Ireland’s bees and people who eat their honey may be at risk after a weedkiller on the EU’s potential ban list was found on hedgerows and wildflowers.
The discovery raises fresh fears about th e uncontrolled spread of glyphosate because the plants studied were not deliberately sprayed with it.
“We know wild bees and honeybees will visit the contaminated wildflowers to collect pollen and nectar,” said Elena Zioga, one of the scientists from Trinity College and Dublin City University who carried out the research.
“The residues we found in nectar in this study exceeded the European maximum permitted levels of glyphosate in honey and honeybee products, which suggests they could be harmful to honeybees and those eating the honey.”
European lawmakers must decide this year whether to ban glyphosate, which was granted a 12-month extension to its licence last month despite deeply divided views in Brussels.
The controversial chemical, which is the active ingredient in the EU’s most commonly used herbicides, is suspected of and blamed for damage to human, animal, marine and plant life – and it has been the subject of thousands of court pay-outs in the United States.
Rows over its use in Europe deepened after the World Health Organisation’s cancer research agency said in 2015 that it was “probably carcinogenic”.
European safety agencies disagree, but they did warn that it can cause other harms.
Glyphosate residues have been found before in nectar and pollen collected by bees foraging on plants that had been deliberately sprayed but this is the first time it has been reported in unsprayed wildflowers.
Ms Zioga sampled farmed fields of oilseed rape and wild blackberry flowers growing nearby in seven locations in the east and south-east of Ireland.
In three locations, glyphosate residues were found in pollen and nectar of the blackberry flowers within a week of spraying taking place nearby. No residue remained after a gap of two months.
Glyphosate is widely used in agriculture, to clear unwanted growth before planting or after harvest, but also as a “desiccant” which means it is used to dry out crops before harvest, particularly after a wet summer.
The chemical stops growth and prevents the plant absorbing water and nutrients, which dries it and the crop is harvested before it begins to die.
It is also used by local authorities, gardeners, sports clubs and others involved in grounds maintenance.
Although it is meant to kill only plants, it has been shown to be toxic to honeybees and bumblebees, attacking their digestive systems.
The team from Trinity and DCU say more
research is urgently needed to find out the full scale of the impact that
glyphosate may be having
on the insects, which are essential pollinators for both wild plants and
commercial crops.
“As an additional priority, we recommend the immediate investigation of glyphosate as a desiccant before harvesting crops to better understand how this impacts non-target flowering plants growing near crop fields,” Ms Zioga said.
(Source – Irish Independent – Environment – Caroline O Doherty – 17/01/2023)
More than one in four Irish children test positive for weedkiller chemical glyphosate as EU debates banning it
Compensation claims related to glyphosate use have been paid out in the US.
Tests on Irish families have found one in four people had the controversial weedkiller ingredient glyphosate in their system.
The tests were carried out on farming and non-farming families, but the results were similar for both.
Scientists from University of Galway, who conducted the research, say it shows that glyphosate is present in the general environment, not just around farms where it is most in use.
They hope the findings will help inform discussions taking place in the EU over whether the licence for glyphosate should be renewed when it expires later this year.
Glyphosate is the main ingredient in the most commonly used weedkillers, but controversy has raged over its use for many years because of concerns about its impact on human and animal health.
The World Health Organisation’s cancer research body concluded in 2015 that the chemical was probably carcinogenic.
That finding is not backed by European scientific bodies, but they do accept evidence of other harms to people, marine life, and wildlife.
Thousands of compensation claims related to glyphosate use have been paid out in the US.
The Galway study involved 68 families, 14 of whom lived on farms where glyphosate was sprayed. There were 132 adults and 92 children.
“It is essential to understand how chemical exposures can occur among different groups, particularly vulnerable people such as children”
Testing found 26pc of the group had glyphosate in their urine. The proportion was slightly higher among children.
The amount of glyphosate found in the urine of farming families was only marginally higher than that found in the urine of non-farming families.
All those tested had glyphosate levels well below what is currently set as the safe limit, but the study was less concerned with the concentrations within individuals than with the extent of the presence of glyphosate in the population generally.
The scientists also tested for AMPA, a chemical left behind when glyphosate exits the system.
They detected it in the urine of 59pc of the test group, although they caution that AMPA can also be left behind by other products.
Dr Alison Connolly, one of the team who conducted the research, said: “This study produced important results on human exposures to a chemical of public concern and is particularly timely with the European Commission currently re-evaluating glyphosate.
“It is essential to understand how chemical exposures can occur among different groups, particularly vulnerable people such as children.”
Team colleague, Dr Marie Coggins, said the findings should inform decisions made concerning glyphosate and its use.
“The data suggests that occupational users may have a slightly higher exposure than background levels, which could and should be reduced further by substitution with less harmful methods, careful chemical handling practices and the use of exposure controls such as personal protective equipment,” she said.
The study is one of a growing number around the world gathering data on the exposure routes and risks of glyphosate.
Research by Trinity College and Dublin City University, released last week, found glyphosate on unsprayed hedgerows where bees gathered nectar and pollen.
Glyphosate weakens and kills bees, while the prospect of glyphosate being present in the honey they make for human consumption also raises concerns.
(Source – Irish Independent – Environment – Caroline O Doherty – 23/01/2023)