June 14, 2013

expert reaction to study finding pesticides may harm more than bees

A new report published in the Journal of Applied Ecology indicated that a neonicotinoid pesticides, which have been linked to bee decline, may be harming other wildlife species.

Dr Alison Haughton, Head of the Pollination Ecology Group, Rothamsted Research, said:

“Whilst acknowledging that declines in European biodiversity in farmland have been occurring steadily over many years, including pre-introduction of neonicotinoids, Goulson rightly draws attention to lack of assessment of sub-lethal effects on social insects in the pesticides safety regulatory procedure, as any such effects could have implications at the colony level. 

“Goulson recognises there are many challenges to bees including seasonal weather (as recently reported by the British Beekeepers Association), disease and the availability and distribution of food resources in the farmed landscape.  It is also important to note that with the restrictions on neonicotinoid use, there doesn’t appear to be an associated monitoring scheme to assess the impact of reduced use on bees or other taxa.”

Professor John Pickett, Head of the Department for Biological Chemistry, Rothamsted, said:

“All commercial pesticides are tested scrupulously and with immense rigour for non-target effects and have to be used in a manner that means they cannot have important effects on the environment. It is actually illegal to misuse them. If you test pesticides out of context you are likely to find all kinds of effects but that is not necessarily indicative of a wider effect and strict registration rules exist that are aimed at protecting the environment.

“Pesticides exist to protect our crops and food from pests and while it is very important that scientists do this research, it is also important that we interpret the studies carefully in a way that balances risks and benefits.”

A spokesperson for the Chemicals Regulation Directorate, HSE, said:

“This is an interesting review drawing together information from a number of published scientific papers.

“The EU regulatory process for plant protection products considers the risks to non-target organisms following a standardised approach using ‘indicator’ species.  There is widespread agreement that it is not possible to test all non-target species and regulatory risk assessments therefore include additional factors designed to account for uncertainty.

“The risks to aquatic organisms, soil dwelling organisms (including soil microbial processes), non-target arthropods, mammals and birds form a standard requirement following a tiered approach from basic laboratory to field studies  and as such regulatory risk assessments should have addressed the key areas highlighted in the paper including additional data requirements, higher tier data and modelling information as required.

“It is also a standard requirement for authorisation of any plant protection product that both efficacy and crop safety has been demonstrated. 

“There is a considerable volume of information about regulatory requirements for plant protection products on HSE’s website at http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/guidance/industries/pesticides

“The suggestions in the paper relating to consideration of the relative effectiveness of alternative agronomic practices including pest control will no doubt be of wider interest, as might the references to a lack of information on the benefits to farmers of neonicotinoids.  The UK National Action Plan for pesticides sets out the Government’s current position on IPM including a commitment to consider what more might be done to help and encourage users in this area.”

‘An overview of the environmental risks posed by neonicotinoid insecticides’ by Dave Goulson, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology on 14^th June 2013.