Pesticides in a historical perspective

Man has long used chemicals to combat pest attacks of different types. For example, an early method to protect wood from fungal attack was to paint it with Falu Red paint, which contains e.g. copper and zinc that prevent fungal growth. At the end of the 1800s some chemicals were used as pesticides in agriculture in Sweden, for example copper and sulphur compounds against fungal attacks in fruit and potatoes. Natural toxins such as nicotine were also used against insect attacks. The use of pesticides in agriculture took off around the middle of the 1900s. However, no attention was paid to the risks to health and the environment for some time.

Rapid increased use after World War II

DDT, which is perhaps the best-known environmental toxin, was introduced during the 1940s together with a few other organic compounds for controlling insects and fungi. Around the same time, mercury compounds began to be used as a seed dip. During World War II, knowledge of synthetic chemicals increased rapidly as a result of research into chemical weapons. For example, many of the early insecticides were organophosphates, which are closely related to nerve gases. The number of products and their use increased sharply after the war. In particular new herbicides were developed and the use of these increased during the 1960s.