ABSTRACT
In recent decades, pesticides have been developed to be more specific in action and safer for both their users and the environment. Nevertheless, their optimal use and safe disposal remain of crucial importance. Many chemicals that persist in the environment have now been withdrawn from use and their successors are often designed to degrade fairly rapidly in soil or plants. Traces of older pesticides, such as organochlorine insecticides, continue to be found in water, and the newer compounds retain the potential to harm both human health and the environment if they are mishandled.
