Pesticides in bay need more scrutiny

Scientists and water-quality agencies should do more to research and combat the dangers of pesticides that get into the Chesapeake Bay not only from farms, but also from golf courses, landscaping work and homes, a report issued last week warned.

"Pesticides and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay Watershed" notes that most mitigation is focused on nitrogen and phosphorous pollution, which fuels the growth of algae blooms that lead to the bay's infamous dead zones, oxygen-deprived areas where fish, crabs and oysters cannot survive.

But "these are not the only threats to the health of the bay," the report...