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PEX Newsletter 43 - Quarterly Septembeer 2009

Editorial

Summer can be a quiet period for many, but for PEX it is a busy time as pesticide spraying is in full swing. It has also been a busy time in pesticides research judging by the number of papers published recently on pesticides and health, including more evidence on Parkinson’s disease. A new study has found that occupational use of pesticides is associated with Parkinsonism, and a specific association was found with the herbicide 2,4-D. This is widely available, including in many products for amateur use. This highlights the importance of raising awareness of the risks of pesticide use among consumers, many of whom simply assume that if a product is available to buy in a shop, it is safe to use. The greatest source of pesticide exposure for many people may be the home. A new and worrying source of that exposure has come to light: one concerned citizen contacted PAN UK after spotting illegal pesticides for sale on eBay.

Many of those who contact the PEX project simply wish to be notified when spraying is taking place so that they can avoid exposure – a very reasonable-sounding request but one which farmers and other pesticide users are often resistant to. However a direct approach to landowners has yielded some promising results in Suffolk. The last newsletter reported on Orford resident Erica, who invited local landowners to a meeting of the Parish Council in order to discuss residents’ concerns about spraying. Erica was in fact a pseudonym, used because the exposure incident described in that newsletter was the subject of an HSE investigation at the time. PEX news can now report that Erica’s real name is Audrey, that the investigation (unusually) resulted in action, and that a prior notification scheme has been set up in Orford. The scheme is small so far, but it is a significant

Ruth Beckmann

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