Research Article Open Access

IMPACT OF AGROCHEMICALS ON GROUND WATER

Abstract

Pesticide use has grown because not only must our exploding population be supplied with food, but crops and food are grown for export to other countries. India has become one of the largest producers of food products in the world, partly owing to our use of modern chemicals (pesticides) to control the insects, weeds, and other organisms that attack food crops. But, as with many things in life, there's a hidden cost to the benefit we get from pesticides. We've learned that pesticides can potentially harm the environment and our own health. Water plays an important role here because it is one of the main ways that pesticides are transported from the areas where they are applied to other locations, where they may cause health problems. Pesticide contamination of groundwater is a subject of National importance because groundwater is used for drinking purpose by about 50 percent of the Nation's population. This especially concerns people living in the agricultural areas where pesticides are most often used, as about 95 percent of that population relies upon groundwater for drinking water. Before the mid-1970s, it was thought that soil acted as a protective filter that stopped pesticides from reaching groundwater. Studies have now shown that this is not the case. Pesticides can reach water-bearing aquifers below ground from applications onto crop fields, seepage of contaminated surface water, accidental spills and leaks, improper disposal, and even through injection waste material into wells.

PRASHANT KUMAR SHRIVASTAVA

To read the full article Download Full Article