Jessica Richardson Chemistry 1010 eportfolio Paper. The chemical effects of fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture are initially

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1 Jessica Richardson Chemistry 1010 eportfolio Paper The chemical effects of fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture are initially meant to benefit humans by making crops more profitable, but technically end up being detrimental to the earth, the quality of dirt, human health, animal wellbeing, water supplies, and even the plants ability to reproduce. The pesticides may be reducing the number of insects damaging crops and fertilizers might be aiding in a higher yield crop, but what else are they doing? Fertilizers can be natural or synthetic in origin. Fertilizers are added to soil for plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. The use of fertilizer is vital for a highyield harvest. Fertilizers typically provide, in varying proportions, six macronutrients and seven micronutrients. These macronutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S). The micronutrients include boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn). Nitrogen is a major naturally occurring element that plants can use as a fertilizer from the soil. Elemental nitrogen is a gas in standard conditions. Synthetic nitrogen is created in labs as a key ingredient of industrial fertilizers. Elemental nitrogen in the atmosphere cannot be used directly by either plants or animals. It must be converted to a reduced, fixed state to be useful for plants and animals. Plants are able to incorporate nitrogen directly if it is in the form of nitrates. Nitrates are present in soil from natural mineral deposits, artificial fertilizers, animal waste, and organic decay. Much of our naturally occurring nitrates come from the farming of livestock in the form of manure and poultry litter. Chemically created nitrate

2 is in the form of ammonium nitrate. Superphosphate, a water soluble phosphate created in a lab, is widely used in commercial fertilizers as well. Pesticides are toxic chemical substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling any pest for crop protection. A pesticide is generally a chemical such as an antimicrobial or disinfectant that through its effects deters, incapacitates, and/or kills pests. These pests can include insects, snails, rodents, birds, and bacteria to name a few. Prominent pesticide families include organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbamates. These chemicals operate either by disrupting the sodium and potassium balance of the nerve fiber, forcing the nerve to transmit continuously, or by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, allowing acetylcholine to transfer nerve impulses indefinitely. The effects of these pesticides on the various targets can cause a variety of symptoms such as weakness, paralysis, and toxic poisoning. There are more than 1,055 active ingredients registered as pesticides and over 22,000 pesticide products on the market. The first issue there is with the consistent and possible overuse of fertilizers and pesticides is the degradation of soil quality, leading to soil sterilization. The pesticides used to control pests, have also killed the micro-organisms in the soil needed to created mineral complexes. These minerals in the soils are needed to produce nutrient rich foods. Crops that are grown in soil that is depleted are unable to produce healthy plants leaving them prove to invasions of pests; which in turn will require the use of more fertilizers and pesticides, restarting the same cycle that will again call for more fertilizer and more pesticides.

3 Plants and crops also are directly impacted by soil depletion. Synthetic fertilizers don not replenish the dead micro-organisms in the soil. Minerals from the microorganisms are replaced by synthetic inorganic minerals that are largely unable to be assimilated by the plants. This leads to foods that are mineral deficient. Fruits and vegetables that were grown before the use of commercial pesticides and fertilizers were naturally richer in minerals and vitamins. A landmark study on the topic by Donald Davis and his team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was published in December 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding reliable declines in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. The presence of Vitamin A has decreased from 41% to 100% in 6 of the tracked produce items which include apples, bananas, broccoli, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. Of those, both onion and potato saw a 100% loss of Vitamin A in a 48 year span from Human health is affected by the use of fertilizers and pesticides in many ways. With produce and plants not containing as many nutrients, humans are not getting enough minerals. Without important minerals to help utilize and activate vitamins and enzymes, even supplements are of no use and human health is at stake. Synthetic pesticide residues remain on foods after they are purchased. Pesticides accumulate in the fat deposits of the body where they remain and can cause long term damage. The long term damage is generally to the nervous system, and reproductive systems in humans. This causes problems like behavioral abnormalities, tremors, headaches,

4 fatigue hormone deficiency, lowered sperm count, and even many cancers. The medical journal, Pediatrics, suggests that even low levels of these chemicals are associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, pointing to a study done by researchers at the University of Montreal and Harvard University. This study looked for organophosphate pesticide metabolites, an indicator of pesticide exposure, in the urine of 1,139 kids ages 8 to 15. Researchers found that close to 95 percent of these kids had at least one of these chemical by-products in their system. The evidence showed that those with the highest levels of pesticide byproducts were 93 percent more likely to have been diagnosed with ADHD, than children with no trace of pesticides in their system. The incidence of certain cancers like non- Hodgkin s lymphoma, neurological disorders such as Parkinson s disease, diabetes, and infertility have been studied and rank much higher among those directly involved with the applications of pesticides, such as farmers, farm workers, and their families. According to new and beginning research into the causes of Parkinson s disease, two specific insecticide classes, organochlorines and organophosphorus, have been cited as having a plausibly significant association with the disease. Most synthetic pesticides cannot be simply rinsed off the food, but instead are found incorporated throughout the produce as a whole. The bugs may be gone, but the chemicals remain. We are ingesting these chemicals which are used to kill living organisms. These chemicals reach the colon and remain there, making the colon toxic and slowly poisoning the body. While fertilizers may be beneficial to the plants, but when they are not fully absorbed by the plants, the chemicals seep into waterways, rivers, and lakes. This has

5 a negative impact on the safety of drinking water and the health of amphibians, fish, and the environment. Fertilizer in waterways stimulates excessive algae growth. Algae consume huge amounts of oxygen from water, leading to problems, such as suffocation and death for other aquatic life. Blue-green algae, cyanobacteria, have been documented to kill livestock and wildlife that drink from the severely affected bodies of water. High levels of nitrates from synthetic fertilizers that seep into drink water are known to cause methemoglobinemia in mammalian infants. In human infants this is known as blue-baby syndrome, a result of internal oxygen deprivation from the nitrates turning into nitrite in the infant s body and consuming the oxygen from the organs. Synthetic pesticides can also contaminate ground water supplies by seeping through the soil into aquifers and water sheds, polluting drinking water and accumulating over time in human bodies leading to various health problems. For example organochlorine is known to leach from the land into bodies of water. It is one of many synthetic chemicals responsible for contaminating the world's seafood supply. Organochlorine collects in the fatty tissue of fish, a main resource for humans of essential fatty acids, are becoming unsafe to eat in regular quantities. Recent studies of major rivers and streams documented that 96% of all fish, 100% of all surface water samples and 33% of major aquifers contained one or more pesticides at detectable levels. Wildlife, pets and bees are often the most affected by the use of commercial synthetic pesticides. Some pesticides are endocrine disrupters, which mean they interfere with an organism s hormone system, similar to the effect in humans. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endocrine disruption has the potential to compromise proper development in organisms, leading to reproductive, behavioral,

6 immune system and neurological problems, as well as the development of cancer. Effects often do not show up un until later in life. Wildlife exposed to organophosphates and carbamates may behave abnormally and alter the animal s ability to survive or reproduce. For example, in wild birds, which are one of the most susceptible organisms exposed to these pesticides, will impact the bird s ability to sing, which decreases its chances of successfully attracting a mate, or establishing a territory. Meanwhile exposure to organochlorines for birds, results in eggshell thinning. Around 75% of flowering plants rely on the bee and other insects to pollinate them in order to produce fruit and seeds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared that the U.S. was facing the worst pollination crisis in American history with the colony collapse disorder of the honeybees. A March 2012 study conducted in Europe, in which minuscule electronic localization devices were fixed on bees, has shown that, even with very low levels of pesticide in the bee's diet, more than one third of the bees suffered from orientation disorder and was unable to make it back to the hive or provide enough uncontaminated food to the larvae needed produce more bees. This colony collapse disorder will continue to impact our food supplies of produce until it is solved. Earth s atmosphere and global warming can also be connected to the misuse of pesticides. Pesticides contribute to air pollution. Pesticide drift occurs when pesticides suspended in the air as particles are carried by wind to other areas, potentially contaminating them. Pesticides that are sprayed on to fields can give off chemicals called volatile organic compounds, which can react with other chemicals and form a pollutant called tropospheric ozone. Pesticide use accounts for about 6 percent of total tropospheric ozone levels. Pesticides are contributing to global warming and the

7 depletion of the ozone layer. Another major concern is the increase in nitrogen emissions because of the overuse of synthetic fertilizers. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, launched by the World Bank in Washington in 2001, chief scientists states, "In the past 100 years, emissions have risen from around 20 metric tons a year to more than 150 metric tons a year. We're emitting more than seven times more nitrogen and that is going to have incredible implications for ecological systems." There are benefits to the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, but most of them are in the financial sector and are not enduring. Close examination has proven that the Earth cannot sustain the misuse and overuse of these chemical compounds. The green movement and the use of organic fertilizers and natural pesticides are growing. The benefits of making changes in the agricultural systems are immense. Natural fertilizers promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, earthworms, and fungi that build soil structure and foster healthy plants. Use of natural pesticides, having healthy soil and a good eco-balance in your yard allows nature to take care of itself. Plants have naturally inherent abilities to ward off adverse conditions when living in healthy soil, in a healthy environment. Taking care of our Earth should be the priority.

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