This critical review examines the release of pesticides from agricultural practices into the air, with a focus on volatilization, and the factors influencing their dispersion. The review delves into the effects of airborne pesticides on human health and their contribution to anthropogenic air pollution. It highlights the necessity of interdisciplinary research encompassing science, technology, public policy, and agricultural practices to effectively mitigate the risks associated with pesticide volatilization and spray dispersion. The text acknowledges the need for more research to understand the fate and transport of airborne pesticides, develop innovative application technologies, improve predictive modeling and risk assessment, and adopt sustainable pest management strategies. Robust policies and regulations, supported by education, training, research, and development, are crucial to ensuring the safe and sustainable use of pesticides for human health and the environment. By providing valuable insights, this review aids researchers and practitioners in devising effective and sustainable solutions for safeguarding human health and the environment from the hazards of airborne pesticides.

This work reports the application of a biochar (BC) derived from eucalyptus wood chips to remove pesticides (imidacloprid, acetamiprid and methomyl) from water. The pseudo-second order kinetic adsorption model is the best fit describing the adsorption of pesticides on BC. Furthermore, the Langmuir model correlated well with the adsorption isotherm data for acetamiprid and methomyl, while the Freundlich model was selected to explain the adsorption of imidacloprid on BC. The maximum adsorption capacities for methomyl, imidacloprid and acetamiprid on the BC material are 32.42, 14.75 and 4.87 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The highest adsorption capacity of methomyl on the BC surface could be the result of multilayer adsorption suggested by the adsorption isotherm studies, with imidacloprid (or acetamiprid) monolayer being adsorbed on the BC surface. The structure, functional groups of pesticides, including their polarity, all played an important role contributing to the performance of biochar sorbent. Preferable interactions between the studied pesticides and the BC surface may include π-π interactions and hydrogen bonding. The steric aromatic entity in adsorbed imidacloprid and acetamiprid on the BC surface may hinder the possibility of other pesticide molecules approaching the available sorption sites on the surface.