Peri-urban pesticide contamination risk index

Abstract

The massive use of pesticides in the production of food and raw materials generates growing world concern due to the numerous evidences of their negative effects on health and the environment. In countries where detailed information of agricultural pesticide use near to urban areas is not available, it is necessary have a simple methodology that does not require data that are difficult to obtain in order to create an ecological indicator of the risk of pesticide contamination at the peri-urban level. The objective of this research is to generate a periurban pesticide contamination risk index using satellite information and accessible scientific pesticide data. The Peri-urban Pesticide Contamination Risk Index (PUPCRI) is composed of an indicator of the toxicity of the set of pesticides used in each crop, and two factors that quantify the surface occupied by agricultural activity and the tree surface in the urban periphery. The Environmental Risk Index has been used to calculate the toxicity of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides used in soybean, corn and wheat crops. Through the classification of Sentinel 2 satellite images, data was obtained of arable land, soybean, corn and wheat crops, and tree cover, in different peri-urban rings, with a maximum distance of two kilometers from the urban edge. The PUPCRI index was tested in 20 cities pertaining to the region with the highest agricultural productivity in Argentina. The results show that most of the cities have high to very high indices of exposure to pesticides, mainly due to the proximity of agricultural activity to the urban edge and the lack of tree cover. The PUPCRI index allows a quick and simple analysis of the potential risk of exposure to the use of crop pesticides in the urban periphery.