PESTICIDE contamination of food and drinking water is the foremost concern of CNMI residents, according to a survey conducted by Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service.
The survey results will help NMC-CREES and the Division of Environmental Quality in designing future pesticide safety educational programs, including pesticide applicator certification training.
DEQ said the 237 survey respondents included 201 private citizens and 36 professional pesticide applicators.
Aside from contamination of food and drinking water, the respondents’ other foremost concern is pesticide misuse by farm workers and the general public.
According to the survey results, residents or their friends and relatives perform pest control in more than half of all homes, while nearly 25 percent of CNMI households employ professional pest control services.
Based on the survey results, pesticides were applied at least monthly in nearly half of all CNMI homes.
The most common pests are cockroaches, termites, rodents, ants and mosquitoes.
“While pesticide use in schools ranked lower on the list of concerns, more than two-thirds of survey respondents said pesticide application in schools should be performed by only certified applicators,” according to the survey results.
The survey questionnaire was developed by Dr. Curt Colwell and Dr. Lee Eavy, formerly of NMC-CREES.
“Conversely, 20 percent of those surveyed held the opinion that pesticides should never be used in CNMI schools,” they said.
Approximately 75 percent of the respondents believed that all persons applying pesticides commercially should be required to pass a pesticide safety examination first.
Moreover, one-fifth of respondents felt that only those applying the more toxic “restricted use” pesticides should be required to pass an examination.
About 21 percent said these “restricted use” pesticides should not be used in the CNMI if there are effective alternative control methods.
In addition, the survey showed that 21 percent of workers who apply pesticides as part of their jobs have had one day or less training in pesticide safety.
DEQ said the survey intended to gain an understanding of public opinion on pesticide use in the CNMI.
