IDENTIFICATION OF IMPACTS AND HUMAN HEALTH RISKS PRODUCED BY THE PRESENCE OF PESTICIDES IN THE ENVIRONMENT I. PESTICIDES BEHAVIOUR IN THE ENVIRONMENT

The need to ensure the protection of plants and various areas affected by the presence of pests and pathogens imposed the use of chemicals to help in diminishing crop damages, namely pesticides. As Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), pesticides are resistant chemicals to bio(degradation), their residues being difficult to be removed from the environment. This papers discuss the state of investigations on the presence of pesticides in the environment, their behavior determined by their characteristics, types of pesticides used, the sources from which the pesticides can come. Also some threats that pesticides can generate in the environmental compartments (water, air, soil, sediments) are discussed in correlation with some specific properties of pesticides. A distinct section is dedicated to the presence and behavious of pesticides in fruit and vegetables, the residues found in some plant products according to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This analysis generates the support for the identification and characterization of impacts and risks on human health generated by the consumption of plants containing pesticide residues.