Pesticide Contamination in Southern Brazil (original) (raw)

Springer eBooks, 2019

Abstract

Brazil is globally acknowledged for its agricultural production and food diversity. In addition, the country has been the largest consumer of agrochemicals in the world since 2008. The Brazilian southern region comprises Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul states; this region stands out for the diversity of crops, for the use of a wide variety of agrochemicals, and for its high human intoxication levels. The use of agrochemicals in RS State is almost twice the national mean. Pesticide residues can contaminate environmental compartments such as water, soil, and air, as well as food and nontarget animals such as fish, earthworms, and birds, among others; they can also cause irreversible adverse effects in some cases. Several studies have reported the contamination of water resources by pesticides and the effects of such contamination on fish; however, the literature about contamination deriving from soybean and corn crops grown in Brazilian southern states remains incipient. Therefore, the indiscriminate use of pesticides in the Brazilian countryside, mainly in the southern region of the country, is concerning and demands urgent measures to be taken in order to avoid irreversible damages in the near future.

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