A study commissioned by the Green group in the European Parliament and prepared by the European Pesticide Action Network found that surface waters in a dozen member states of the European Union (EU), including spaincontaminated with controversial things herbicide glyphosateattributed by experts carcinogenic effects.
The report was submitted before the EU decides next October on whether to renew the authorization to use glyphosate in member states for another fifteen years.
To carry out the study, Surface water samples were taken in 12 EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Poland and Portugal) at the end of October 2022, after the agricultural season.
23 samples were collected from rivers and streams and 5 samples were collected from lakes. and analyzed whether they contained glyphosate or AMPA, the metabolite released when the herbicide breaks down in the environment.
The report reminds that the safe limit of drinking water in terms of active substances and related metabolites of pesticides is as follows: 0.1 micrograms per liter (μg/L), but the study analyzed whether these exceeded 0.2 μg/L.
river water samples
Seventeen of 23 river or stream samples (74%) had glyphosate or AMPA levels above 0.2 µg/L in eleven of twelve countries; That is, above the safety limit. Because the samples were taken after the agricultural season, the glyphosate metabolite AMPA, resulting from herbicide degradation, was detected more frequently in the river samples than glyphosate itself.
Thus, while AMPA metabolites were detected in 17 samples, glyphosate was present in five of them. The highest concentration of AMPA was detected in Polish waters (3.9 µg/L), while that of glyphosate was in Portugal (3 µg/L).
Approximately 22% of samples with detectable AMPA residues showed measurements above 1 µg/L. Additionally, five of twenty-three samples (22%) collected in Austria, Spain, Poland and Portugal contained glyphosate at levels exceeding the human consumption limit of 0.1 µg/L.
Results in Spain
Water collected in Spain San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia) AMPA levels had 0.8 µg/L, while glyphosate residues were less than 0.2 µg/L. On the Rambla del Albujón, AMPA reached 3.4 µg/L, the second highest concentration detected in the study, while glyphosate was at 0.4 µg/L.
The third place where the samples were taken was in Spain. Utxesa swamp (Lleida), where AMPA was 0.5 µg/L and glyphosate 0.2 µg/L.
Samples from Slovenia did not exceed 0.2 µg/L AMPA or glyphosate. Additionally, no glyphosate or AMPA residues were found in the lake samples.
Last July, after assessing the impact of glyphosate on human, animal and environmental health, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that no areas of critical concern had been identified in the use of the herbicide; However, the report acknowledged that some problems may arise. cannot be evaluated.
Possible renewal of use
This review is deciding whether to renew the use permit. Currently glyphosate is allowed until December 15th.
In 2015, the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as follows: “Possibly carcinogenic to humans”. Gergely Simon of the European Pesticide Action Network said in a virtual press conference that the lack of data cited by EFSA in its assessment “will be a critical area of concern”.
“We truly believe that Glyphosate should be banned”, he assured. German Greens MP Martin Häusling stressed that renewing the herbicide’s fifteen-year permit “would be a disaster” and warned that glyphosate had a “very negative impact on all living organisms”.
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