Sampling of rain and surface waters around greenhouses in Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Germany shows contamination by an alarmingly high number of pesticides. This includes substances commonly used in greenhouses and even those outlawed years ago. The report, “It rains pesticides from greenhouses!” is published today by the Pesticides Action Network (PAN) Europe. It shows that greenhouses are not closed places and do not merit a less stringent regime when (re)approving pesticides.
Dozens of pesticides were detected in samples of rain and surface waters taken in areas where greenhouses were the only or predominant agricultural activity. As many as 35 different pesticides were detected in one rainwater sample from the Netherlands and 23 in a surface water sample from Spain. The number of pesticides detected was high in all four EU member states included in the snapshot sampling procedure, and included many prohibited substances.
While the concentrations of individual pesticides did not exceed national or European water standards, when available, their combined presence is cause for alarm. The study recorded combined concentrations of up to 90 μg/l in Belgian surface water and 21 μg/l in rainwater samples. This is 180 and 42 times more, respectively than the recently proposed 0.5 μg/l total pesticide threshold in surface water.¹
This is concerning because their toxicity in terms of mixture effects is not properly assessed under the EU pesticide safety/risk assessment procedure², despite legal requirements to account for cumulative – or additive, and synergistic – or magnifying effects.
The nature of these pesticides as well as their concentrations pose risks to ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health. Hans Muilerman, Chemicals Coordinator at PAN Europe, said: “The EU should urgently stop approving otherwise banned pesticides for use in greenhouses. Greenhouses are not closed and must be subject to an adequate pesticide risk assessment.”
The findings add to an already large body of evidence, dissected by this new report, that using greenhouses as a safeguarding measure against pesticides too toxic for approval in open fields – is unlawful and voids Pesticides Regulation (1107/2009) of its substance. The practice further violates the precautionary principle of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFUE).
Yet, national and European authorities continue to assume that greenhouses are closed spaces preventing the release of pesticides into the environment, while the number of covered crop production systems continues to grow. “We find, time and again, that greenhouses are not closed systems. A ban on any pesticide must now mean that it’s banned from greenhouses, too,” said Manon Rouby, PAN Europe’s Policy Officer and Legal Adviser.