Pesticide Control: Responsibilities Must Be Faced

Chemical poison use is out of control in much of the modern world. Safeguards exist in theory, in practice they are inadequate. At each level of responsibility, practices need to be improved. These are our suggestions for achieving vital improvements.

Pesticides, approvals, scandals

In the autumn of 2023 the banned insecticide chlorpyrifos was found in Croatian mandarins produced for home markets and for export. Shock horror. But the real horror is that this perniciously dangerous pesticide was authorized by the European Union way back on July1st 2006. It was used extensively across the region before being formally banned on 16th February 2020, with a final use-deadline of 16th April 2020. Yet here it is still in use three years later. Why was chlorpyrifos ever approved before the due testing was done which showed up the extent of the damage it causes? At the very least, why was it not withdrawn as soon as its risks began to be apparent? Why is there no control over end-users? Why aren't consumers better protected?   

The chlorpyrifos scandal was not an isolated incident. This is not surprising, as chemical pesticides are granted authorizations on the basis of largely unpublished industry studies; independent research into adverse effects takes time, so it follows much later.  It's high time for decision-makers to improve the safeguards and to ensure that they are put into practice. The European Union and European Commission are responsible for the major laws concerning chemical substances. EU Member States are responsible for the pesticides used on their own territories. In Croatia the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for regulating the so-called 'plant protection products' used in farming. The Ministry of Health governs biocides, the chemicals whose use is supposed to protect human health. Biocides are used for the annual pest suppression programme, responsibility for which is delegated by the Health Ministry to the National Health Institute, which in turn delegates the implementation of the programme to the Regional Health Institutes.

EU failure

In November 2023, the European authorities abandoned the pretence that they were safeguarding European citizens against the harmful effects of chemical pesticides. The European Parliament failed to vote for a ban on the herbicide glyphosate and the European Commission then proposed extending its authorization for a further ten years. The European Parliament also failed to support fully the 'Green Deal' proposal to reduce pesticide use over the next few years. Why? Because they chose to ignore published independent scientific research and the will of thousands of EU citizens, relying instead on mostly unpublished industry-funded 'studies'.

What now?

This means responsibility for protecting human health and essential environmental biodiversity falls squarely on all of us. National, regional and local authorities have to implement the necessary policies, particularly regarding public spaces, parks, woodlands, water sources and the marine environment. Above all, individuals must understand the dangers of using any type of chemical pesticides whether in homes, gardens or fields.

Examples of bad practices in Jelsa on Hvar Island

For many years using non-ecological substances, i.e. chemical pesticides to destroy weeds or pests in spaces used by the public has been forbidden by Council Directive (Službeni glasnik Općine Jelsa, 07.09.2010., III. Čl.32 / 9). Yet over many years in the Jelsa Park chemical pesticides have been used, including Ouragan System 4 (active substance glyphosate), Pyrinex 48EC (active substance chlorpyrifos) and Revive II (active substance emamectin benzoate); in April 2022, Hvar's roadsides were sprayed with herbicide from a van marked 'Hrvatske Ceste'; individuals have used herbicides on public paths and even on old waterways; and every year all the roads are sprayed with pyrethroid insecticides three times during the summer - pesticides which are banned in the EU for outdoor use because they are so dangerous for the environment and bees.

Illnesses linked to lack of awareness

Clearly, people are not aware of how much damage is being done by this agglomeration of dangerous poisons in the environment, and are ignoring the Council Directive. The results are all too visible on the island. Each year, there are less birds, bats, insects, wildlife, plus depleted soils in the fields. As for human health, how many islanders suffer from cancer? There is a relatively high incidence, including prostate and breast cancers, leukaemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, as well as thyroid problems. Also neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Chemical pesticides can be a factor in all of these and many more health problems.

Tourism compromised

Hvar's tourism is marketed on the basis of 'untouched nature'. Widespread pesticide use is undermining the island's most precious assets and amenities.

Action needed!

Each and every individual who cares about the future health of people and the environment should act immediately. If you have been using chemical pesticides of any kind, find ecological alternatives. Teach those around you, especially children, how harmful pesticides are and how to avoid using them. Campaign against the use of pesticides by local, regional or national authorities.

Vivian Grisogono MA(Oxon), November 2023.

Related articles: Pesticides, Why Not; Testing for Pesticides; Pesticide Testing in the Home.

For more details about chemical pesticides, their possible adverse effects and the regulations governing them, please see our articles: 'Pesticides and their adverse effects', 'Pesticides, Laws and Permits', 'Pesticide Products in Croatia' 'Glyphosate herbicides, scientific evidence', among many others in the category 'Poisons Beware'.

You are here: Home poisons be aware Pesticide Control: Responsibilities Must Be Faced

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Scottish Water boss says average Scot uses 40% more water than people in Yorkshire partly due to mistaken belief water is abundant in Scotland

    Scottish households are being urged to cut back heavily on their water use and instead treat it as a precious resource due to the growing threat to supplies from climate heating.

    Alex Plant, the chief executive of Scottish Water, said the average Scot used 40% more water than consumers in Yorkshire, partly because there was a widespread but mistaken assumption that water was abundant in Scotland.

    Continue reading...

  • Critics say change in biodiversity protections would harm environmental recovery and make scheme ineffective

    Plans to weaken environmental regulations for small housebuilders would allow developers in England to build on an area the size of the Yorkshire Dales in the next 10 years without replacing the nature they destroy, according to analysis.

    Labour wants to remove the requirement for small housebuilders – those whose sites are under a hectare (2.5 acres) – to replace the nature they destroy under existing rules known as biodiversity net gain.

    Continue reading...

  • Exclusive: Restrictions on shot and bullets containing toxic metal to be phased in over three years from 2026

    Shotgun pellets and bullets that contain lead are to be banned for almost all uses, ministers have said, in a long-awaited announcement welcomed by wildlife groups.

    The restrictions will be phased in over three years from 2026, rather than the five set out in an official report last year, prompting some shooting organisations to say replacement ammunition may not be fully available in time.

    Continue reading...

  • With forests under pressure from drought, heat, disease and deer, a study has found fewer trees across a range of species surviving to maturity. But scientists say there is still hope

    To the untrained eye, Monks Wood looks healthy and lush in the summer sun. Hundreds of butterflies dance on the edge of footpaths in the ancient Cambridgeshire woodland, which is rich with ash, maple and oak trees. Birds flit through the hedgerows as they feed. A fox ambles through a forest clearing, before disappearing into long grass.

    But for a number of years, it has been clear to Bruno Ladvocat and Rachel Mailes that something is missing. In 2022, Ladvocat, Mailes and their research team from Birmingham University were out sampling when they noticed that the small trees that typically cover the woodland floor were increasingly hard to find.

    Continue reading...

  • A €5.5bn project has transformed the Emscher from ‘the sewer of the Ruhr’ to a place where nature is starting to flourish

    Strolling beside the Emscher, the Tyczkowskis say it is the stench that they remember most about the river’s darker days.

    “The whole thing was filthy and it stank terribly,” says the couple, a retired watchmaker and tax adviser in their 80s. Were they ever tempted to take a dip? “No,” they laugh in disgust. “There were other things swimming inside.”

    Continue reading...

  • In the days since the deadly floods in the Texas Hill Country, speculation has grown about whether cuts to US weather agencies may have contributed to the the number of casualties. Ian Sample talks to the meteorologist and climate journalist Eric Holthaus to find out whether this narrative stacks up and what the consequences could be for extreme weather prediction in the future

    Clips: NBC news, ABC news, Forbes, White House audio

    Texas floods reveal limitations of disaster forecasting under climate crisis

    Continue reading...

  • There’s no shortage of ideas for how to make air travel greener. But it has to start within the industry – and with workers

    I love flying. I’ve wanted to be a pilot since I was young. I grew up in Chichester, West Sussex, under a flight path used by Gatwick airport planes, and used to watch as they traversed the sky. In 2019, once I had qualified as an airline pilot, I began working for easyJet. Aviation connected me to my extended family in Canada, exposed me to different cultures and gave me an unforgettable career. But in November 2022, I handed over my airport ID card for the last time. I had grown increasingly anxious about the effect that our industry was having on the planet and, deep down, I knew that my concern for the climate crisis meant being an airline pilot was damaging my mental health.

    Despite no longer working in the industry, my love of aviation has driven me to protect our ability to fly for future generations. It inspires me to address the uncomfortable realities and decisions our industry now faces. Everyone knows that aviation has a gigantic emissions problem. In 2022, the UK’s domestic and international flights produced 29.6m tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions, accounting for about 7% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. This is projected to increase to 11% by 2030, because while other sectors are decarbonising, aviation emissions will remain stable or even increase.

    Continue reading...

  • With less congestion, less carbon pollution, less accidents, could it be a model for other US cities? Six months in, environmentalists say yes

    It has faced threats and lawsuits and even had its death proclaimed by Donald Trump as he startlingly depicted himself as a king in a social media post. But New York City’s congestion charge scheme for cars has now survived its first six months, producing perhaps the fastest ever environmental improvement from any policy in US history.

    New York vaulted into a global group of cities – such as London, Singapore and Stockholm – that charge cars for entering their traffic-clogged metropolitan hearts but also ushered in a measure that was unknown to Americans and initially unpopular with commuters, and was confronted by a new Trump administration determined to tear it down.

    Continue reading...

  • Exploring the magical landscape that inspired Narnia and stars as a location in Game of Thrones – just an hour outside of Belfast

    Where is the finest mountain panorama in the UK? As a nine-year-old I was taken up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and told it was the best. Even in those days, it was a struggle to see much except the backs of other people. The following summer Scafell Pike got the same treatment and the next year we climbed Ben Nevis. I disagreed on all counts. For me, Thorpe Cloud in Dovedale was unbeatable, despite it being under a thousand feet tall. What convinced me was the diminutive Derbyshire peak’s shape: a proper pointy summit with clear space all around, plus grassy slopes that you could roll down. The champion trio could not compare.

    This panorama question is in my mind as I begin hiking up Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland’s highest peak (at 850 metres), but a mountain often forgotten by those listing their UK hiking achievements. And a proper peak it is too, with a great sweeping drop to the sea and loads of space all around, guaranteeing, I reckon, a view to beat its more famous rivals.

    Continue reading...

  • Shanxi produces more coal than India. How will it survive in China’s clean energy future?

    Deep in the recesses of an underground cavern, covered in dust and soot, Xu Xiaobo wondered why, having recently graduated with a degree in mechanics, he was on his hands and knees sifting through layers of coal sludge. But there was no time to ponder the ancestral forces that had brought him down into one of his province’s oldest mines. There was coal to dig for.

    New to the job, keeping up with colleagues was challenging. As he tried to crawl at speed under a conveyor belt of coal, he landed badly and sprained his wrist. He still can’t rotate it properly.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds