Count down to Expo!

            Pesticides are engineered chemicals used to manage and control weeds and pests in the gardens of individuals. Using pesticides may eliminate weeds and smaller garden pests in gardens but the negative effects outweigh the elimination of weeds and garden pests. Not only do pesticides harm the health of animals and humans, but they also detriment the quality of soil.

            Soil pollution or soil contamination is caused by the presence of human made chemicals or any other modification to the natural soil. Soil contamination raises the issue of health concerns, direct contact of contaminated soil, contamination of water within the soil and the vapors that chemicals can emit may lead to harmful side effects. One of the leading causes of soil contamination is the use of pesticides.

            There are two types of pesticides that result in the most soil contamination. DDT, also known as organochlorine and parathion, also known as organophosphates. DTT, is very cheap to produce and it is very potent in killing weeds and pests. But the environmental and health risks effects are extremely harmful. DDT was found in soil worldwide, including within the snow of Antarctica. DDT is also very soluble in water, and it can easily be dissolved into water in soil. Ingestion of DDT in animals is very harmful to their survival. The eggs of birds became thinner, due to the effects of DDT. The lack of calcium in the eggs made the survivability of birds very futile, rapidly decreasing their populations. Parathion also has similar effects to DDT. If it gets ingested into an animal feeding on grass, parathion is known for breaking down the livers of animals.