Pesticides in the Environment and Harmonized Risk Indicators

This work provides a survey on pesticides importance for crop protection and also the impacts and risk they can generate in the environmental and for human health as a result of unsustainable production and use. In this context the European and national regulation derived from the Directive 2009/128/EC ask for reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the application of integrated pest management (IPM) and alternative approaches or techniques. These actions can be helped by the calculation of Harmonized Risks indicators, I and II. These indicators were calculated in the case of pesticide use for cereals protection, based on data provided by Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - National Phytosanitary Authority. The two calculated indicators show that the cereal samples contain quite large amounts of pesticide residues that need to be reduced, recommending the replacement of current protection products with non-polluting ones that contain less toxins and prevent risks for plants, animals and humans.