Accounts of measures taken in various countries following the Chernobyl accident, which at the time caused significant radioactive contamination of the environment over widely separated areas, some relatively remote from the site, are included. The present revised manual gives a concise yet comprehensive presentation of the basic principles necessary for the proper use of nuclear and associated techniques in pesticide residue analysis to obtain information on the metabolism or fate of pesticide chemicals in plants, animals, soil, water and non-target organisms. Basic laboratory exercises are included. The applied part of the manual contains a series of laboratory exercises which demonstrate the use of radioisotopes in pesticide research. Glossary of some basic terms and concepts.
Pesticides are an integral part of modern agriculture in most developing countries.
Increasing amounts of active ingredients are being consumed, particularly in the intensively cropped regions of South-East Asia. Inherent contamination of the environment follows if rules and regulations are not strictly adhered to. The search for safer, less persistent and more specific pesticides and examination of the fate of applied pesticides in various regions of the world were the main themes of the symposium. Special emphasis was placed on the use of nuclear techniques, especially on labelled compounds in research. The book also contains a report on the results of a collaborative study using a model protocol for the determination of bound residues in soil and an appraisal of the overall programme accomplishments.