Boerenlandvogels – WP

Auteur: Henk Tennekes

  • Study Shows Pesticide Levels in Families Dropped by 60% After One-Week Organic Diet

    Study Shows Pesticide Levels in Families Dropped by 60% After One-Week Organic Diet

    A new peer-reviewed study shows that eating a completely organic diet—even for just one week—can dramatically reduce the presence of pesticide levels in people, a finding that was characterized as “groundbreaking” by critics of an industrial food system that relies heavily on synthetic toxins and chemicals to grow crops and raise livestock. Published in the Environmental Research, the study—titled Organic Diet Intervention Significantly Reduces Urinary Pesticide Levels in U.S. Children and Adults —found that switching to an organic diet significantly reduced the levels of synthetic pesticides found in all participants.

    Among the key findings:

    – 61% drop in chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide known to damage children’s developing brains. Exposure is associated with increased risk of autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, and IQ loss.
    95% drop in malathion, another neurotoxic organophosphate pesticide and a probable human carcinogen according to the World Health Organization.

    – 83% drop in clothianidin, a neonicotinoid pesticide. Neonicotinoids are associated with endocrine disruption and changes in behavior and attention, including an association with autism spectrum disorder. Neonicotinoids are also a main driver of massive pollinator and insect losses, leading scientist to warn of a “second silent spring.”

    – 43-57% drop in pyrethroids, a class of pesticides associated with endocrine disruption and adverse neurodevelopmental, immunological and reproductive effects.

    – 37% drop in 2,4-D, one of two ingredients in Agent Orange. 2,4-D is among the top five most commonly used pesticides in the U.S. and is associated with endocrine disruption, thyroid disorders, increased risk of Parkinson’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, developmental and reproductive toxicity and other health issues.

    Source: WallStreetWindow.com, 14 Feb 2019
    https://wallstreetwindow.com/2019/02/study-shows-toxic-pesticide-levels-in-families-dropped-by-60-after-one-week-organic-diet-jake-johnson-02-14-2019/

    Link naar rapport:
    http://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OrganicForAll_report_Final.pdf

  • Als niets wordt ondernomen tegen bestrijdingsmiddelen, verdwijnen insecten binnen een eeuw van de planeet

    Als niets wordt ondernomen tegen bestrijdingsmiddelen, verdwijnen insecten binnen een eeuw van de planeet

    De globale insectenpopulatie is op weg richting een totale uitroeiing als de trend van de afgelopen dertig jaar zich voortzet. Binnen enkele decennia dreigt er geen enkel insect meer te zijn op onze planeet. De gevolgen zullen catastrofaal zijn voor de “natuurlijke ecosystemen”, maar ook voor “de overlevingskansen van de mensheid”. Dat stellen twee wetenschappers, onder wie een Belg, in de eerste wereldwijde studie over het onderwerp.

    Voor het eerst is er een analyse gemaakt van de wereldwijde studies over de insectensterfte wereldwijd. De Belgische onderzoeker Kris Wyckhuys, verbonden aan de Chinese academie van agriculturele wetenschappen in Beijing, en Francisco Sánchez-Bayo (universiteit van Sydney) zetten zich samen aan de grootschalige onderneming. Hun conclusies zijn allesbehalve rooskleurig. Wat heet: beide heren trekken aan de alarmbel.

    Op verschillende plekken in de wereld werd de massale insectensterfte al aangetoond, maar een globaal overzicht brengt de schaal van het probleem pas echt in kaart: maar liefst 41 procent van alle insectensoorten neemt af, terwijl ruim een derde dreigt uit te sterven. De afgelopen 25 tot 30 jaar nam de globale insectenpopulatie jaarlijks met 2,5 procent af. “Dat is zeer onrustwekkend, het is zeer snel”, zegt Bayo tegen The Guardian. “Op dit tempo zijn er binnen 10 jaar een kwart minder insecten, binnen 50 jaar is de helft nog over en na 100 jaar is er geen insect meer over.”

    Bron: Nieuwsblad, 11-02-19
    https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190211_04168519

  • Acetamiprid Residues in Water Reservoirs in the Cotton Basin of Northern Benin

    Acetamiprid Residues in Water Reservoirs in the Cotton Basin of Northern Benin

    An Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to UV detection method was developed to determine acetamiprid residues in water reservoirs of northern Benin, close to cotton fields. The quantification limit of this method was 0.2 µg L−1 acetamiprid in water, its precision ranged between 8% and 22%, and its trueness between 99% and 117% (for concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 5.0 µg L−1). Acetamiprid residues were determined in water samples collected in four reservoirs from northern Benin during the phytosanitary treatment period of cotton. The minimum and maximum concentrations of acetamiprid residues in water were 0.2 and 7.7 µg L−1, respectively. These levels do not represent any risk for human consumption of this water, but indicate a regular use of acetamiprid, possibly together with other pesticides which could be more harmful for both humans and aquatic species.

    Source:
    Zoumenou, B.G.Y.M., Aïna, M.P., Imorou Toko, I. et al. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol (2019) 102: 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-018-2476-4
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00128-018-2476-4

  • Temporal pattern in imidacloprid levels in an urban stream in southern California

    Temporal pattern in imidacloprid levels in an urban stream in southern California

    Imidacloprid is a widely used insecticide with high runoff potential posing a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems. In order to determine the spatial and temporal concentrations of imidacloprid in Forester Creek, a tributary to the San Diego River, surface water samples were collected from two sites under wet-weather and dry-weather conditions. Imidacloprid was detected with 100% frequency in surface water samples from Forester Creek with a median concentration of 16.9 ng/L (range: 3.8–96.8 ng/L). Over 60% of samples exceeded U.S. EPA’s chronic exposure benchmark (10 ng/L). Temporal analysis displayed significantly higher levels in wet-weather than dry-weather (median 45.6 ng/L vs. 8.2 ng/L (p < 0.05)), demonstrating the influence of wet-weather runoff on stream quality. Imidacloprid generally followed a first flush pattern, further indicating that the build-up and wash off from land surfaces during storms is a major source of imidacloprid into urban surface waters. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to document this first flush pattern for imidacloprid in an urban stream in southern California. Source: Christine M. Batikian et al. Chemosphere. Available online 2 February 2019 In Press, Accepted Manuscript https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004565351930181X#!

  • Unwarranted product defense by Bayer and Syngenta had catastrophic consequences for the environment

    Unwarranted product defense by Bayer and Syngenta had catastrophic consequences for the environment

    The nature of receptor binding by imidacloprid is of fundamental importance for risk assessment. If, as Bayer and Syngenta-sponsored scientists now infer, receptor binding is reversible, the toxicity of imidacloprid would be concentration-dependent only, and there would likely be a threshold
    concentration below which there would be no adverse effects. However, studies of the Universities of Utrecht and Nijmegen showed that the pollution of surface water with imidacloprid quantitatively correlated with decline of invertebrates and insects-dependent bird species. Moreover, research in the National Park Dwingelderveld, The Netherlands, and in a nature reserve in Krefeld, Germany, showed that, since the introduction of imidacloprid in the mid-1990’s, at least three-quarters of the ground beetles and flying insects have disappeared. The fact of the matter is that irreversible receptor binding and associated time-reinforced toxicity resulting from prolonged exposure to infinitesimal imidacloprid concentrations in the environment would explain the observed correlations with decline of invertebrates and insects-dependent bird species. Environmental contamination with neonicotinoids appears to be a major factor in catastrophic insect decline observed since their introduction in the mid-1990s.

    Source:
    Henk A Tennekes. Imidacloprid and the Druckrey-Küpfmüller Equation – The Fundamental Importance of the Nature of Receptor Binding and Associated Adverse Effects. Open Acc J of Toxicol. 2018; 3(5): 555623. DOI: 10.19080/OAJT.2018.03.555623

  • Neonic Pesticide May Become More Toxic in Tap Water

    Neonic Pesticide May Become More Toxic in Tap Water

    Yet again, our government scientists—the oft neglected but so important brain trust of our Nation—bring the public some very important new data. Pesticide water monitoring experts at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) paired up with scientists from the University of Iowa in a federally-funded collaboration to track neonicotinoid pesticides or “neonics” in tap water, including the potential to form chlorinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from the pesticides and their metabolites that may be more toxic than the original compounds. And, the news isn’t good. Following up on previous research finding neonicotinoids in tap water (Klarich et al 2017), the scientists now explore whether the neonic compounds or their metabolites that are generated in the environment are transformed into disinfection byproducts during common, important drinking water treatment processes used to protect public health, such as chlorination (Klarich Wong et al 2019). This paper is the first report of two known metabolites of imidacloprid in tap water; desnitro-imidacloprid and imidacloprid-urea. This is especially concerning because desnitro-imidacloprid is about 319 times more toxic to mammals than imidacloprid, so even much lower levels could be harmful.

    In addition to discovering the presence of the two metabolites in tap water, the authors demonstrate the likelihood that these metabolites are further transformed to a new form of neonic-derived chlorinated disinfection byproduct during routine water treatment processes. The scientists simulated the conditions that would occur during realistic drinking water conditions, to show under laboratory conditions that chlorinated chemicals are produced.

    These new chlorinated contaminants are untested, untracked, and potentially harmful. In other words, their potential impacts on human health could be a big deal! Other types of disinfection byproducts in drinking water are highly toxic, linked to a risk of cancer and birth defects.

    Those potential harms could also be a big deal risk-wise because neonics are the most widely used insecticides on the market. EPA and other regulatory agencies have disregarding the potential for neonics to harm vertebrates, because their mechanism of toxicity was thought to be insect-selective. Unfortunately, this caused a regulatory blind-spot in the harm they do to beneficial insects like bees, and aquatic invertebrate species that provide a critical food source for amphibians, fish and other aquatic vertebrates. The reason the metabolites (for example, desnitro-imidacloprid) raise a red flag is that science now demonstrates that the insect-selective toxicity is altered, causing them to be more toxic to vertebrates including people and other mammals.

    See USGS Pesticide Use Maps for the most current information, but note USGS’s disclaimer that beginning in 2015 the data reports no longer include seed treatment uses of pesticides; for the neonics this represents somewhere around 90% of total pounds of neonic pesticides used in agriculture—a very serious under-reporting. See below for imidacloprid (note the drop-off since 2015 due to failure to include seed treatments)

    The study report authors note that although the chlorinated disinfection byproducts derived from neonics have an unknown toxicity profile, it is possible that they may be more toxic than the parent compound. Thus, the authors recommend in the article that the “greater potential toxicity and frequent presence in these water samples of neonicotinoid metabolites demonstrates the need to consider their fate and persistence in drinking water treatment systems (ex. during chlorination and other treatment processes) and their potential effects on human health” (p. 7). NRDC agrees! That’s why we are asking EPA to include all the neonic metabolites and chlorinated products in its human health risk assessment of the neonic pesticides, due later this year.

    In addition to surface water and drinking water contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found neonics inside fruits and vegetables, where they can’t be simply be washed off due to their systemic nature. And, emerging science suggests a link with neonic exposure and potential disorders including neurobehavioral impairments in animal studies, and Autism-like effects in prenatally exposed children.

    In addition to including all relevant neonic metabolites in its risk assessment, EPA should also assess the cumulative risks from all the neonic pesticides and their toxic metabolites together. It is alarming that EPA seems to have no plan for conducting a cumulative risk assessment for this toxic and persistent class of pesticides. The scientific evidence of harm is piling up—EPA must pay attention!

    Source: NRDC, 4 Feb 2019
    https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/neonic-pesticide-may-become-more-toxic-tap-water

  • Vögel verschwinden aus Europas Kulturland

    Vögel verschwinden aus Europas Kulturland

    Der Bestand an Brutvögeln im landwirtschaftlichen Raum ist in Europa während der vergangenen Jahrzehnte um mehr als die Hälfte zurückgegangen. Der Hauptgrund ist die intensive Landwirtschaft. Seit 1980 ist der Bestand an Vögeln des Kulturlands in der EU um rund 56 Prozent eingebrochen. Zu den betroffenen Arten gehören beispielsweise Feldlerche, Star (Sturnus vulgaris) oder Kiebitz (Vanellus vanellus). Das geht aus den gesammelten Daten des European Bird Census Council hervor, einem Zusammenschluss europäischer Vogelexperten mit Sitz im niederländischen Nijmegen.

    Die Schweiz stellt bei dieser besorgniserregenden Entwicklung leider keine Ausnahme dar, wie Livio Rey von der Vogelwarte Sempach bestätigt. Seit den 1990er Jahren haben sich hierzulande die Bestände von 29 typischen Vogelarten des Kulturlands mehr als halbiert. Der Bestand ehemals häufiger Arten sei in den letzten 25 Jahren katastrophal eingebrochen, sagt Rey: Braunkehlchen (Saxicola rubetra) gingen um 60 Prozent zurück, Feldlerchen (Alauda arvensis) um 50 Prozent, Neuntöter (Lanius collurio) um 40 Prozent.

    Als Hauptgrund für diese Entwicklung nennt der Mediensprecher der Vogelwarte die intensive Landwirtschaft, die mittlerweile auch in Berggebieten Einzug gehalten habe und die dortigen Brutvogelbestände in Bedrängnis bringe. Pestizide und Überdüngung führen zum Verschwinden von Insekten, welche die wichtigste Nahrungsgrundlage vieler Vogelarten sind.

    Quelle: NZZ, 28.01.19
    https://www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft/voegel-verschwinden-aus-europas-kulturland-ld.1455287

  • Die Berufsfischer bangen um ihre Zukunft

    Die Berufsfischer bangen um ihre Zukunft

    Die Hälfte der grössten Schweizer Seen erfüllt die Gewässerschutzverordnung punkto Sauerstoffkonzentration nicht. Grund sind Pestizide und Düngemittel aus der Landwirtschaft. Gewässerkorrekturen und zunehmend steigende Wassertemperaturen. Die aktuelle Situation gefährdet die Existenz mancher Berufsfischer, wie der Geschäftsführer des Schweizerischen Fischereiverbands erklärt. Wenn es weniger Fische in den Gewässern gibt, fangen auch die Berufsfischer weniger, was sich negativ auf ihr Einkommen auswirkt. Wenn die Entwicklung so weitergeht, wird es für manche Berufsfischer in Zukunft schwierig, sich ein Einkommen zu sichern. Allerdings ist die Situation je nach Gewässer unterschiedlich. Während die Probleme etwa im Bodensee schon heute akut sind, verzeichnen die Fischer in anderen Seen immer noch gute oder sogar sehr gute Erträge.

    Quelle: SRF, 31.01.19
    https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/zu-wenig-sauerstoff-in-seen-die-berufsfischer-bangen-um-ihre-zukunft

  • The drivers of worldwide insect decline

    The drivers of worldwide insect decline

    Pesticide use is driving an “alarming” decline in the world’s insects that could have a “catastrophic” impact on nature’s ecosystems, researchers have warned. More than 40 per cent of insect species are at risk of extinction with decades, with climate change and pollution also to blame, according to a global scientific review. Their numbers are plummeting so precipitously that almost all insects could vanish within a century, the study found.

    An overhaul of the agricultural industry is “urgently needed” to “allow the recovery of declining insect populations and safeguard the vital ecosystem services they provide,” wrote co-authors from Sydney and Queensland universities. The biologists conducted a systematic review of 73 historic reports of insect declines across the world.

    Ten per cent of known insect species have already become extinct, compared to one per cent of vertebrates, they found. Of the insects that remain, 41 per cent are in decline. Over the past 30 years, the total mass of all insects dropped an average of 2.5 per cent annually. The “dramatic” fall suggest none will be left in 100 years, warned Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, of the University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences. “The rate of decline is really huge,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

    Butterflies and moths are among the worst affected, along with bees and dung beetles. Researchers said “a considerable proportion” of aquatic fly species had also been lost already. The review highlighted four key drivers of extinction: habitat loss caused by agriculture, urbanisation and deforestation; pollution; biological factors such as invasive species and diseases; and climate change.

    Agriculture was the “main culprit” in 40 per cent of the studies reviewed, with researchers highlighting “the way we apply pesticides” as a particular threat. “We have been doing agriculture for thousands of years and we have never seen these declines,” said Dr Sanchez-Bayo. “The introduction of systemic insecticides has been in a big change in the way we do agriculture these days.”

    The review, published in the journal Biological Conservation, said: “Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades. “The repercussions this will have for the planet’s ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least.”

    Researchers added dwindling insect populations were further evidence of a sixth mass extinction underway among animal and plant species worldwide. A study published by researchers at Aarhus and Gothenbury universities last year warned mankind was killing off species so rapidly that evolution was unable to fill in the gaps.

    Abstract of the Review:
    Biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide. Here, we present a comprehensive review of 73 historical reports of insect declines from across the globe, and systematically assess the underlying drivers. Our work reveals dramatic rates of decline that may lead to the extinction of 40% of the world’s insect species over the next few decades. In terrestrial ecosystems, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and dung beetles (Coleoptera) appear to be the taxa most affected, whereas four major aquatic taxa (Odonata, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera) have already lost a considerable proportion of species. Affected insect groups not only include specialists that occupy particular ecological niches, but also many common and generalist species. Concurrently, the abundance of a small number of species is increasing; these are all adaptable, generalist species that are occupying the vacant niches left by the ones declining. Among aquatic insects, habitat and dietary generalists, and pollutant-tolerant species are replacing the large biodiversity losses experienced in waters within agricultural and urban settings. The main drivers of species declines appear to be in order of importance: i) habitat loss and conversion to intensive agriculture and urbanisation; ii) pollution, mainly that by synthetic pesticides and fertilisers; iii) biological factors, including pathogens and introduced species; and iv) climate change. The latter factor is particularly important in tropical regions, but only affects a minority of species in colder climes and mountain settings of temperate zones. A rethinking of current agricultural practices, in particular a serious reduction in pesticide usage and its substitution with more sustainable, ecologically-based practices, is urgently needed to slow or reverse current trends, allow the recovery of declining insect populations and safeguard the vital ecosystem services they provide. In addition, effective remediation technologies should be applied to clean polluted waters in both agricultural and urban environments.

    Sources:
    The (Irish) Independent, 11 Feb 2019
    https://www.independent.ie/business/farming/forestry-enviro/environment/catastrophic-threat-to-worlds-ecosystems-as-farm-pesticides-driving-insect-extinction-37807155.html
    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/insect-extinction-nature-climate-change-francisco-sanchez-bayo-sydney-science-a8773326.html

    Francisco Sánchez-Bayo & Kris A.G. Wyckhuys. Biological Conservation 232 (2019) 8–27

  • Es steht um die Qualität der Schweizer Gewässer nicht zum Besten

    Es steht um die Qualität der Schweizer Gewässer nicht zum Besten

    Die Idylle der Schweizer Seen täuscht. Die Bestände gewisser Fischarten haben in den letzten Jahren stark abgenommen. Grund dafür ist der europaweit überdurchschnittlich starke Einsatz von Pestiziden in der Schweizer Landwirtschaft. Die Postkartenidylle der Schweizer Seen täuscht darüber hinweg, dass es um die Wasserqualität unserer Gewässer nicht zum Besten steht. Verglichen mit dem Ausland werden in der Schweiz überdurchschnittlich viel Pestizide in der Landwirtschaft eingesetzt, um nicht zu stark von Lebensmittelimporten abhängig zu sein. Dies geschieht zum Leidwesen von Fischen.

    Quelle: SRF, im Januar 2019
    https://www.srf.ch/sendungen/myschool/fische