Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences

First Advisor

Robin Choudhury

Second Advisor

Amie Bostic

Third Advisor

Anna Erwin

Abstract

Pesticides are often used to help reduce the populations of weeds, insects, and pathogens in agricultural and urban settings, reducing the risk of outbreaks and losses of agricultural yield. The communities that surround agricultural areas often bear the brunt of the negative community and environmental health effects of these chemicals, and are frequently rural, poor, and lack critical infrastructure resources. Pesticide application volumes are often linked closely with specific health effects. In this study, I apply social vulnerability theory to compare the potential connections between the application rates of pesticides and socioeconomic variables across the United States using a nationwide database of pesticide usage and the American Community Survey dataset. Through analysis using GLM regressions, I found that a county’s poverty level was a predictor of the county pesticide application amount as well as the proportion of agricultural land in a county. These findings suggest that future work in research and policy avenues should focus on addressing the disproportionate exposure of impoverished communities to pesticides.

Comments

Copyright 2026 Reed Smetter. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3371194038

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