A book titled "Pesticides and Health, Myths vs. Realities" by Allan Felsot, Washington State University Professor and Extension Specialist of Entomology and Environmental Toxicology, was published in May 2011 by the American Council on Science and Health. It is available for purchase as a print book, or a free PDF version may be downloaded at http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1962/pub_detail.asp
This book presents a compelling argument for the continued value of pesticides in food production and disease vector protection while contending that their impact on the environment is reasonable considering their benefits. This argument is made by repeatedly presenting myths associated with pesticides and a rebuttal to that myth, followed by a lengthy discussion of the rationale for the rebuttal. Reference is made of many published research studies that support these assertions. Numerous graphs and tables from these studies are included.
Topics addressed include agricultural pesticide use, public health pesticide use, synthetic pesticide chemistry, modern pesticide application, pesticide hazard and risk, endocrine disruptors, pesticide regulation, and analyses of the concerns associated with atrazine, chlorpyrifos, pyrethroids, and glyphosate.
Before being employed at Washington State University, Dr. Felsot was a researcher in Environmental Toxicology at the Illinois Natural History Survey in Champaign. He is an ardent research scientist and impassioned speaker and writer. While at INHS, he conducted many scientific studies addressing the environmental effects of insecticides and other pesticides.
One of his accomplishments was developing the practice of pesticide disposal by land application. He showed that the effects on the environment were much less than several other methods of pesticide disposal. Today, this is a standard method of disposing of pesticide spills and other unwanted pesticides. He is a frequent guest speaker at University of Illinois agricultural conferences.