Pesticides as a Waste Problem with Examples from Norway

Pesticides can produce waste problems when disposing off the surplus from usage, containers and other residues, but also during the production and distribution. Obsolete pesticides such as the chlorinated γ-HCH (lindane) and DDT have created huge problems also because the use of toxic raw materials, such as chlorophenols and dioxins, and the production of hazardous and useless by-products form the production, such as e.g. αand βHCH that constitutes about 85% of the production output. The cleanup of production sites and dumps has created major problems the work is almost completed in Western Europe but many locations remain polluted, especially in Centraland Eastern Europe, and possibly also in other sites around the globe. Sites polluted with obsolete pesticides are mainly threatening rural areas. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) half of the deaths due to cancer in 2050 will be caused by polluted food, soil, water and environment, mainly from pesticides. The economical burden will also be heavy. The scale of the problem with obsolete pesticides is estimated to more than 250 000 tons of pesticides in Easter Europe and Central Asia (Vijgen & Egenhofer, 2009). Landfilling is the most common waste treatment worldwide. In The European Union (EU) several waste directives have improved the quality of the waste going to landfills, both containing hazardous waste and ordinary household or municipal solid waste (MSW), but as we show here there is a potential for pollution from pesticides both from old and new landfills. As outlined in the Waste Framework Directive from the EU pesticides are one of the key parameters that needs to be monitored. Based on the results from Norwegian investigations on pesticides from greenhouse production an increased focus is put on this problem in Europe. Large quantities of numerous chemicals have the potential to pollute the waste that is landfilled. Annually close to 500 kg is landfilled for each person in the developed world, producing on the average more than 30 tons of waste over a lifetime. Before a more managed waste disposal started in the nineties many landfills were established and scattered almost everywhere, with the risk of polluting the environment and threatening human health. Landfills create polluted wastewater, or leachate, ca. 50-200 mm annually in dry areas, 400-800 mm on the average, and >1000 mm under wet conditions. The content of organic matter in the waste is often the most important factor influencing the quality of the leachate, in addition to the local geology, hydrology and climate. Landfills usually create