Note that the data published in the 2002 State of the Nation’s Ecosystems Report as well as the 2003 and 2005 Web-Only Updates have been superseded by the 2008 Report and thus should be used with caution. For the most recent data, purchase the 2008 Report from Island Press.

Discussion The data shown here do not represent assessments of the risks posed to people or ecosystems in any specific location, since they do not incorporate factors such as whether the water tested is actually used as a drinking water source and the time of year when the pesticides are found, relative to when animals are most active.

Guidelines for the protection of aquatic life are often numerically lower than standards and guidelines to protect human health. Aquatic animals spend much or all of their life in water, and may be more sensitive than people to specific contaminants. People consume drinking water from both streams and groundwater, thus human health standards and guidelines apply to both. Guidelines to protect aquatic life are not applied to groundwater.

The pesticides reported here are generally associated with agriculture, but some may have other uses (currently or in the past). Thus, not all contamination is necessarily attributable to agricultural use.

See also the national, coastal, and urban contaminants indicators.