Humans

Une campagne de Pro Natura pour alerter sur l’état des cours d’eau en Suisse exige le retrait de certains pesticides. Les paysans se sentent pris pour cible. Le 9 mai dernier Pro Natura lançait sa campagne «Stop aux pesticides dans nos eaux», dont le but est de dénoncer l’inquiétante quantité de pesticides, herbicides et insecticides dans les cours d’eaux. Ce texte est accompagné d’un plan national en huit points pour que la Confédération applique une nouvelle politique en la matière.

European Union countries on Thursday again delayed a vote on whether to renew the sales authorization of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto Co.’s popular weedkiller Roundup, amid conflicting scientific assessments on whether the substance causes cancer in humans. “Since it was obvious that no qualified majority would have been reached, a vote was not held,” said a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. The commission had proposed to reauthorize glyphosate for nine years once its current sales license runs out on June 30.

Scientists have sounded the alarm that high concentrations of pesticides are showing up in urine samples of Danish mothers and children. Researchers suspect that the pesticides harm children’s brains. “It is alarming that we have such a high concentration of pesticides in Denmark,” Philippe Grandjean, a professor of environmental medicine and head of research at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), told Altinget.

Der Vorsitzende und Ko-Vorsitzende einer Arbeitsgruppe der FAO und WHO zu Pestiziden, die am Montag Glyphosat für unbedenklich erklärt hatte, sind nach Recherchen des britischen Guardian massiv in Interessenskonflikte verstrickt. Professor Alan Boobis, der Vorsitzende des Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR), ist gleichzeitig Vize-Präsident des International Life Science Institute (ILSI) Europe.

In 65 Prozent der Wasserproben aus Seen, Flüssen und Bächen wurden massive Rückstände an Pestiziden gefunden. Kopfzerbrechen bereitet der staatlich-italienischen Umweltbehörde Ispra vor allem die gestiegene Belastung im Grundwasser. In sieben Prozent der Fälle sind die Wasserproben wegen der Gesundheitsbelastung als nicht mehr trinkbar einzustufen. Mit diesen Zahlen schlägt der neue Ispra-Untersuchungsbericht Alarm.

Survey data suggest reported cumulative pesticide exposure was associated with increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology. Eva L. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and coauthors examined occupational exposures and environmental factors on the risk of developing ALS in Michigan. The authors evaluated assessments of environmental pollutants in the blood and detailed exposure reporting through a survey.

Scientific experts, from both sides of the endocrine debate, have agreed a “consensus statement” on identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which will be passed to the European Commission to support its work compiling regulatory criteria. Chaired by Dame Anne Glover from Aberdeen University, 23 scientists, including Andreas Kortenkamp from Brunel University and Alan Boobis from Imperial College London, achieved a “breakthrough in the scientific discussion”, says the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), which hosted the meeting in Berlin on 11-12 April.