Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Investigation

Pesticide producers push back to halt EU ban

  • The two pesticides in question are chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl - whose EU approval is due to run out in January 2020. (Photo: Nick Shaw / Banana Link)

Agri-chemical manufacturers are putting pressure on the EU to prevent a ban of two disputed pesticides that damage the brain of foetuses and young children - in what might be a last attempt before the products' approval expires in the new year.

The two pesticides in question are chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, which some nine member states ban already, and which EUobserver has been reporting on this year, and which have faced a major backlash from environmental and health groups.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Documents obtained by Le Monde show how the producers are now trying to extend the current EU approval, which is due to expire on 31 January 2020.

Representatives from Corteva, created from the merger of Dow (the inventor of the pesticide products), and DuPont, told EU commission officials back in January 2019 that "regulation should not be done on the basis of public pressure triggered by activists which do not trust the legal regulatory system but on sound evidence", according to an internal report.

A law consultancy firm, Fieldfisher, acting on behalf of a Portuguese producer Ascenza, claimed the company was "legitimately and truly surprised" by how the commission had handled the case; it was "highly unusual, not to say irregular," the lawyers wrote.

Meanwhile, lobbying firm EPPA in October stated that the commission had been pushed to "overreact", and was "guided by strong NGO and media pressure."

But while Brussels NGOs have been active, they have not been isolated voices. The scientific community has been concerned for more than 15 years.

In 2006 the EU gave the green light to the insecticide for 10 years. Yet a study by Columbia University documented prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos caused significant developmental delays.

Later studies showed IQ deficits of up to seven points, reduced working memory, attention deficit disorders with or without hyperactivity, and autism spectrum disorders.

An international team of researchers has estimated that exposure to organophosphate pesticides, among them chlorpyrifos, wipes out a total of 13 million IQ points each year, and causes 59,300 cases of intellectual disability in Europe.

In November 2018, Scandinavian scientists Axel Mie, Christina Rudén and Philippe Grandjean reported major anomalies in the study by Dow (now Corteva), filed to the EU in 1999 during the initial authorisation process.

This study showed unambiguously that chlorpyrifos damaged the brains of laboratory rats, contrary to what the conclusion stated.

However, evaluation of the most worrying aspects of chlorpyrifos was never done by the EU, as revealed by the team behind Chlorpyrifos – the most dangerous pesticide you've never heard of in June 2019.

One month later the commission initiated an unprecedented procedure. It asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to urgently publish an interim statement on the effects on human health, while EFSA's review of Spain's proposal was still ongoing.

On 2 August EFSA experts highlighted the potential geno-toxicity of chlorpyrifos (adverse effects on DNA that can cause cancer) and the neuro-developmental effects pointed out by the Scandinavian researchers.

The same conclusion applied to chlorpyrifos-methyl, the two toxic profiles being considered similar.

Farmers push back

The manufacturers were not pleased.

In a letter dated 11 October, Corteva insisted on the distinction between chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl. Neither are geno-toxic, asserted Thomas W. Lyall, the regulatory and stewardship leader for Corteva .

There is "no evidence of developmental neurotoxicity in animals or humans from either chlorpyrifos or chlorpyrifos-methyl", he claimed.

Corteva acknowledged there had been an "apparent reduction of cerebellum heights" in rats back in the study filed in 1999, but stated this had "no biological relevance".

Finally, one final group entered the scene - farmers. The Copa-Cogeca umbrella organisation defending the interests of the major players in the agricultural sector.

Copa-Cogeca asked for a "sufficient grace period" for producers to make a transition.

Otherwise, the withdrawal "could significantly compromise European fruit and vegetable production", as "there are no equally efficient alternatives".

The letter thus seemed to ignore that the ban of chlorpyrifos in nine countries had not lead to a collapse of fruit and vegetable production.

A majority of member states representatives are said to be in favour of a chlorpyrifos ban when they meet this week (5 to 6 December.)

On chlorpyrifos-methyl, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden have indicated that they will vote for the non-renewal of approval.

Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, as well as Poland, are believed to be against. The outcome though depends on if a qualified majority can be reached (55 per cent of the member states, 65 per cent of the EU population.)

Spain, producer of more than half of the oranges in Europe, has been "rapporteur" for the two pesticides since the beginning of the millennium.

Asked by online media El Confidencial, the Spanish agriculture ministry declined to comment on the country's role.

The commission in October notified the World Trade Organization on the impending decision, and set the maximum residue limits on imported products at the lowest detectable level (0.01 mg/kg).

"We strongly disagree with EFSA's conclusions and the European Commission's proposals for non-renewal. No active substance has been researched more thoroughly than chlorpyrifos", Corteva's corporate communications leader Véronique Marquès said by email.

The company declined to comment on whether it would take the commission to court should the two products be banned.

Author bio

Staffan Dahllof writes for Investigative Reporting Denmark and Stephane Horel for Le Monde.

The second phase of the cross-border investigation on chlorpyrifos is led by Investigative Reporting Denmark, in collaboration with journalists from Knack in Belgium, Le Monde in France, VG in Norway, Newsweek in Poland, Oštro in Slovenia, El Confidencial in Spain, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bayerischer Rundfunk (ARD) in Germany. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting contributed.

The investigation is supported by Journalismfund.eu and the Reporters in the field / Robert Bosch Stiftung.

Investigation

The most dangerous pesticide you've never heard of

Scientists say there is no acceptable dose to avoid brain damage. Its use is banned in several European countries. Yet its residues are found in fruit baskets, on dinner plates, and in human urine samples from all over Europe.

Investigation

EU proposes pesticide ban, but key documents still secret

Time is running out for chlorpyrifos, the pesticide which is a cause of brain damage to human fetuses and newly-born children. The EU Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have both stated approval should not be renewed.

Pesticide chlorpyrifos banned by EU

EU member states have voted to ban from the market chlorpyrifos, a pesticide which is toxic to the brain in both its forms, and has been the subject of a long-running Le Monde and EUobserver investigation.

MEPs vow to fight lowering of bee-protection standards

MEPs warned on Thursday that they will once again object any proposal from the European Commission that lowers the bar for bees and other pollinators protection - since the process to renew EU bee guidance is still ongoing.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us