What are pesticide risks?
The greatest risks are those to humans who are exposed to toxic concentrations of pesticides. According to the World Health Organization, more than 3 million people are severely sickened and 220,000 die from pesticides each year worldwide. In the U.S. alone, 110,000 people are poisoned by pesticides annually. These are “acute” poisonings, with symptoms occurring shortly after exposure, and do not include other long-term effects which may include cancer, birth defects or other disorders. As many as 60 million to 70 million birds are killed each year in the US from pesticide poisonings. Fish and other wildlife are also at risk from pesticide misuse and accidents. Both wild bees and honey bees are essential for pollination of many crops, and many are lost to pesticide exposure. More than one-third of calls to animal poison centers result from pesticide exposure to pets. Pests can also become resistant to pesticides, increasing control costs, crop losses or other pest damage. Many natural
