Fungicides

A pesticide used to control aphids and whiteflies called flupyradifurone, sold commercially as Sivanto, harms or even kills honey bees (Apis mellifera) when exposed to low doses in combination with a fungicide, according to the results of laboratory experiments published on April 10 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The researchers find that when honey bees encounter both FPF and a commonly used fungicide, propiconazole (PRO), the effects are worse than FPF alone.

Winding between green meadows in the west Flanders countryside, the Wulfdambeek stream is fondly remembered as a place local boys would fill up their water bottles before football games. But research from the University of Exeter has offered a sharp reminder of how intensive farming methods are changing the face of the northern European countryside in ways scientists claim are not being properly understood.

In dieser Untersuchung wurde bei 24 Viehwirtschaften in der niederländischen Provinz Gelderland (15 konventionelle und 9 ökologischen Betriebe) die Belastung von Kraftfutter, Dünger und Boden mit 685 Pestiziden und antiparasitären Medikamenten untersucht. Insgesamt 116 Pestiziden wurden auf 16 konventionellen Betrieben gefunden und 71 auf 9 ökologischen Betrieben. Keine einzige Probe war frei von Pestiziden.

In this study the presence of 664 pesticides and 21 anti-parasitic drugs was investigated in concentrated feed, manure and soil on 24 Gelderland livestock farms (15 conventional and 9 organic). In the three substrates, 134 different fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and biocides were found in ecologically relevant concentrations. No sample was free of pesticides. A total of 116 different pesticides was found on 16 conventional farms and 71 on 9 organic farms.

Untersuchungen von Wasserproben aus 29 kleinen Wasserstraßen in zehn verschiedenen Ländern der Europäischen Union (Belgien, Dänemark, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Frankreich, Italien, Niederlande, Österreich, Polen, Spanien) zeigten erschreckend hohe Rückstände an Pestiziden und Tierarzneimitteln. Gefunden wurde die sagenhafte Menge von 103 Pestiziden und 21 Tierarzneimitteln. Stoffe, denen Tiere in der Umwelt ausgesetzt sind, die gar nicht Ziel der Präparate sind.

Pesticides and antibiotics are polluting streams across Europe, a study has found. Scientists say the contamination is dangerous for wildlife and may increase the development of drug-resistant microbes. More than 100 pesticides and 21 drugs were detected in the 29 waterways analysed in 10 European nations, including the UK. A quarter of the chemicals identified are banned, while half of the streams analysed had at least one pesticide above permitted levels.