After neonicotinoids, will the government be forced to review all of its pesticide marketing authorization procedures to better take into account their toxicity? Forced by European justice to give up extending derogations for insecticides “bee killers”the executive is now subject to an action before the administrative court for its “deficiencies in the registration of pesticides” and an “undervaluation” of their toxicity.
An appeal was to be filed on Thursday, February 2, before the Council of State to ask the government, and in particular the Minister of Agriculture, in charge of this file, to take into account the effects of all the formulants which enter into the composition of pesticides and to comply with European legislation which stipulates that a phytosanitary product can only be marketed if its harmlessness is proven in the short or long term.
Among the applicants, thirty organizations (Notre affaires à tous, the Confédération paysanne, Générations futures, Agir pour l’environnement or federations of beekeepers) united under the banner of the “Toxic Secrets” campaign, alongside twenty-three deputies. Like the deputy (La France insoumise) from Gironde, Loïc Prud’homme or the deputy (Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, EELV) from Bas-Rhin, Sandra Regol, all are recruited from the ranks of Nupes. “We can no longer turn a blind eye to the need to revise the processes for assessing and authorizing the marketing of these harmful substances that are found in our soils, in tap water, on our plates. »comments the deputy of the Drôme (EELV), Marie Pochon.
Arsenic, lead, perfluorinated compounds… not declared
NGOs and parliamentarians are calling on the government to include, in pesticide marketing authorization application files, long-term toxicity and carcinogenicity analyzes relating to complete formulations – that is to say pesticides as they are marketed – and not only on the active substance declared by the manufacturer, as is the case today. Several scientific publications have indeed highlighted the presence of compounds not declared by the manufacturers: arsenic, lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, perfluorinated compounds… Also, the toxicity of these cocktails that are the complete formulations could be much higher than that of the substances active declared.
You have 61.54% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
