Beleid en debat

There are numerous concerns regarding the neurotoxicity of contaminated air inside pressurized aircraft. Neurological symptoms have been seen in many aircrew personnel who have reportedly been exposed to the potentially toxic breathable air in airliners. Symptoms, allegedly contracted by aircrew and passengers, are thought to be caused by a single large exposure or repetitive cumulative low-level exposures to toxic chemicals in the airliner internal air. Genetic variation plays a rôle. We report here the case of a 43-year old airline pilot who presented with neurological deficits and other symptoms. The pilot died without regaining good health. In vivo blood had been collected ante mortem. Analysis of the serum confirmed grossly elevated levels of serum autoantibody biomarkers for neuronal cell degeneration compared with a control group. At autopsy, various tissues underwent histopathological assessment. Brain and spinal tissues exhibited axonal degeneration and demyelination. Peripheral nerves showed T-lymphocyte infiltration and demyelination. T lymphocytes had infiltrated the heart muscle tissue. The post-mortem tests and pathological examination of the nervous system confirm the autoantibody biomarker results. Differential diagnosis showed that the work environment, clinical condition, histopathology and serum biomarkers for nervous system injury are consistent with organophosphate-induced neurotoxicity. The results also showed that exposure to organophosphates rendered the nervous system and heart tissue sensitive and predisposed to further injury.

¿Por qué se oye cada vez menos el canto de las aves en muchas zonas? ¿Están los insecticidas llevándose por delante las poblaciones de pájaros? Un artículo científico en la revista Nature asocia el insecticida más usado del mundo con la reducción de las poblaciones de algunas especies de pájaros. La investigación, realizada por la universidad holandesa de Radboud en Nijmegen, muestra cómo coinciden las zonas en cuyas aguas se miden concentraciones altas de un famoso insecticida de la multinacional Bayer, el imidacloprid, con las áreas en las que están cayendo de manera más notable las poblaciones de diferentes especies de aves. Las víctimas estudiadas son, fundamentalmente, aves insectívoras que cada vez se ven en menor número en muchas zonas agrarias.

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in the world. They are toxic to most arthropods. They are widely applied as seed dressings because they act systemically, protecting all parts of the crop. Neonicotinoids can persist and accumulate in soils. They leach into waterways. They are found in nectar and pollen of treated crops. Concentrations in soils, waterways, field margin plants, nectar and pollen have commonly been found to be levels sufficient to control crop pests; they commonly exceed the LC50 (the concentration which kills 50% of individuals) for beneficial organisms. There have been many studies in the lab and, increasingly, in combinations of lab and field conditions on the possible impacts of neonicotinoids on both honey bees and bumble bees. They indicate that concentrations in nectar and pollen in crops are not lethal to bees but are sometimes sufficient to reduce their ability to learn, to forage and to find their way back to the hive. There is evidence that they can reduce the survival of colonies. The general conclusion of these studies is that, together with such things as loss of flower-rich habitat and Varroa mite, neonicotinoid use may have caused losses of bee populations. The manufacturers say that only studies carried out entirely in the field are valid. This is a curious reversal of arguments in respect of the impact of organochlorine pesticides on birds in the 1960s, when manufacturers said field studies were of no value and that all effects had to be demonstrated in the lab.

Dr. Frank van de Goot ist ein zurückhaltender Mann, und als Gerichtsmediziner ist das wahrscheinlich von Vorteil, wenn man Leichen obduziert. Als der Niederländer den Körper von Richard Westgate examinieren soll, ist er demzufolge erst einmal skeptisch, als er den Untersuchungsauftrag erhielt: De Goot sollte herausfinden, ob der Pilot Westgate, der nur 43 Jahre alt wurde, am sogenannten "Aerotoxischen Syndrom" litt. Der Pathologe entnahm Teile des Gehirns, des Rückenmarks und der größeren Nerven aus den Beinen. Schon beim ersten Blick unter das Mikroskop wurde er stutzig: "Ich sah dort sofort das, was man erwarten konnte, wenn diese gesamte Theorie über kontaminierte Kabinenluft wahr sein sollte. Mit diesen Nervenschädigungen konnte ich die Existenz eines aerotoxischen Syndroms nicht mehr ausschließen." Westgate wurde krank durch die Luft, die jeder Passagier und jedes Besatzungsmitglied in einem Verkehrsflugzeug einatmet.

Multitudes of wintering birds on an estuary form one of the most magical wildlife spectacles each winter in the UK, but this scene is changing. Latest data collected by thousands of Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) volunteers show that populations of the UK’s most familiar coastal waders have declined markedly in the last ten years. Dunlin (Calidris alpina)(-52%), Redshank Tringa totanus (-40%), Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) (-38%), Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) (-34%) and Curlew Numenius arquata (-23%) are among the eight most abundant waders on Scottish estuaries in winter, yet the populations of all of them are declining. The annual WeBS report, now published in conjunction with an online interactive interface, makes this information available to anyone with an interest in birds and the environment. The new report, covering the period up to June 2013, highlights worrying trends shown by the eight most abundant waders on UK estuaries, particularly in the most recent ten year period.