Pesticides: water pollution “greatly underestimated” due to lack of monitoring, according to Générations Futures

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Water pollution in France is “very underestimated” because dozens of pesticide metabolites, molecules resulting from their degradation and potentially toxic, are not subject to any surveillance, denounces a report published Tuesday by the NGO Générations Futures. 

“71% of the pesticide metabolites officially at risk of exceeding the standard for drinking water that we have identified have not been subject to any monitoring in groundwater or drinking water in recent years,” warned Pauline Cervan, toxicologist at the NGO, during a press conference on Tuesday. 

Générations Futures claims to have identified 56 pesticide metabolites that have not been subject to any monitoring, even though they risk contaminating groundwater at concentrations above 0.1 μg/l, the regulatory limit, according to their analysis of the work of Anses (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety). 

“The way in which the Regional Health Agencies (ARS) select the substances to be monitored does not allow “We do not want to include new metabolites in the controls. This is completely incomprehensible and scandalous,” Pauline Cervan was indignant.

Metabolites are molecules resulting from the degradation of chemical substances, such as pesticides, which can then end up in soils, surface water and groundwater, before contaminating drinking water catchment areas. 

“Among these 56 unmonitored metabolites, we have identified 12 metabolites that are particularly high-risk,” says the association, including trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a very persistent molecule already in the sights of the European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe). 

TFA results from the degradation of certain “eternal pollutants”, PFAS, which are substances present in pesticides, refrigerant gases, non-stick coatings on pans, fire-fighting foams or cosmetics, and particularly in the discharges from factories that produce them. 

“The French authorities cannot ignore the risks of groundwater contamination by TFA,” warns the NGO, arguing that a German health agency has proposed classifying TFA as toxic for reproduction. 

“The consequences of chronic exposure to pesticide metabolites present in drinking water are largely unknown,” recalls Générations Futures, which regularly denounces a lack of studies on the toxicity of these molecules. 

Even if there is a lack of information to determine with certainty the levels of concentrations without risk, anti-pesticide associations point out that the molecules accumulate in water and can have a “cocktail effect”. 

In conclusion, “Générations Futures calls for the rapid implementation of an action plan to improve the monitoring of metabolites and relaunch an ambitious policy to reduce the use of pesticides in France”, provided for in the government's Ecophyto plan, which has been widely criticized by environmentalists. 

The NGO has entered into a “dialogue phase” with the public authorities, but does not rule out taking legal action in the event of a negative response from the ARS or no response. 

“We have a legal basis for litigation” because a government decree of January 11, 2007 orders that pesticides “that are most likely to end up in drinking water must be sought as a priority” in monitoring plans, concluded Pauline Cervan. 

 

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