The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) found that 95% of samples taken across four monitoring stations in Oxnard, Shafter, Santa Maria and Watsonville showed no trace of pesticide, boding well for air quality in areas with the highest recorded pesticide use.
In its 2023 report, released Monday, the agency details that out of 40 total pesticides, 11 were detected at low levels and seven at quantifiable levels that would both carry an unlikely risk to human health. Only one — chloropicrin — peaked below the 7% health screening level, which DPR will assess to help advise them in the future.
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This compares with the 2022 report, which found 13 pesticides detected at quantifiable levels, six at trace levels and 21 not detected at all.
Lindsey Carter, executive director of the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association, said in a statement that this year’s report is evidence that California’s stringent pesticide regulation is working to “protect people and the environment in and around farming communities,” showing that farmers and commercial applicators are complying with the law.
She added that CACASA expects a continued decrease in traces due to this year’s regulations that restrict the use of 1,3-dichloropropene.
