WASHINGTON — A US Geological Survey study has found that most US streams and rivers are contaminated with at least one type of harmful pesticide, according to a USA Today report.
From 1992 to 2001, the USGS studied 51 river basins nationwide along with an aquifer system that runs through eight states east of the Rocky Mountains; tests found at least one type of pesticide in each water source and in 90 percent of fish tissue studied, the report said.
According to the report, concentrations of individual pesticides were always in compliance with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, but environmentalists are concerned the levels of contamination will continue to grow.
A spokesman for pesticide developers and manufacturers said in the report that the use of pesticides is strictly regulated, and that contamination levels are well below what the EPA considers dangerous, the report said.
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