TITLE:
Long-Term Environmental Impacts of Pesticide and Herbicide Use in Panama Canal Zone
AUTHORS:
Kenneth R. Olson, Donna Tornoe
KEYWORDS:
Arsenic, Dams, DDT, Dioxin TCDD, 2, 4-D, 2, 4, 5-T, Howard Air Force Base, Hyacinths, Lake Gatun, Locks, Mosquitoes, Pesticides, Termites
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Soil Science,
Vol.11 No.9,
September
7,
2021
ABSTRACT: The
opening of the Panama Canal in 1913 transformed ocean-shipping and the
availability of internationally-traded goods, shortened travel time between the
Pacific and Atlantic oceans, increased ship tonnage, and sparked the growth of
port authorities on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Panama Canal.
Historically, the United States was number one and China was number two in tons
of cargo that pass through the canal annually in the high stakes game of import
and export markets. Prior to the construction of the Panama Canal, the most
efficient way to cross the 82-kilometer isthmus, between the Port of Panama
City on the Pacific and the Port of Colon on the Atlantic, was by mule trails
through tropical forests and river transportation. Since the construction of
the Panama Canal through tropical forests in the 1910s, pesticides have been
essential for managing mosquitoes as well as controlling wetland vegetation
that blocked lakes, rivers and the canal. The primary objective of this research study is to document the long-term
environmental impacts of pesticide and herbicide use in the Panama Canal Zone.
Many of these chemicals, including 2, 4,-D, 2, 4, 5-T and DDT, have a long
half-life under water and some, like arsenic (As), have no half-life.
Pesticides and chemicals flowed into Lake Gatun via surface runoff
either in solution or attached to the sediment during the rainy season. The
by-product 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is an
unanticipated contaminant created during the manufacture of the herbicide 2,4,5-T.
TCDD can bio-accumulate in fish and birds and enter into the human food supply.
The extent of the current chemical and pesticide contamination on former U.S.
military base grounds and in Lake Gatun is unknown. Systematic soil sampling of
current and former military bases, chemical disposal sites and Lake Gatun or
the Panama Canal sediments is needed to determine if mitigation is necessary.