SOIL AND WATER CONTAMINATION BY THE USE OF PESTICIDES

Abstract

The increase of the world population and the need to elevate food production improved the agriculture used techniques. One of the most important change that happened in the form and in the mean of agricultural production was pesticides. These products are used to control of insects, diseases and weeds that damage the cultures development. However, the intense application of these in the agricultural areas has been causing the contamination and pollution of the soil, water and air. These resources are indispensable for the human and animal survival in the Planet. In the last decades an increase of the world concern was verified regarding the impact that certain practices cause to the environment among abusive use of pesticides. When applied in the cultures, the pesticides usually reach the soil and, depending on the edaphic and product characteristics and of the environmental conditions, these products could do the ecosystem contamination. In this review are approached to the contamination of the soil and superficial and underground waters for the current pesticides use in the agricultural systems, as well as practices and handling forms that help the environment preservation.