The Republic of Moldova, which lies in the south-east part of Europe, gained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country has a population of 4.3 million—45 per cent urban and 54 per cent rural. Its economy is primarily agricultural with intense use of its natural resources and biodiversity. During the Soviet era, about 1000 pesticide stores were built on collective farms. Between 1991 and 2003, most of them were destroyed or dismantled. Of those that remained, only 20 per cent were maintained in satisfactory condition. The lack of strategy for pesticide management resulted in pesticides being kept in many different depots across the country, some of which were close to residential areas. They were often sub-standard and not maintained. Improper storage conditions, including storage in the open, led to the deterioration of the packaging, release of pesticides into the environment and contamination of the area surrounding the stores. Old and banned pesticides are one of the most severe environmental problems in Moldova, because of the lack of adequate infrastructure to collect and store chemicals and a lack of proper management of household and hazardous wastes. Also of concern are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were used in dielectric oil for the electrical equipment.