Background:
Unwanted agrichemicals pose a unique threat that many states now address this with statewide collection programs. in new york, this is done at the discretion of individual counties.
Methods:
We compiled and analyzed registration inventories from five separate county-based pesticide collections located in three different agricultural regions. telephone surveys of thirty-one of new york's leading agricultural counties gathered information on their strategies for disposal of unwanted pesticides.
Results:
The combined collections yielded 54,214 pounds of pesticides from 123 farms (441 lbs/farm). the most common active ingredients collected included older (and often discontinued) agents such as organochlorine (5,355 lbs, 9.8%) and arsenic (3,832 lbs, 7.1%) compounds, as well as more modern and commonly used active ingredients such as organophosphate pesticides (3,200 lbs, 5.9%). disposal costs ranged from $2.03 to $2.86 per pound. data from three collections indicated that 27% of the recovered pesticide (13,123 lbs) was stored in "unacceptable", "leaky", or "poor" containers. of 31 agricultural counties, only 17 (55%) have hosted at least one farm pesticide collection event in the past. planning for future collections is quite limited.
Conclusions:
There is a potentially large amount of toxic chemicals, some in decaying containers, that poses a risk to soil and groundwater in the state. the planning of future collections in new york state is haphazard. carefully designed pesticide collection projects can be effective and should be a priority for local and state health officials.