An enduring state of agricultural emergency impacts humans, bees, and the environment

New research shows that agricultural emergencies allows non-authorised highly toxic pesticides that finally contaminate the environment leading to broad implications for the health of humans and pollinators

A new study titled "Beyond the urgency: pesticide Emergency Authorisations' exposure, toxicity, and risk for humans, bees, and the environment" and published in Science of the Total Environment shed light on the risks associated with the Emergency Authorisation process. This first assessment of the uses and impacts of emergency-authorised pesticides was led by the BeeLab of the University of Turin - Department of Agricultural, Forest, and Food Sciences, and reveals that this common but understudied process leads to broad human, animal, and environmental implications, raising concern on the enduring state of emergency that acts in derogation of the EU Regulation.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8506d5_d33dee2846bb4f0c9acdd95dae72c734/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

What is an Emergency Authorisation?

The global challenge to increase agricultural production goes along with the need of decreasing pesticide risks. The European Union (EU) therefore evaluates and controls the risks posed by pesticides by regulating their authorisation through the science-based Risk Assessment process. Member States can however act in derogation to this process and grant the Emergency Authorisation (EA) of pesticides that are currently non-authorised.

To protect the health of humans and the environment, Emergency Authorisations are only permitted in exceptional circumstances of agricultural emergency: their use should be limited (i.e., cannot exceed 120 days and one growing season) and concurrent research on alternative strategies must be enforced.

Key discoveries

This research shows that Emergency Authorisations' wide use across time and space leads to the environmental contamination by numerous highly toxic, non-approved active substances. Emergency Authorisations were surprisingly non-compliant with EU regulations, as they were relatively frequently granted for longer periods than prescribed by the law and recurringly renewed to control the same emergency over time.

The prolonged, chronic use of Emergency Authorisations and the limited development of alternatives raise concerns about the sustainability of agricultural practices and their long-term health implications. Here, we provided new insights on the pests and crops that are most frequently addressed as agricultural emergencies and would thus require sustainable alternatives.

This research finally aims at contributing to the development of a more sustainable agriculture and a safer environment for humans and other animals.

Original Article (freely available as Open Access):
doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174217 

Selected Press:
https://www.bee-life.eu/so/72P3AI2Ls?languageTag=en&cid=86a075a9-1c0a-474b-b56e-503383e9ff2b 

https://www.rainews.it/tgr/piemonte/articoli/2024/07/universita-torino-tossici-pesticidi-emergenza-agricola-33c95ceb-82cd-41c9-b896-9221a0f7cf13.html

https://www.lescienze.it/news/2024/07/19/news/pesticidi_emergenza_agricola_tossici_per_api_ambiente_salute_umana-16500759/