http://www.pan-uk.org/press/wigramp.htm
The release today of a report from
the government’s Committee on Toxicology (1) highlights the potential
health effects of exposures to mixtures of pesticides. “The lack of
information about the cocktail effects of pesticides is a matter of grave
concern” said Barbara Dinham Director of PAN UK.
Research has highlighted impacts of
endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that include at least 49 pesticides.
EDCs may cause birth defects, reproductive failure and developmental
abnormalities. There is a suspected link with breast cancer in women, and
in men decreasing sperm counts and higher incidence of testicular cancer.
Impacts on wildlife may serve as indicators of potential human health
problems. “More information is needed on exposure levels, persistence
and potency of EDCs. Users need advice on what alternatives they should
use,” said Barbara Dinham.
The UK population is exposed to many
other pesticides through food, water, air and persistence in the
environment. Some of those causing most concern are organophosphates and
carbamates, which affect the nervous system. Exposure to more than one
organophosphate pesticide can have an additive effect (2). In the
United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has expressed similar
concerns about common mechanisms of toxicity for certain fungicides used
on crops.
“Pesticides have an impact on human
health at very low doses, and we simply do not know the effect of mixtures
of pesticides we are exposed to through food residues, the environment,
and in our homes,” added Barbara Dinham.
Research into health and environmental
problems caused by the cocktail effect would represent a very large
investment, and governments may need to reconsider introducing a pesticide
tax to support the work. Pesticides are approved in the UK solely in
relation to individual products. PAN UK suggests that the
government must adopt a more precautionary approach to regulation,
beginning with a pesticide reduction policy that progressively reduces
dependence on chemical pest control, rather than chemical-by-chemical
reviews.
Research often concentrates on
consumer exposure to pesticides, but this report must point to the
problems of those who work regularly with pesticides, and the impacts of
mixtures on the environment. The situation is worse in developing
countries, where workers and small farmers are afforded little or no
protection. A mixture of pesticides used on groundnuts in Senegal resulted
in over 90 poisonings and at least 20 deaths during the 2000-01 season.
Contact: David Buffin davidbuffin@pan-uk.org
Notes to editors:
1. The report Risk Assessment of
Mixtures of Pesticides and Similar Substances, Committee on Toxicity of
Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, Published by the
Food Standards Agency, September 2002. Research carried out by the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the late 1990s demonstrated
the existence of multiple residues in commonly consumed foods. Following
this the Food Standards Agency requested the Committee on Toxicity of
Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) to set up
the Working Group on Risk Assessment of Mixtures of Pesticides (WiGRAMP).
In February 2002 the WiGRAMP working
group released a draft report for public comments, and a finalised report
is published today.
The terms of reference for the working
group were to:
Assess the potential for multiple residues of pesticides and veterinary medicines (including sheep dips and other chemicals used to control animal parasites) in food to modify individual toxicity in humans – the so-called cocktail effect.
Evaluate what assumptions can be
made about the toxicity of pesticides in combination.
Consider the potential impact of
exposure to pesticides and veterinary medicines by different routes.
Formulate advice on the standard
risk assessment procedures applied to the safety evaluation of
individual pesticides and veterinary medicines in the light of the
above considerations.
It is important to recognise that the
potential dangers exist from non-food products such as those used in the
house and garden as well as food related pesticides.
2. Additive effects are possible with some pesticides targeting similar metabolic pathways, for example organophosphate and carbamate pesticides can both target the enzyme cholinesterase, critical for nerve functioning. Synergistic effects can also occur, where the effect of multiple pesticide exposure can be greater then the sum of all the individual effects. It is difficult to predict the effects of exposure to mixtures of pesticides.