Insecticides are commonly used in farms and home gardens.
Despite its controversial reputation and the concerns raised by environmentalists and health specialists, pesticide usage has become quite the norm in the world of agriculture since the mid 1900's. These chemical mixtures, including herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, have both active ingredients and inert ingredients which have many potentially harmful side effects. Insecticides can wreak havoc on the environment and pose a threat to our own health as well.
Environmental Risks
Using insecticide may have serious repercussions on the environment, as Rachel Carson declared in her well-known book "Silent Spring," published in 1962. Insecticides, in particular DDT, inevitably evaporate into the air and run off into various bodies of water, spreading their toxicity much farther than the fields and gardens they are originally applied to. Birds and other animals can be harmed by ingesting insecticides directly from crops or indirectly from other affected mediums. Fish may be in danger of the toxic qualities as well when the chemicals reach the lakes and streams. Each direct risk leads to further consequences that resonate throughout the environment, affecting way more species than you would initially imagine. Furthermore, by regularly using insecticides, we run the risk of increasing resistance in future generations of insects, which will only exacerbate insect problems.
Immediate Health Dangers
When insecticides are sprayed, it is near impossible to avoid inhaling at least some of it, and the risk of accidentally ingesting the chemicals and absorbing them through your skin are also high. Asthma and other respiratory complications are quite common as a result of inhaling the chemicals. Skin and eye irritations, including itching and burning, may also occur. Children are at the highest risk for experiencing these negative effects because of their weaker immune systems and their habits of touching everything, playing on the ground, and frequently putting their hands in their mouths. More severe effects of ingesting or inhaling larger amounts of insecticides may include convulsions, muscle spasms or comas as well as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Long-Term Health Effects
The chemicals found in insecticides have been found to be carcinogenic, being linked to occurrences of leukemia as well as brain, lung, and other cancers. They may also impair kidney and liver functions in other ways. In addition, insecticides seem to have negative effects on fertility and can be dangerous for pregnant women, increasing the risk of stillbirths and miscarriages. Studies have also shown insecticides and other pesticides to be detrimental to neurological functioning, correlated with the development of Parkinson's disease later in life.
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