The Nation - News from Dec. 14, 1988

The Environmental Protection Agency said residues of 77 different pesticides have been found in ground water in 39 states, including California, and more than half of that contamination is linked to routine farm use. The EPA, releasing an interim report summarizing the findings of 150 ground water monitoring studies, said 46 pesticides detected in 26 states were most likely attributable to “normal field use” of chemicals by farmers. In a state-by-state breakdown, the report said New York had 24 different pesticides detected in its ground water, more than any other state. Wisconsin had 18; Illinois had 17; Idaho, Massachusetts and Minnesota had 15 each; Florida and Kansas had 14 each; California, Iowa and Mississippi had 13 each; Maine and Virginia had 12 each; Hawaii had 10; Texas and Nebraska had nine each, and Connecticut and Maryland had eight each.