INTRODUCTION - Agrochemical and Pesticide Safety - page 9

Table 1.3 continued
2. Distributors and Establishments
—Major national 250-350

—Other 16,900

3. Formulated Products Registered 21,560

—Federal level 18,360

—State 3,200

USER LEVEL
Agriculture Sector

1. Land in Farms 991M acres

2. Harvested 289M acres

3. Total No. Farms 2.1M

4. No. of Farms Using Chemicals for:
—Insect on hay crops

554,000

—Nematodes 66.000

—Diseases on crops/orchards 129,000

—Weed/grass/bush 913,000

—Defoliation/fruit thinning 75,000

(Above are 1987 census numbers)
5. No. Private Pesticide Applicators Registered 965,700

Industrial/Commercial/Government Sector
1. No. Commercial Pest Control Firms

35,000-40,000

2. No. Certified Commercial Applicators 351,600

Home & Garden Sector

1. Total U.S. Households 94M

2. No. Households Using ('90)
—Insecticides 52M

—Fungicides 36M

—Herbicides 14M

—Repellents 17M

—Disinfectants 40M

—Any pesticides 69M

Source: EPA estimates.

In the United States in 1993, 75 percent of the pesticides sold are used in
agriculture. Government and industry uses 18 percent, and home and garden
consumption accounts for the remaining 7 percent. Industrial and commercial
users consist of pest control operators, turf and sod producers, floral and scrub
nurseries, railroads, highways, utility rights-of-way, and industrial plant site
landscape management (see Table 1.4 and Figure 1.3 ).

Pesticides are regulated by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The number of active ingredients registered and in production
has declined in the last ten years, from over 1,200 active ingredients to 860 in
1993. Of these only 200 are considered major products and manufactured in
quantity (see Table 1.5 ) . The table below shows a breakdown of the types of
pesticides and numbers in production according to the latest available statis-
tics.