PAN Europe has asked the EU Commission to withdraw the pesticide and biocide deltamethrin from the market immediately to prevent any further harm to unborn children. New research shows that exposure of pregnant mice to low doses of the insecticide causes brain damage in the offspring related to learning and memory, relevant for the human autism spectrum. The results come on top of 30+ independent studies that report on developmental neurotoxicity of deltamethrin. Remarkably, in several of these studies, the negative effects have been observed far below the current regulatory 'safe' level. Damage is observed with 12x lower doses than the 'safe' EU level. A safe level could not be demonstrated by the scientists.
Deltamethrin is widely used as an insecticide on crops, on farm animals, against mosquitoes and in household sprays against insects. It is a synthetic member of the pyrethroid family. It is a neurotoxin, deadly to many beneficial insects and fish, while crop pests as well as mosquitoes and bed bugs show increasing resistance against it.
A scientific publication demonstrated that ant queens die for 100% at 1/10 of the deltamethrin dose sprayed in the fields, and mortality was already shown at only 1/1000 of the dose.
Hans Muilerman, Senior Chemicals Officer at PAN Europe said: “The EU regulation foresees that pesticides may not harm human health. But the European Commission failed to comply with the law, and did not put in place the necessary neurotoxicity tests. Large amounts of neurotoxic pesticides are sprayed on our food and close to our houses without being properly tested.”
Muilerman continues: “The story on deltamethrin resonates with a similar story on the pesticide Chlorpyrifos. This widely used insecticide was finally banned in 2019 for similar effects on the unborn. Just like with deltamethrin, this was done thanks to independent scientists who discovered devastating impacts in children’s brain development.”
Noteworthy, deltamethrin has exceeded by far the regulatory 15 year revision period and has thus not been reassessed since its previous approval 23 years ago, despite being one of the most toxic pesticides.
EU regulation fails to protect against neurotoxic effects of pesticides
The dossier submitted by industry when seeking authorisation for a pesticide is failing to identify these adverse effects. This stems from the fact that the European Commission never put in place obligatory, sensitive testing for developmental neurotoxicity and for degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer in the pesticide data requirements.
Hans Muilerman: “PAN Europe asked the Commission to urgently update the pesticide data requirements to identify these grave damaging effects. We have started the 'Save our Brain' campaign to draw much-needed attention to this problem.”
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Contact:
- Martin Dermine, Executive Director, martin [at] pan-europe.info, +32 486 32 99 92
- Tjerk Dalhuisen, Communication Officer, tjerk [at] pan-europe.info, +31 6146 99 126
