is attempting to identify the habitats as accurately as possible so that pesticide use will need to be limited only in locations where it is absolutely necessary. For this reason, limitations on pesticide use may apply on one property, while a similar adjoining property may not have these limitations.
The Applicator's Role
Pesticides have the potential to harm living organisms, including endangered species:
- Pesticides can kill endangered plants and animals directly.
- Pesticides in the habitat of the endangered organisms can disrupt or destroy their sources of food and shelter.
- Pesticide application, drift, runoff, and leachate can contaminate water ingested by or inhabited by endangered organisms.
- Some pesticides can build up to dangerous levels in endangered predators that feed on plants or animals exposed to pesticides.
As an applicator, you have a clearly defined legal responsibility to protect endangered species against the hazards posed by pesticides. Careful use of pesticides in and around the key habitat areas will help these fragile plants and animals to survive, and it also may prevent some important pesticides from being removed from the market.
Authors:
Philip G. Koehler, University of Florida
Robert A. Belmont, Florida Pest Control Association
This file is part of the UF/IFAS Basic Pesticide Training manual (SM-59) which is intended to provide intermediate training to pest control operators. The manual was adapted from a larger manual, Applying Pesticides Properly, which was developed by Ohio State University in cooperation with the Cooperative Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Published: March, 1998
