Fighting Chemical Trespass

Moderator: Terry Shistar, PhD

Chemical trespass—including pesticide drift—is an inevitable problem in pest management strategies that rely on spray, dust, and drench pesticide formulations. There are essentially two types of ambient drift: particle drift (off-target movement during application) and vapor drift (off-target movement when a pesticide evaporates from a sprayed surface). EPA does not fully regulate particle drift, and it altogether ignores vapor drift in its regulatory definition of drift. Vapor drift is known to travel much further than particle drift. In addition, the broader concept of chemical trespass encompasses other movement of pesticides, such as runoff, soil contamination, contamination of wild plants and animals, worker exposure, human body burden, and the global transport of pesticides in air and water. The experiences of the panelists from Arkansas, South Dakota, and Iowa tell the story that is repeated throughout the country in agricultural, rural, and residential areas and form the basis for strategies to transition away from a reliance on toxic pesticides.