Agribusiness

Chlorpyrifos banned by the EU

By |

Updated 6th of December 2019 at 17.59

The Member States voted today yes to ban chlorpyrifos from the market. Prohibited
by a vote. Chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, two pesticides harmful to the
brains of fetuses and young children, are now undesirable in the European Union
(EU). During a meeting of the the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food
and Feed (SCOPAFF) on Friday 6 December, the Member State representatives voted
against the renewal of the authorisation for both insecticides, which was due
to expire on 31 January 2020. According to two sources, the ban on chlorpyrifos-methyl, which was uncertain, got 68.34% of the votes (in such committees, a qualified majority requires 55% of the Member States representing at least 65% of the EU population).

Agribusiness

Producers fight back to prevent pesticides ban: ”EU bows for pressure from NGOs and media”

By |

Spain and other citrus-producing countries in EU seems to vote against a ban of chlorpyrifos-methyl on the meeting this week. Oranges from Spain is some of the fruits in EU, where there is a really high risk they are contaminated with chlorpyrifos. These oranges are harvested in the Spanish province, Valencia. EFE/Rubén Francés

The death warrant of a pesticide rarely takes the form of a European regulation. However, later this week the European Commission will ask the Member States to ban chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, two insecticides causing damages to the brains of foetuses and young children.

Investigations

Barbara Demeneix: ”Detrimental effects on IQ”

By |

Barbara Demeniex, Professor of Biology at the Laboratoire Evolution des Régulations endocriniennes (Centre national de la recherche scientifique – CNRS and Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle – MNHN) in Paris:

”The scientific evidence clearly shows that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos has detrimental effects on IQ and brain cortex thickness. Chlorpyrifos is toxic for the central nervous system, i.e. neurotoxic, and it is an endocrine disruptor, notably of thyroid signalling. Chlorpyrifos can thus interfere with brain development.”

”In 2012, it was shown that brain cortex thickness is significantly reduced as a result of prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure. Recently, French researcher Vincent Laudet has demonstrated unequivocally that chlorpyrifos is a thyroid disrupting chemicals. One can wonder why it has not already been banned.”

”A partial answer comes from the fact that the agencies evaluating the risk were misled by the manufacturer’s dossier where brain endpoints were not correctly reported, underestimating the effects, as shown by a recent paper by Axel Mie and colleagues.”

”In 2015, we evaluated the cost of exposure to organophosphate pesticides – Chlorpyrifos being the most used in the EU.