Critical review: regulatory differences among countries expose the permissiveness in the use of hazardous pesticides in Brazil

This critical review warns of differences in pesticide registration and approval among major agricultural nations and classifications based solely on acute toxicity, which masks the risk of exposure to unapproved hazardous pesticides. It presents (a) the approval status of active pesticide ingredients (AI) in Brazil (BR) compared to other agricultural nations (e.g. European Union, USA and China); (b) the toxicological reclassification scenario of commercial pesticides in BR, and (c) the toxicological category of commercial pesticides in BR, with AI not approved for use in the three analyzed nations. A list of approved and not approved AI for use in Brazilian agriculture was compiled from the ANVISA website, and a comparison of the approval status among the agricultural countries was performed. Additionally, the number of commercial pesticides in classes/categories was compared before and after the toxicological reclassification from the ANVISA toxicological reclassification list. Among AI approved in BR, approximately 46.6% are “not approved” for use in at least one analysed nation. In addition, 43 pesticides (22,6%) were identified as approved in BR and not approved for use in two of the three nations. It is also noteworthy that nine pesticides (4,7%) are not approved for use in any of the three nations compared. Category 5, currently incorporated (product unlikely to cause acute harm), is the one that most absorbed products previously classified in Classes I (extremely toxic), II (highly toxic), and III (moderately toxic) (46.9%). Most formulations containing not approved active ingredients are classified in Categories 4 (slightly toxic) and 5 in BR. The negative effects that agrochemicals bring to the nation, such as on human health, or in wildlife, polluting water sources, and promoting a global problem by producing contaminated food, do not outweigh the economic benefits obtained by agribusiness.