2-2623. Legislative intent.

The intent of the Pesticide Act is to regulate, in the public interest, the labeling, distribution, storage, transportation, use, application, and disposal of pesticides for the protection of human health and the environment. The Legislature hereby finds that pesticides are valuable to our state's agricultural production and to the protection of humans and the environment from insects, rodents, weeds, and other forms of life which may be pests but that it is essential to the public health and the welfare that pesticides be regulated to prevent adverse effects on humans and the environment. New pesticides are continually being discovered, synthesized, or developed which are valuable for the control of pests and for use as defoliants, desiccants, and plant regulators, but such pesticides may be ineffective, may cause injury to humans, or may cause unreasonably adverse effects on the environment if not properly used. Pesticides may injure humans or animals, either by direct poisoning or by gradual accumulation of pesticide residues in the tissues. Crops or other plants may also be injured by improper use of pesticides, and the drifting or washing of pesticides into streams or lakes may cause appreciable damage to aquatic life. A pesticide used for the purpose of exerting pesticidal action in a crop which is not itself injured by the pesticide may drift and injure other crops or nontarget organisms with which it comes in contact. The monitoring of pesticides in ground water and surface water is essential for human health and the environment. Therefor, it is deemed necessary to provide for regulation of pesticides.

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