Each year, 3 million people are poisoned by pesticides and 200,000 of them die, according to the World Health Organization as reported in the New Internationalist. The National Centers for Disease Control found 20,000 pesticide products marketed in the U.S. and 10,000 to 20,000 diagnosed pesticide poisonings in agricultural workers, groundskeepers, pet groomers and fumigators. There are health risks associated with each of the most common types of pesticides: herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.

Herbicides
Made infamous by Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, herbicides are the most common form of pesticide, used by home owners and farmers in the U.S. to kill unwanted plants. They can be ingested by the public when agricultural products are not properly sterilized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Glyphosate, or "Roundup," the world's most common weedkiller, causes sore throat, difficulty swallowing and bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract when ingested. Trifluralin, a common U.S. herbicide banned in the European Union, causes skin rash and eye irritation states Pesticide Reform.

Fungicides
Some fungicides are man-made chemical compounds, while others, called bio-fungicides, are made from living microorganisms such as bacteria. Like herbicides, fungicides are used by humans for destruction; they penetrate and kill fungi. One of the most harmful common fungicides is Ziram, found in AAvolex, Fungostop, Z-C spray and other products. It can cause headache, nausea and vomiting if ingested with alcohol. Per Pesticide Reform, large amounts of Ziram causes neural and visual disturbance, and the destruction of red blood cells which can be fatal.

From Network Resources