Write an essay on the health hazards caused by pesticides (500 words)
Answers
Through the ages, it seems increasingly that people find a need to minimize the damage of pests with the use of pesticide chemicals and by other means. Of the many examples of how pests have impacted human society, one of the most infamous is the Black Plague in Europe in the 14th century, when millions of people died from mysterious diseases. At that time, the diseases were believed to be because of God’s punishment. A number of reports in the literature, art, and public statues certify the fear and destruction of those epidemics. Many years later, scientific data proved that a bacterial disease spread by rat fleas was the cause of the plague, which ruined almost the whole of Europe. Today, this disease, known as bubonic plagues, can be easily treated if it is properly diagnosed. Hence, controlling rodents including rats as well as fleas can reduce the relative frequency of the occurrence of diseases .
Ireland’s potato crop destruction by a pest in the 19th century is another story. At that time, late blight, a plant disease, wasted potatoes in Ireland. Up to 1 million Europeans starved to death during the Great Irish Famine of 1845 to 1847. Late blight is still one of the major potato pathogens that chemists aim to synthesize new pesticides against.Pesticides are chemical substances used on agricultural land but also in private gardens, along railways, and in other public areas . The use of pesticides for crop protection is expected to increase based on a growing world population and the need for more food supplies. While pesticides increase agricultural production, bioaccumulation through the food chain can eventually become a risk to mammals because pesticides induce certain negative effects. Some parts of pesticides sprayed on crops will remain in farmland, but some of them will enter the surrounding soil, water, and air . As artificial organic compounds, pesticides can remain in the environment for many years and may be transported over a long distance. Pesticide residues in soil and water are significant environment threats and have been classified as carcinogen pollutants in many countries . Hence, the excessive application of these compounds over the past half-century has posed serious risks to human health . There have been numerous reports regarding pesticide residues detected in grains , milk , vegetables and fish.