Despite 25 years of government regulation, the overall risks posed by pesticides used in agriculture, homes, and industry have not been reduced. Pesticide use has increased, and many of today's widely used chemicals are more toxic than their predecessors. Those are among the conclusions of a two-year study carried out by Consumers Union scientists and policy analysts and published in October.

Pesticides and their residues expose Americans to health risks ranging from cancer to subtle disruptions of the nervous system and reproduction. Pesticides kill millions of fish and birds each year, and pesticide use can disrupt the balance of agricultural ecosystems, threatening the livelihoods of some farmers.

The soundest way to reduce those risks, the report finds, is to promote an approach called Integrated Pest Management. IPM, which includes preventive measures and takes advantage of the pests' natural enemies, is a stated goal of Federal policy. But official expectations for IPM are unnecessarily modest, and many government policies and programs promote pesticide use, not IPM.

The report calls for the Government to set much more precise and ambitious goals for the adoption of IPM; it also predicts that market forces, more than regulation, will achieve those goals. The report includes 25 pages of recommended strategies for Government, farmers, businesses, and consumers. Copies of the report, Pest Management at the Crossroads are available for $29.95 plus $6 shipping from PMDS, P.O. Box 2013, Annapolis Junction, MD. 20701.