Neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for bee deaths could affect humans, EU agency says
Neonicotinoid use in some instances ‘not sustainable,’ says the European Food Safety Authority, calling for further research.
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Neonicotinoid pesticides that are widely used on crops in Canada could have adverse affects on the human nervous system, the European Food Safety Authority declared this week.
The chemicals, used to treat corn, soybean and canola seeds, have previously been blamed for mass honey bee deaths in Ontario and Quebec, prompting Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulation Agency (PMRA) to proclaim current practices of neonicotinoid use “not sustainable.”
In a press release Tuesday, the EU’s food safety agency brought up a possible human consequence to the pesticides’ use, and called for further research.
An agency-sponsored study suggested two neonicotinoids, acetamiprid and imidacloprid, might affect a developing human nervous system — that of a fetus or young child — in a way similar to nicotine exposure. The study identifies potential affects on memory, learning ability and motor use, leading the agency to propose lowering the levels of human exposure to the chemicals considered acceptable.
A Health Canada spokesperson told the Toronto Star this week that Canada’s tolerated levels of neonicotinoid intake are already lower than those proposed by the European food authority.
The widespread use of neonicotinoids as an agricultural pesticide has drawn criticism from beekeepers and environmentalists in recent months. In Ontario, some apiarists have blamed the chemicals for destroying their businesses by killing millions of bees.
The PMRA examined samples of dead bees over the past two summers and concluded the pesticides are in fact responsible for killing the insects. But the agency also points to other factors contributing to bee declines that have been observed in many parts of the country. Alongside neonicotinoid pesticides, mites, parasites and habitat loss are among the factors thought to be negatively affecting the health of bees.
The PMRA is re-evaluating the status of the pesticides in Canada in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has also issued beefed-up guidelines for farmers to reduce dust clouds during the planting process, which are thought to disseminate the chemicals.
Pierre Petelle, vice-president of chemistry for agriculture business group CropLife Canada, told the Star that neonicotinoid producers support stronger practice guidelines, but suggested environmental groups are putting too much emphasis on the chemicals as a factor in bee deaths.
“It is multi-factoral, and I think the real risk here is that people are so focused on just the neonics (sic), to the detriment of all these other factors that are well known,” Petelle said.
Petelle also said neonicotinoids are less toxic to humans, and used in lower quantities, than previously dominant pesticides that were often sprayed on fields rather than used to coat seeds.
The EU instituted a two-year ban on neonicotinoids this month, prohibiting farmers from using the pesticides while more research is conducted on their health and environmental impacts.
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