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Agricultural venom is deep in the protected nature
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#Bestrijdingsmiddelen from agriculture penetrate deep into nature reserves.The chemicals are contained in plants and livestock manure in protected natural areas in Drenthe.
Joop Bouma3 June 2020, 6:00 AM
This is evidenced by research by Natuurmonumenten and the Drentse resident organisation Meten=Wening. Samples of plants have been taken in the Dwingelderveld, Leggelderveld and Holtingerveld, three nature areas covered by the European Nature Conservation Programme Natura2000. In all the plants and manure studied there are traces of multiple pesticides. Chemicals have also been found on nature reserves of the Drentse Landschap.
Natuurmonumenten and Hetse Landschap want Minister Carola Schouten for agriculture, nature and food quality to start a broad national research into agricultural chemicals in natural areas. “This is serious. We're shocked by the outcomes. We don't know what these substances do,” says Ruud Kreetz, Area Manager of Natural Monuments in South Drenthe. He speaks of a blanket of poison lying across the landscape.
Last year Meten=Westen showed after samples that in gardens adjacent to bulb fields in the municipality of Westerveld in Drenthe municipality of Westerveld remains of more than50 pesticidesSit down.
Joop Bouma3 June 2020, 6:00 AM
This is evidenced by research by Natuurmonumenten and the Drentse resident organisation Meten=Wening. Samples of plants have been taken in the Dwingelderveld, Leggelderveld and Holtingerveld, three nature areas covered by the European Nature Conservation Programme Natura2000. In all the plants and manure studied there are traces of multiple pesticides. Chemicals have also been found on nature reserves of the Drentse Landschap.
Natuurmonumenten and Hetse Landschap want Minister Carola Schouten for agriculture, nature and food quality to start a broad national research into agricultural chemicals in natural areas. “This is serious. We're shocked by the outcomes. We don't know what these substances do,” says Ruud Kreetz, Area Manager of Natural Monuments in South Drenthe. He speaks of a blanket of poison lying across the landscape.
Last year Meten=Westen showed after samples that in gardens adjacent to bulb fields in the municipality of Westerveld in Drenthe municipality of Westerveld remains of more than50 pesticidesSit down.
Afterwards, traces of agricultural poison in baby diapers were found in a study by the RIVM.
In Drenthe there are plenty of lilies grown, a cultivation in which many chemicals are used.
Also substances on kilometres of agricultural parcels
Meten=Knitting argued after the first study for spacious spray-free zones around the agricultural parcels. However, the latest study seems to show that this measure has only a limited effect. In the 17 samples taken this time far from inhabited areas in nature, pesticides were found — also from agricultural poison that has not been used in Dutch agriculture for years. 31 different chemicals have been found, including neonicotinoids ('bee venom').
The pesticides are located in plants miles deep in the grounds, far from agricultural parcels. In the Dwingelderveld National Park, a 37 square kilometre nature reserve near Beilen, six different poisons have been found more than four kilometres away from fields. In the Holtingerveld near Uffelte, even more toxins (11) were found at a location more than one kilometre from fields than on the edge, 30 metres from the farmland (6 substances). At Uffelte there is an extensive cultivation of bulbs, potatoes and sugar beet.
Also substances on kilometres of agricultural parcels
Meten=Knitting argued after the first study for spacious spray-free zones around the agricultural parcels. However, the latest study seems to show that this measure has only a limited effect. In the 17 samples taken this time far from inhabited areas in nature, pesticides were found — also from agricultural poison that has not been used in Dutch agriculture for years. 31 different chemicals have been found, including neonicotinoids ('bee venom').
The pesticides are located in plants miles deep in the grounds, far from agricultural parcels. In the Dwingelderveld National Park, a 37 square kilometre nature reserve near Beilen, six different poisons have been found more than four kilometres away from fields. In the Holtingerveld near Uffelte, even more toxins (11) were found at a location more than one kilometre from fields than on the edge, 30 metres from the farmland (6 substances). At Uffelte there is an extensive cultivation of bulbs, potatoes and sugar beet.
Dwingelderveld in Drenthe.
The concentrations of agricultural poison in plants from natural areas are generally low (between 0.30 and 33 micrograms per kilo of dry matter). However, toxicologists are particularly concerned about the effect of stacking multiple agricultural chemicals in plants and animals and about the effects of long-term exposure on flora and fauna. Little is known of that yet.
The Dutch supervisory authority Ctgb only assesses the safety risks of individual substances when authorising pesticides. Any interaction with other agricultural chemicals shall not be investigated. Scientific research on 'stacking effects' has only just begun.
Last year, research from Leiden University showed that organisms such as water fleas are 2500 times more sensitive to the controversial 'bee venom' thiacloprid in nature than during laboratory tests. Laboratory studies are carried out under optimal conditions, while in nature the situation is often more complex. But only the results of laboratory tests are decisive for assessing the safety of resources. According to toxicologists, these safety studies say little about the risks to plants and animals in nature.
“We really need to do much more research into the effect of the cocktail on pesticides to which organisms are exposed in nature,” says Kees van Gestel, professor of toxicology at the VU University, after reading the researchers' report. “Our studies with neonicotinoids show that very low concentrations in nature already have effects on, for example, soil animals. Non-insects, such as earthworms, are also very sensitive to these substances.”
The concentrations of agricultural poison in plants from natural areas are generally low (between 0.30 and 33 micrograms per kilo of dry matter). However, toxicologists are particularly concerned about the effect of stacking multiple agricultural chemicals in plants and animals and about the effects of long-term exposure on flora and fauna. Little is known of that yet.
The Dutch supervisory authority Ctgb only assesses the safety risks of individual substances when authorising pesticides. Any interaction with other agricultural chemicals shall not be investigated. Scientific research on 'stacking effects' has only just begun.
Last year, research from Leiden University showed that organisms such as water fleas are 2500 times more sensitive to the controversial 'bee venom' thiacloprid in nature than during laboratory tests. Laboratory studies are carried out under optimal conditions, while in nature the situation is often more complex. But only the results of laboratory tests are decisive for assessing the safety of resources. According to toxicologists, these safety studies say little about the risks to plants and animals in nature.
“We really need to do much more research into the effect of the cocktail on pesticides to which organisms are exposed in nature,” says Kees van Gestel, professor of toxicology at the VU University, after reading the researchers' report. “Our studies with neonicotinoids show that very low concentrations in nature already have effects on, for example, soil animals. Non-insects, such as earthworms, are also very sensitive to these substances.”
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