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new report on pesticide use in California
Below is a press release from the California Department of Pesticide
Regulation, announcing the release of the 1994 Summary of Pesticide Use
Report Data. I have deleted some text in the interest of keeping this
posting to a reasonable size. The full press release, as well as a summary
of the data can be found on our Web site at
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pressrls/pur94.htm. Questions about the report
contents should be directed to Veda Federighi, vfederighi@cdpr.ca.gov,
(916) 445-3974. Information on ordering the report is at the end of the
press release.
Kathy Brunetti
California Department of Pesticide Regulation
SACRAMENTO - Cal/EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation has released its
1994 Summary of Pesticide Use Report Data.
California is the only state which requires that all agricultural pesticide
use be reported. This includes not only pesticides used on crops but also
applications to such sites as parks and golf courses, as well as roadside
weed control treatments.In addition, all applications made by residential
and structural pest control businesses must be reported.The primary
exceptions to the use reporting requirements are nonprofessional
applications in homes and gardens, and in industrial and institutional
settings.
The 345-page report summarizes data reported to DPR on the amount of
pesticide active ingredients used in California, including types of crops
or kinds of application sites (e.g., structures, roadsides). Pesticide use
report data for 1994 breaks down into these general categories:
Type of Use Pounds of Pesticide Active Ingredient*
Reported Used
************************************************
Production agriculture 183,443,578
Post-harvest commodity treatment 3,769,741
Structural fumigation 5,178,177
Landscape maintenance 1,322,459
All other reported uses* 5,781,235
Total reported used 199,495,190
* A pesticide active ingredient is the chemical component of any pesticide
product that kills, or otherwise controls, target pests. Included in "all
other reported uses" are: weed control along roads and other rights-of-way;
public health applications, including mosquito abatement; vertebrate pest
control; fumigation of nonfood and nonfeed materials such as lumber and
furniture; pesticides used in research; and regulatory pest control of pest
infestations.
Changes in planted acreage affect the total amount of pesticide used, as do
weather conditions that increase or decrease populations of insects, plant
diseases, weeds, and other pests. In addition, changes in the real estate
market affect the number of home sales, which in turn can affect how many
structural fumigations are done. As expected, the amount of pesticides
reported used has fluctuated: 199.5 million pounds in 1994, 200.4 million
in 1993, 191.9 million in 1992, and 161.1 million in 1991.
It should be noted that the amount of pesticide reported used is not
necessarily an accurate indicator of trends in pesticide use. For example,
farmers may replace a more toxic pesticide used at one pound per acre with
a less hazardous compound that must be applied at a higher rate more than
once a season. This scenario repeated in a portion of the hundreds of
thousands of pesticide applications each year could increase the amount
used without indicating an increased reliance on pesticides. The report
summarizes data submitted to the Department, and an in-depth analysis of
pesticide use and trends is beyond its scope.
<text deleted>
The Summary of Pesticide Use Report Data is available in two formats. One
is indexed by the name of each pesticide active ingredient, under which is
a line-by-line listing of the commodities treated, number of applications,
amount of acreage or units (e.g., bins) of each commodity treated, and
pounds of pesticide used. The other format contains the same information
but is indexed by commodity headings, under which are listed the pesticides
used.
Printed copies are available from DPR for $10 each. Each summary is also
available on diskette in WordPerfect 6.0a or ASCII. The cost is $2.50 for
either the commodity or chemical diskette report. To order, send payment
to: Cashier, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, 1020 N Street,
Sacramento 95814-5624. The data summaries can also be downloaded at no cost
>from the publications section of DPR's Internet Web page
(http://www.cdpr.ca.gov). Another useful DPR publication, published in
1995, Pesticide Use Reporting: An Overview of California's Unique Full
Reporting System, can also be downloaded.
<Chart of pesticide use by county deleted>.
Kathy Brunetti