Abstract

leum products Agricultural chemicals comprise thousands of formulations, including petro-leum products, pesticides, growth regulators, buffers, nutrients and fertilizers, and veterinary medications. These chemicals may be used as solids in granu-lar, powder, pellet, or block form; liquids in mists and sprays; or in gaseous forms as fumigants or fuels. Application of chemicals to crops may be by sprays of liquids from aircraft or ground machines; broadcast of solids from aircraft, vehicles, or stationary sources; injection of gas, liquid, or solids into water, soil, animals, or feed; or gaseous exposure in fumigation cells. Animals may be dipped in pools of dilute insecticides to remove surface insects. To save on manpower and fuel, it is common to apply five or more chemicals at once to a crop, making it difficult to determine which are the relevant agents. Mass casualty situations may result from the sudden release of large quanti-ties of chemicals from a manufacturing, storage, or transportation facility, or from the group’s perception of a release as in mass psychogenic hysteria