Environmental Management Tool Kit for Obsolete Pesticides - Volume 5

Book excerpt: Within the remit of reducing world hunger FAO has been extensively involved with pests and pesticides management. Based on the experience gained over the past 20 years FAO has developed a series of tools which allow a risk based approach to dealing with obsolete pesticide stocks considering the potential impact on both public health and the wider environment. This has led to the development and publication of the Environmental Management Tool Kit Series. The methodologies presented in these tools have been developed to provide a sound technical baseline for implementation of pesticide inventory, obsolete stock site prioritization and safeguarding projects in developing and developed countries in many regions across the globe. They have a solid foundation in international regulations from the US and Europe and so can be considered as complying with international best practice for worker and environmental safety. Despite the implementation of projects resulting in the removal of the above ground stocks, pesticide legacy problems persist that affect the ground beneath the sites and the groundwater passing through it. In many cases the grounds at these sites present a greater risk to human health and the wider environment than the original pesticide stockpiles which are often sent for environmentally sound disposal. To assess the particular risks posed by pesticide contaminated land, FAO has developed a fifth tool in the EMTK series, the EMTK 5. The conclusions drawn from using EMTK5 enable the development of a national contaminated land risk management plan and site level risk reduction strategies which