July - August 2005
1. PAN Europe activities
Next Pesticide Use Reduction
in Europe (PURE) Working Group Meeting, 12-13 October, Brussels
The next PURE working group meeting will be held in Brussels, 12-13
October. The main objective is to coordinate actions at the national
and the EU level towards two key legislative processes in the pipeline:
the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and the
revision of the Authorisations Directive (Directive 91/414/CEE).
Workshop on Pesticide Reduction
Programmes in Germany and the UK, 5 July, Hamburg
On 5th July 2005 PAN Germany and PAN UK, in cooperation with PAN
Europe, held the workshop on “Pesticide Reduction Programmes
in Germany and the UK – Experiences and Contributions within
a Europe-wide Approach”. The aim of the workshop was to organise
an exchange of views and identify elements for successful pesticide
use reduction programmes.
Thirty-two participants attended the workshop and discussed the
pesticide reduction policies in Germany and the UK against the background
of the development of a “Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable
Use of Pesticides” in Europe, as well as experiences in different
European countries. In the first session, the European political
framework for national pesticide policies and also the history of
the development of pesticide reduction programmes in Europe were
highlighted. The main topic of the second session was a detailed
view of the official German and British pesticide reduction policies
and in addition to have a look at these national policies from the
retailers’ and from the farmer points of view. In the third
session other European pesticide reduction experiences were taken
into account (Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria). The final
session served for discussion and to draw some conclusions about
crucial points that need further discussion and action.
The next PAN Europe Annual Conference will be organised in such
a way to continue this discussion. The reorganisation of PAN Europe
working groups was considered so that partners interested in different
areas can work in smaller groups.
Results of the IPM consultation Thematic Strategy on
the Sustainable Use of Pesticides
The results of the IPM consultation have been published by the European
Commission. You can view statistics and charts at the Commission's website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ppps/home.htm.
There were 1,772 responses to the on-line questionnaire, of which
half came from France and Germany.
Some of the answers proposed by PAN Europe were reflected in the
results of the questionnaire. For example:
- the importance of the proposed elements in the National Action
Plans including the introduction of special requirements for application
of pesticides by aerial spraying and the restriction on the use
in public areas;
- the importance of the proposed minimum requirements for training
and awareness raising including compulsory participation with certification
of participants;
- compulsory control and standardisation of sprayers;
- introduction of specific measures for aerial spraying;
- creation of areas of strongly reduced use or zero PPP use;
- collection of packaging and obsolete products by the industry
or a specific body for the purpose.
In other issues PAN Europe’s suggested answers were not the
highest vote receivers but received a high number of responses,
for example:
- further definition of Integrated Pest Management;
- taxation of pesticides in order to influence the choice of least
harmful products;
- taxation of pesticides in order to finance the measures of the
Thematic Strategy.
The European Commission proposal for a Thematic Strategy is expected
in Autumn 2005.
CASCADE Open Forum in Visby, Sweden
On July 8 2005, CASCADE (Chemicals as Contaminants in the Food Chain)
Network of Excellence hosted the international seminar 'The chemical
pollutants in our food' in connection with the Visby politicians'
week. The CASCADE Network of Excellence, financed by the European
Commission, seeks durable coordination and integration of European
research on the human health effects of chemical residues in food.
PAN Europe Board Member François Veillerette participated
in the seminar and was of the firm opinion that we do not need to
wait for more research to take legislative action against chemicals
in food, His perspective received support from many others in the
panel and audience.
A report from the event will be
published on CASCADE web site soon at http://www.cascadenet.org/
Endocrine disruptor fungicides due to be approved in
Europe
The dossiers for the fungicides vinclozolin and procymidone are
complete and these two substances are due to be re-approved for
placement on the EU market in one of the next sessions of the Standing
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH). Facing this
possibility, PAN Europe decided to act, sending a letter to all
ministers and representatives in this meeting, as well as European
Commission and European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), in a plea against
the inclusion of these substances.
Detectable levels of residues of vinclozolin and procymidone are
consistently found in European fruits and vegetables and there is
indisputable scientific evidence of endocrine disrupting properties
of these two substances and non-repairable damage at a young age
caused by exposure (Anway et al., 2005). Vinclozolin is one of the
substances with evidence of endocrine disrupting or evidence of
potential endocrine disrupting properties listed in the Communication
from the Commission to the Council (Com (2001) 262 final) on the
implementation of the Community Strategy for Endocrine Disruptors
– a range of substances suspecting of interfering with the
hormone systems of humans and wildlife (COM (1999) 706). As for
procymidone, it was recognised as one of the substances with high
exposure concern and with evidence of endocrine disrupting properties
listed in the Commission working document on the implementation
of the Community Strategy for Endocrine Disruptors (SEC (2004) 1372).
Results from a recent study conducted in South Korea indicate that
procymidone may even act as a stronger androgen receptor antagonist
in male rats when compared to known endocrine disruptors such as
vinclozolin, linuron, or p,p'-DDE (Kang et al., 2004).
PAN Europe asked ministers and representatives to reject the inclusion
of these substances in the EU positive list and to demand extra
studies for pesticides with scientific evidence in peer-reviewed
literature for endocrine disruption and focus these studies on the
early developmental stage of life, taking into account specific
endpoints relevant for endocrine disruption like: learning capability,
motility, behaviour, birth deformations, semen quality, etc., dependent
on the kind of endocrine disruption of the pesticide under study.
2. Published news and information
Withdrawal of active ingredients in EU review
The EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH)
has voted for the withdrawal of the herbicide methabenzthiazuron.
Essential uses were requested by Belgium and France.
Approval of active ingredients in EU review
The SCFCAH agreed on the inclusion of 2 new active ingredients:
the insecticide/acaricide etoxazole and the graminicide tetraloxydim.
One existing substance was added to Annex 1: the insecticide/nematicide
oxamyl (“Bad Actor” status for being acutely toxic and
a cholinesterase inhibitor).
The SCFCAH also recognised complete dossiers for three new fungicides:
potassium iodide, potassium thiocynate and ascorbic acid.
Danish Government allows for the first time the use
of purified water by the local authorities
The Danish government is set to abandon its policy forbidding the
use of purified groundwater for drinking, the environmental protection
authority (EPA) announced on the 2nd of August 2005. Forthcoming
legislation will, for the first time, allow local authorities to
decide for themselves whether to use groundwater that has been treated
to remove pesticide residues, rather than drilling new sites in
the hope of finding an unpolluted source.
"Danish drinking water should in principle consist of unpolluted
and unpurified groundwater", an EPA spokeswoman told journalists.
However, pesticide levels in groundwater have been steadily increasing,
with about a quarter of all new wells producing water contaminated
with BAM residues (2, 6-dichlorobenzamide, a degradation product
of the herbicide dichlobenil) . According to the UK's Local Government
International Bureau (LGIB), over the past 15 years more than 700
waterworks in Denmark have closed down because of contaminated groundwater.
Exposure of females to oestrogen-disruptors reduces
male fertility for several generations
A recent study suggests further evidence for the transgenerational
actions of oestrogen-disruptors in rats’ male fertility. Four
generations of male offspring from vinclozolin or methoxychlor treated
mothers were examined, with reduction in sperm quality and quantity
observed in all generations with comparable severity. In addition,
8% of the male offspring in each generation were completely infertile.
Pregnant rats were briefly exposed to the endocrine disruptor’s
vinclozolin or methoxyclor during the time when the sex of embryos
is being determined and testes developing. Sperm from the male offspring
was examined and found to be significantly impaired. A reduction
in sperm number and motility was also registered. This study shows
that exposure to pesticides can cause a defect in sperm cells which
can pass down through several generations through an apparent reprogramming
of the male germ line. There has been controversy over whether environmental
factors can alter reprogramming of the sperm cell DNA. Results in
this paper clearly suggest this is possible. If confirmed, these
findings could help explain the decline in human fertility which
has been documented in several countries over the past 50 years.
Vinclozolin and methoxychlor are known to be endocrine disruptors.
Vinclozolin is a fungicide used in a number of crops such as grapevines
and strawberries. Methoxychlor is an organochlorine used on a range
of crops. In this study exposure levels were higher than anticipated
for human environmental exposure but clearly raise concerns. Vinclozolin
is due to be re-approved for placement in the market in the framework
of the European legislation on the placement of PPPs in the market.
Fungicide linked with neural tube defects
A new study from Norway found that the incidence of neural tube
defects such as spina bifida or hydrocephalus in children of potato
growers was 60% higher than in the rest of the population. The study,
undertaken by researchers at the National Institute of Occupational
Health in Oslo, indicated that there was an association between
growers’ exposure to the fungicide mancozeb and neural tube
defects in their children.
Mancozeb is a widely used fungicide, and it is particularly effective
against potato late blight (dry rot). The fungicide is classified
by PAN North America with “Bad Actor “ status for being
a developmental or reproductive toxin, carcinogen and a suspected
endocrine disruptor, and was recently re-approved for placing in
the market in the EU Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal
Health.
“We found a link between growing potatoes and having children
with neural tube defects, but we are not certain that mancozeb or
ETU (a metabolite of mancozeb) is the culprit. Our findings do support
the hypothesis, but more research is needed to strengthen it further,”
said Karl-Christian Nordby, the scientist in charge.
The study has been published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work,
Environment and Health. It prompted one national newspaper in Norway
to call for a ban on mancozeb until further research is carried
out into the safety of using this fungicide. The Norwegian Food
Safety Authority’s science committee is to consider the case
for a possible withdrawal of pesticides containing mancozeb later
in the summer.
Accumulation of chlorpyrifos in human volunteers
Chlorpyrifos is a widely used organophosphorus insecticide and a
plasma cholinesterase inhibitor. A large number of agricultural
and other workers are exposed dermal and/or by inhalation to the
substance every day. In this study chlorpyrifos was applied to the
skin of six male volunteers, in different concentrations, during
4 hours, after which the non-absorbed fraction was washed off. Urine
samples were taken at regular intervals up to 120 hours and concentrations
of chlorpyrifos and its metabolite were measured. The results showed
that a relatively large fraction was washed off from the exposed
area (42-67%). It also showed that there were no significant differences
between the two groups in the dose that had been absorbed. They
also observed that chlorpyrifos was still left in the body after
120 hours, which suggests that chlorpyrifos and its metabolite were
retained by the skin and/or accumulated in the body. These findings
show that daily occupational exposure to chlorpyrifos may result
in accumulation of chlorpyrifos and its metabolites, possibly resulting
in adverse effects.
Glyphosate leaching threat to aquatic life
Glyphosate is sold as a benign pesticide harmless to animals, which
breaks down rapidly and binds tightly to soil precluding the possibility
of leaching into water sources. A new study now provides evidence
that glyphosate and its breakdown product, AMPA, can leach from
certain types of soils. The behavior of glyphosate/AMPA was observed
in three types of soils: one sandy soil and two loamy. At the sandy
soil site and at one loamy site with moderate rainfall, no leaching
of glyphosate was observed and only minimal leaching of AMPA was
observed in the loamy soil. However, on the second loamy site both
glyphosate and AMPA leached from the root zone into tile drains
(one meter below the soil surface) at average conditions exceeding
0.1 µg/litre, which is the EU threshold for drinking water.
The leaching was related to macropores in the soil structure. AMPA
was often detected 1.5 years after application, indicating limited
degradation capacity within the soil.
Prague Declaration: a call to regulate gender-bending
chemicals
The Prague Declaration, named after a meeting of more than 100 toxicologists
and chemists in Czech Republic in May 2005, was launched in Brussels
in June 2005. The declaration states that legislation on the safe
use of chemicals does not go far enough and lack of complete scientific
evidence of the harmful effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals
must not delay political action. It has over a hundred signatories,
including PAN Europe.
Endocrine disrupters are a diverse group of several thousands of
chemicals - such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins
- used in everything from pesticides to flame retardants, cosmetics
to pharmaceuticals. Some of them alter the function of hormones
in animals, either blocking their normal action or interfering with
how they are made in the body. Since hormones regulate growth and
body development, the potential for damage is clear. The link between
these chemicals and detrimental effects in wildlife is well-established:
pseudo-hermaphrodite polar bears with penis-like stumps, panthers
with atrophied testicles and male trout with eggs growing in their
testes have all been documented as the probable result of endocrine-disrupting
chemicals in the environment. Scientists have long suspected that
the presence of these chemicals is also responsible for the high
prevalence of fertility problems in European men, and for the rise
in the number of breast and testicular cancers.
From the farm to the plate: pesticide trends in Spain
The growth of pesticide use in Spain has soared in the last few
years. Unfortunately, indiscriminate use and lack of control and
information have converted this into a threat for human health.
In 2004, ISTAS (Instituto Sindical de Trabajo, Ambiente y Salud),
the labour institute for environment and health under the trade
union CCOO (Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras)
from Andalucía organised a survey among the workers in green-houses
in Andalucía (where 25% of all pesticides from Spain are
used). According to the study, only 48% of the surveyed workers
had received information about the risks involved in the handling
of pesticides. The survey also highlighted the presence of pesticide
and pesticide residues in the surroundings of the green-houses,
namely in the water, air, soil, produce and plastic waste. 42% of
the pesticides utilised in the green-houses were hormone disrupting
chemicals and/or persistent and bioaccumulative. Almost 27% of the
pesticides found and analysed by the scientific studies that were
the basis of the study were not on the market or were in the process
of being removed from the market by their harmful effects in the
human health and the environment. In 2002, the System for Epidemiological
Surveillance in Andalucía (Sistema de Vigilancia Epidemiológica
de Andalucía) registered 118 cases of acute intoxications
caused by pesticides, where 98 occurred within an occupational background.
In another study published by the Public Health Agency from Barcelona
it was found that during 1998-2003 10% of all agricultural products
analysed were contaminated by pesticide residues. In particular,
28% of the fruits; 20% of the cereals and 7% of vegetables were
contaminated. Although they did not exceed Maximum Residue Levels,
concerns were raised by the presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals
like malathion, procymidone, dimethoate, fenitrothion, diazinon,
imazalil and esfenvalerate.
Does chronic exposure to organophosphates cause depression
and suicide?
Pesticide poisonings are usually divided into three main categories:
occupational exposures, non-occupational accidental exposures (such
as domestic accidents) and intentional exposures (suicide and attempted
suicide). The World Health Organization (WTO) estimates that 1 million
unintentional and 2 million intentional poisonings occur worldwide
every year, of which 220,000 are fatal. Pesticide poisoning is a
particularly serious problem in developing countries, especially
among rural agricultural populations.
This review analyses studies of suicides among pesticide-exposed
populations. It also examines human and animal studies of central
nervous system toxicity related to organophosphate (OP) pesticides,
one of the groups of pesticides associated with pesticide-related
suicides. The association between suicide and exposure to pesticides,
particularly OPs, is often interpreted as indicating that those
working with pesticides have access to poisons in moments of acute
distress so suicidal impulses are more likely to result in suicide.
However, the authors evaluate the possibility that OP exposure could
depress serotonin levels leading to depression, alteration in mood
and psychiatric disorders. The authors conclude that OPs are not
just agents for suicide but may also be the cause.
3. News from PAN Europe partners
New publication by PAN Germany: Guiding Lighthouses
for Future Plant Protection Policy.
Pesticide issues have been in the public focus for over 40 years.
In order to point the way in which plant protection policies should
develop in the future, PAN Germany has set up 7 "guiding lighthouses".
For PAN Germany, these "guiding lighthouses" represent
indispensable guidelines and signposts, such as are needed in every
field of politics in any intact democracy: coherency, transparency,
participation, responsibility, precautionary principle, minimisation
of risk and fairness.
The 1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production,
May 3-4, 2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina
This conference, organized by IFOAM (International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements) in cooperation with the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will focus
on the harvesting of wild vegetable products from forest, “natural”
lands, pastures and uncultivated land in the agriculture landscape.
It will concentrate on current production that enters the organic
market stream, but will also extend to other concepts, such as Fair
Trade, sustainable forest management certification and Good Manufacturing
Practices. Tours will be organised after the conference. They will
show production and processing as well as the certification process.
Clean Air Action Group Hungary protests against the
aerial spraying of dichlorvos in public areas
In the spring of 2005, Clean Air Action Group (Hungarian environmental
NGO) protested to the competent ministries and the National Public
Health and Medical Officer’s Service (ÁNTSZ) against
the use of a specific pesticide and against the method of application
of another chemical. This happened after a local newspaper informed
Clean Air Action Group in Budapest that the National Public Health
and Medical Officer’s Service was using for mosquito control
a pesticide containing dichlorvos (UNITOX 100 SC). Dichlorvos (CASRN
62-73-7) is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the EPA
and possible human carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). DDT has the
same classification. Several investigations concluded that this
substance may cause childhood leukaemia and brain tumour. In the
US, its use was restricted on account of the leukaemia cases. Owing
to its probable carcinogenic effect, this chemical was banned in
Denmark, in Sweden and in Indonesia, and in 2002 also in UK.
From an environmental protection point of view, it is disquieting
that in inhabited areas, in public parks and in the neighbourhood
of private gardens (where pets and farm animals are kept) a substance
with proven animal carcinogenic effect is being sprayed into the
air. In Hungary, chemicals containing dichlorvos as their active
ingredient (Unifosz 50ec) are permitted to be used for plant protection
purposes with a required labour hygiene waiting period of three
days. This means that for three days, humans without protective
equipment and animals are not allowed to enter the agricultural
area treated with the pesticide. The question may be asked: how
is it possible that the same pesticide is being used on inhabited
areas in the same dose and without any restrictions?
On repeated occasions, the National Public Health and Medical Officer’s
Service referred to the fact that this substance is included in
the WHO’s list of active ingredients that may be authorized
to be used for mosquito control. However, this list also contains
DDT (with the same carcinogenic classification), which has caused
illness and death of hundreds of thousands of citizens and has been
banned from use in Hungary since 1968. Clean Air Action Group also
requested a revision of the so-called “warm fog” technology,
i.e. when this compound is sprayed into the air with diesel oil.
Considering that diesel oil is a Category I carcinogen, it is unacceptable
that it is being sprayed into the air on inhabited areas.
The other product widely used in Hungary against mosquitoes is
MOSQUITOX 1 ULV FORTE. The active ingredient of this pesticide,
deltamethrin, belongs to the pyrethroid compound group. These compounds
pose danger to fish, bees and aquatic organisms, and may also damage
human health. Relevant regulations do not allow these compounds
to be let into living waters. Pyrethroid compounds have been associated
by many with the huge fish destruction occurrences in Lake Balaton
in Hungary. Therefore, it is questionable whether the aerial spraying
of this pesticide and the required five-metre protective distance
from water courses can provide effective guarantees for the protection
of the environment. Clean Air Action Group proposes a revision of
all the permits for aerial spraying in Hungary.
Environmentalists in Belarus call for joint efforts
to solve pesticide disposal problems
The call was directed to the ministers of environment of Belarus
and Latvia and was released 4th of August by the organizers of the
international environmental camp “Clean Dvina – Clean
Baltic-2005”. Authors of the appeal call for creation of a
working group at the national level to solve problems of the pesticide
disposal site near Verhnedvinsk town on the river Western Dvina.
Work of the group should result in action plan for urgent rehabilitation
of the disposal site.
“We, representatives of the NGOs from Belarus, Latvia, Ukraine,
Russia and Greece together with citizens of Verhnedvinsk town express
our strong concerns about the situation that exists nowadays around
Verhnedvinsk pesticide disposal site”, – states the
appeal signed by more than 20 participants of the camp “Clean
Dvina – Clean Baltic 2005”. On July 30 2005 camp participants
undertook an expedition to the disposal site surroundings. More
than 450 tons of dangerous chemicals – pesticides are buried
on the overall territory of 5,000 sq. meters. The site was created
in 1982 with no drainage system associated. In addition, several
water streams flow near the site. So far, according to the opinion
of the camp participants, the direct way for pesticide migration
to local rivers Sarjanka and Turja exist. Downstream, these rivers
fall into Western Dvina River, then into the Baltic Sea.
The International environmental camp was organized on July 29th-August
4th near the town Polotsk (Belarus), several kilometers from river
Western Dvina (Daugava on the Latvian territory) that flows into
the Baltic Sea. Participants called authorities to solve problems
of the pesticide disposal urgently, underlining the threats that
this site poses to the ecosystems of Western Dvina and the Baltic
Sea.
Camp “Clean Dvina – Clean Baltic 2005” was organized
by Belarusian environmental group and PAN Europe partner “Foundation
for the Realization of Ideas”, international environmental
group Ecodefense! and Latvian Green Movement and supported by Coalition
Clean Baltic.
“Know-what-you-eat” campaign harvested
encouraging results in The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the "Know-what-you-eat" campaign is
run by Stichting Natuur en Milieu (Society for Nature and Environment,
SNM) for three years now. The campaign consists in the public disclosure
of the results of analysis made to fresh fruits and vegetables from
main supermarket chains in the Netherlands. In the first years supermarkets
were completely surprised with the results because they were not
aware of problems regarding pesticides residues in products. Residues
were not analysed by the supermarkets and enforcing by the government
was minimal. Exceedances of the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) were
very high, up to 75% of all samples in grapes, but also high in
citrus, strawberries and lettuce. Supermarkets did not react until
SNM threatened them to go to Court. Only when the court cases were
widely announced in the newspapers the supermarket managers queued
before SNM’s office door, asking for an agreement. SNM got
an agreement will all major supermarkets and finally even with the
German discounters Aldi en Lidl which are widely regarded as 'deaf'
for any social responsibility. The discounters were also the first
having 'cleaned' their products by punishing their suppliers very
hard in case of MRL exceedances.
Although having promised to 'clean' their fresh products, the supermarkets
and their branch organisation started at the same time a big publicity
campaign against the alarmism of SNM and other NGOs. Agriculture
Ministry, farmers and the national food authority joined forces
to tell consumers there is no risk with pesticide residues in food
and dismissing the claims of NGO's. At the European level, traders
and supermarkets started a powerful lobby campaign to harmonise
residue standards. Against such powerful groups it’s crucial
for NGO's to maintain the campaign in the next years, keeping pressure
high by disclosing the results of the analysis.
SNM has published the 9th round of sampling and concluded that
the residue exceedances are now more or less under control. Strawberries
(analysed in June) and now lettuce (August) didn't show any exceedances
to the MRLs. Nevertheless, detectable levels of residues under the
MRLs are still present in many samples. A lot of progress has been
made by a combination of pressure and negotiating. Given the powerful
multinationals involved, NGOs have reasons to be satisfied with
the results.
This PAN Europe Newsletter was compiled by Sofia Parente.
Contributions are welcome from PAN Europe network members, PURE
supporters and individuals.
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