Pesticides in different environmental compartments in Brazil: a review

Abstract

Over the years Brazil has become one of the largest agricultural producers and exporters in the world. At the same time, there was a significant increase in the use of pesticides to increase productivity at harvest. In this context, there is great concern about human health, fauna, and flora, since the inputs can go through different chemical processes and migrate through various environmental compartments. In this context, this paper addresses a review of studies that have reported the presence of pesticides in various environmental compartments such as water (surface and irrigation), soil, and food. The detected concentrations, Maximum Residue Limit (MRL), current legislation, and the values ​​of Estimated Daily Intake (ADI) or Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) are presented. In general, it was observed that DDTs and their metabolites were reported at concentrations beyond the MRL, followed by atrazine. Regarding intake estimates, there is a greater concern with children as they are more vulnerable, due to their low body weight when compared to adults. Finally, studies that consider the cumulative effect are needed to better assess the different chemical components in the human diet and the potential adverse effects on the health of the population.