Environmental hazards of mobile ground spraying with cyanophos and fenthion for quelea control in Senegal.

Seven roosts of red-billed quelea, Quelea quelea, in the Senegal River Valley and Delta were visited during and after aerial or terrestrial treatments with either Cyanox (cyanophos 500 g a.i. liter-1, five roosts) or Queletox (fenthion 640 g a.i. liter-1, two roosts). The primary goal of the observations was to provide data on environmental effects of cyanophos after mobile ground spraying operations. Twenty-six species of vertebrates (birds, reptile, fish) were found dead or debilitated near the spray sites. Effects on nontarget fauna were most pronounced among owls (cyanophos and fenthion) and blue-naped mousebirds, Urocolius macrourus (fenthion). Among terrestrial invertebrates ants and carabid, and tenebrionid beetles were the most conspicuously affected. Among aquatic invertebrates affected tadpole shrimps, Triops cancriformis, dominated. Extremely high residues were found immediately after spraying on tree leaves in the spillway of a vehicle-mounted Berthoud Super Puma airblast sprayer (up to 1380 mg kg-1) and on birds found dying under these trees (125-11,277 microg bird-1, average 2720 microg bird-1) in two roosts treated with cyanophos. Blue-naped mousebirds were identified as being particularly at risk. Side effects were not dose related. They were most severe after routinely practiced mobile ground spraying applications which led to overdosing. These application methods impose severe environmental hazards, and should be abandoned.