Forty-seven toxic pesticides, mostly banned in agriculture in the EU but authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as veterinary products or biocides, were detected in human hair samples taken from 21 volunteers in the Netherlands, according to a study published on 30 March by PAN Europe.
These include Fipronil, Permethrin and DEET, which are authorised at very high doses, up to 250,000 times the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans in the EU.
For Fipronil, a level of 0.31 mg/kg was detected in the hair, while the ADI in the EU is 0.0002 mg/kg.
The study shows that exposure in urban areas, in and around the home is an important route of exposure to pesticides. The insect repellent DEET was detected in 95% of the samples, Permethrin in 48% and Fipronil in 14%.
PAN Europe recalls that independent publications show that, in the case of Fipronil, harmful effects on the brain (behavioural effects on newborn mice) can be seen at the (governmental) ‘no-effect’ level which is the basis for the ADI.
In addition, the dose of insecticides recommended by the EMA for the treatment of pets poses a high risk to insects, to biodiversity in the garden and to parks and natural areas as a whole, the NGO said.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3fq7ieF (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)