Ann. occup. Hyg., Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 429-430, 2003
© 2003 British Occupational Hygiene Society
Published by Oxford University Press
Book Review |
The Complete Book of Pesticide Management, Science, Regulation, Stewardship, and Communication, Fred Whitford. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 2002. ISBN 0-471-40728-3. £69.95/E111.10. 787 pp.
Pesticides Safety Directorate, Mallard House, Kings Pool, 3 Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX, UK
As the title indicates, this book is an ambitious undertaking, and over 90 other contributing authors have ably assisted Fred Whitford. These authors are specialists drawn from government, manufacturing, retail industry, academia, trade associations and not-for-profit organizations. The book is not an academic work; it is an authoritative practical guide written in plain language. It represents an extension of the Purdue Pesticide Programs publication series, which has in recent years covered much of the subject matter in the same non-technical style. Prospective readers should be aware that the text is entirely written from the perspective of the United States. Despite pesticide regulation being based on common fundamental scientific principles, converging national regulatory policies and increasing international harmonization regarding pesticide regulation, there remain significant differences between countries. Some parts of the text are therefore not applicable outside of the USA. In particular, the chapters that deal with the legislative controls on pesticides covering both their registration and use will not be directly relevant to readers elsewhere.
There are 19 chapters, which logically advance through the evolution of pesticide regulations, the risk assessment processes, product development and labelling. These are followed by a number of topics relevant to pesticide use, including liabilities, environment site assessments, pesticides in the workplace, personal protective equipment (PPE), employee bulletin boards, emergencies and insurance. The final chapters deal with communication—covering educating the community, educating the customer, risk communication—and contentious issues.
The chapter on development of pesticide regulation very briefly outlines the change in perspective from benefits to risks, the requirements of good laboratory practice, and how Environment Protection Agency (EPA) policy has now moved towards reduced-risk pesticides. Aggregate and cumulative risks are also briefly mentioned. Given the recent developments in this area, and the significance of addressing aggregate and cumulative risks, the section is perhaps too brief. European readers may be aware that aggregate and cumulative risks are emerging issues in some EU member states, and the pressure behind the EPA’s move towards reduced risk pesticides is manifest in the EU by the development of a policy of comparative risk assessment.
The much lengthier chapter on human health risk assessment is one of the more useful contributions to the wider debate as it describes in clear terms the general principles of toxicology, testing methods, dietary exposure assessment, occupational exposure assessment, residential exposure assessment and risk characterization. An equally useful chapter discussing epidemiology as a check on risk assessments based on animal models, follows the chapter on regulatory assessments. This chapter includes useful guidance for the non-epidemiologist faced with interpretation of epidemiology studies. However, this is tempered with the expert advice that ‘even experienced senior epidemiologists have difficulty in interpreting some epidemiology findings’!
The chapter on handling pesticides in the workplace covers product selection considerations; moving products, including safe driving; dealing with spills; storage, handling and applying pesticides; poisoning; and complaints. Like other chapters, this chapter contains many useful checklists, dealing with product selection, vehicles, emergencies and storage.
The chapter dealing with PPE gives sound advice on glove hygiene, which is an area that in practice appears to be poor among some pesticide users. The respiratory protective equipment (RPE) section gives advice on equipment selection and fit tests. There is also useful practical advice on selection of coveralls and laundering of clothing. However, a table giving advice on PPE material resistance refers to different EPA formulation categories and therefore is rendered useless for the non-American reader without explanation of what these are. There is also an error in that PPE thickness is recommended to be at least ‘14 ml’, and the text compounds this error stating that glove thickness ‘is described in millimeters (1 ml = 0.001 inch)’.
The chapter on contentious issues sets out briefly the arguments surrounding endocrine disruptors, immunotoxicity, multiple chemical sensitivity, sperm counts and effects on cognitive skills, along with environmental, regulatory and public right-to-know issues. Any reader seeking a detailed discussion will have to look elsewhere. However, this chapter, like the rest, does not include references or even suggestions for further reading, which would have been helpful.
Other chapters cover the assessment of risks to non-target wildlife; water quality risk assessment; product development and the registration process; pesticide labels; regulations and liabilities; environmental site assessments; employee bulletin boards; planning for emergencies; insurance; educating the community and workforce; educating your clientele; and risk communication.
The text is clearly written and presents a vast amount of sound technical information. Overall, this book should, as the authors intend, help to improve the public understanding of pesticide issues and underlying science and (the US) policy perspective. It should also prove a useful reference to those involved in many aspects of pesticide use, from applicators, trainers, occupational hygienists and regulators.
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