Eight out of ten Europeans have at least two pesticides in the body, and in children, concentrations are even higher, according to a large study conducted between 2014 and 2021 in five European countries by the European Human Biomotorization Initiative (Hbm4eu). The researchers found a total of 46 different pesticides and their metabolites in the analyzed samples.
Herbicides are a type of pesticides, along with insecticides and fungicides, and their health effects often overlap with those of other pesticides, because many studies do not analyze them separately.
At European level, the total use of pesticides is estimated at about 350,000 tonnes annually, the largest volumes being registered in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. In Romania, as in other Eastern European countries, the use of pesticides has increased after accession to the EU, farmers adopting the intensive methods of Western agriculture.
The study also showed that over 90% of the participants had traces of pyretroids and chlorpirifos in the body, the latter being prohibited in the European Union due to toxic effects on the nervous system. Exposure to glyphosate and its main metabolite, aminometylfosphonic acid (ampa), has been as widespread, although in lower concentrations.
How do pesticides reach the human body
The pesticides reach the plate almost every meal. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has identified residues in rice (in 6.7% of the tests exceeded the allowed limits), in dry beans (4.9%) and almost in all the fruits and vegetables analyzed.
Pesticides are also present in drinking water. In Denmark, between 2015 and 2019, 41% of households had pesticides in tap water, and in Ireland the problem was identified in 4.5% of drinking water sources. A study conducted in the Netherlands discovered seven pesticides that exceeded the limits allowed in drinking water, substances that were not even routine monitored.
Exposure occurs including through air. The concentrations in the air increase quite a lot during the agricultural spray periods, and the people who live near the cultivated land are the most exposed. A study in Idaho, US, pregnant women showed that those living in less than 500 meters of land treated with glyphosate had much higher levels of the substance in the urine.
Agricultural workers bring pesticides at home on clothes, and their families are thus exposed indirectly. Studies have shown that farmers who do not wear gloves when handling herbicides have higher concentrations of toxic substances in the body.
Glyphosate, a controversial herbicide
Glifosate is the active substance in Roundup, the best -selling herbicide in the world. It works by blocking an enzyme that plants need to produce proteins needed for growth. The problem is that Roundup contains other substances that help herbicide penetrate plants. Researchers say that these co-formulars can be more toxic than glyphosate themselves, but the authorities rarely check them because they are not considered active ingredients.
The International Agency for Cancer Research has classified Glifosate as probably carcinogenic for humans, the decision based on studies that revealed an association with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
According to a 2019 study, there are pesticide residues in 83% of the agricultural soil samples analyzed in Europe. The most common combination was that between glyphosate and its metabolite, aminometylphosphonic acid (ampa), detected in 25% of samples.
Here are the most dangerous effects on possible health after exposure to pesticides:
1. Cancer and chronic diseases
The connection between exposure to pesticides and the appearance of cancer is well documented in Europe. The National Institute of Health and Medical Research in France (INSERM) published in 2022 an analysis that shows that professional exposure to pesticides increases the risk of child leukemia and brain tumors in the children of agricultural workers.
The agricultural study, carried out in France, which included 180,000 people from the agricultural sector, indicated a higher incidence of cancers among the wine -growers intensely exposed to pesticides. Similar conclusions were also obtained in a study in the Netherlands in over 120,000 people between the ages of 55 and 69, who identified associations between exposure to pesticides and prostate cancers, bladder and brain.
In the case of breast cancer, more research has shown that women with high concentrations in the blood are at increased risk of disease, especially if the exposure has occurred before the age of 14, and substances such as chlorpirifos can promote the development of tumors by disrupting the antioxidant balance of breast cells.
2. The effect of pesticides on the brain
Pesticides attack the nervous system through several different mechanisms. For example, organophosphates and carbamies block the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in transmitting nerve signals. When this enzyme is inhibited, acetylcholine accumulates and overloads nervous receptors, which can cause excessive salivation, tremor, seizures and, in serious forms, respiratory paralysis.
Substances such as Lindan and endosulfan act on the GABA receptors in the brain, which limits neuronal activity. When these receptors are disturbed, neurons become hyperactive, which can lead to convulsions and brain damage.
Paraquat, another frequently used herbicide, is considered a risk factor for Parkinson's disease. It causes the formation of free radicals that destroy dopamine producers, and meta-analyzes have shown that exposure to this substance increases the risk of Parkinson's by about 25%. Long -term exposure or combination of paraquat with other pesticides amplifies the danger.
The effects also appear on cognitive functions. A study conducted in Sweden on almost a thousand people over 70 years old showed that high levels of organochlorinated pesticides were associated with a three times higher risk of cognitive decline. In France, the workers from the vineyards exposed to pesticides have achieved weaker results in memory and attention tests.
3. Fertility problems
Men who consume fruits and vegetables with high pesticide residues have a small number of sperm and a smaller percentage of normal morphological sperm. Women who worked with herbicides in the two years before trying to get pregnant are more prone to infertility.
Congenital malformations can be another consequence of exposure to such substances. Fifteen studies conducted in nine European countries have indicated that there are higher risks of urogenital anomalies (30-40% above the population average) as well as members or oro-facial cracks. The most serious, neural tube defects, occur more frequently when exposure to organochlorine pesticides occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy.
4. asthma and respiratory problems
In Germany, a study that included over 25,000 women in the agricultural sector revealed that the use of pesticides in farms was associated with allergic asthma. Pesticides damage the bronchial mucosa, increasing the sensitivity of the airways to the allergens.
Diizociana, used in some pesticide formulations, causes asthma even to minimal exposures. Children are particularly vulnerable.
How can the exposure be reduced
There are some simple measures that can decrease the amount of pesticides that reach the body such as:
- Choosing ecological foods, where possible. A small study has shown that an exclusively environmentally friendly diet has reduced pesticide levels in the body in just six days;
- Rigorous washing of fruits and vegetables: rinse under water jet, use of a brush for vegetables with thick shell, removal of exterior leaves from salad and cabbage;
- Diversification of food sources, to avoid repeated exposure to the same substances;
- The use of certified water filters for pesticide withholding, especially in the areas where contaminations have been reported.
For agricultural workers and amateur gardeners, direct protection measures are also important:
- wearing gloves, long -sleeved clothing and long pants;
- avoiding the application of pesticides in days with wind;
- thorough washing of the hands and clothes after use;
- avoiding consumption of food, drinks or smoking during application;
- maintaining children and animals away from the land treated for at least 24 hours.
Why are children more vulnerable than adults
Children are more vulnerable to exposure to pesticides than adults. The study of the European Initiative of Human Biomotorization (HBM4EU) has identified higher concentrations for all substances analyzed in the samples taken from children. Vulnerability is explained by several factors, such as greater food consumption related to body weight, behaviors such as playing in the grass and the tendency to frequently take the hand to the mouth.
Research conducted in New York, US, on 224 pregnant mothers and their children have shown that exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy to DDE, a DDT metabolit, forbidden pesticide, but still present in the environment, affects the psychomotor development of babies.
Another study, conducted in California on farmers' families, found problems of cognitive development in two -year -olds exposed prenatally to organophosphates.
Another representative research at the national level in the United States, which included almost 1,200 children, has detected pesticide metabolites associated with ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder). Children with higher levels also had a higher probability of receiving this diagnosis.
The effects become visible and later at school age. Children born of mothers who worked with pesticides have presented development delays in up to two years in motor coordination, visual memory and viewpace performance. In France, a study by over 3,400 pregnant women in Brittany identified negative effects on cranial growth in three -year -olds of pesticides exposed during pregnancy.
